How To Thrift (Online!)

Featuring: Poshmark, Depp, The RealReal & eBay

Thrifting, my friends, is truly a way of life. And once you’ve cracked the thrifting code, it’s difficult to ever turn back. You want quality? Luxury? Individuality? Statement pieces? Timeless classics? But don’t want to spend all of your very precious monies…? Not a problem, allow us to educate y’all on the art of the pre loved deal. Bonus points for reducing your carbon footprint in the process.

Before we start, we feel it may be good to mention that just because an item is thrifted does not necessarily mean that it has bee used. The number of items we have purchased off of sites like the ones mentioned above that still have tags attached would shock you. Or at least delight you. Make you jealous? We digress… The goal here is to waste less, pay less, and still manage to have a killer closet. If you only want to buy brand spanking new pre owned items that’s chill, too.

First of all, you need to have some idea of what you want/are looking for.

This can mean either having a specific item in mind, or a more general idea of style that you’re going for. We recommend always doing a quick search on Posh, TRR, DePop and eBay before buying anything new (and certainly anything full price!). A sneaky smart tip is that if an item you’ve had your eye on for some time sells out (maybe you were waiting for it to go on sale, or maybe you simply weren’t ready to pull the trigger), you can almost always find it for sale on one of the aforementioned websites. N.B. DePop seems to be slightly better for browsing and vibes (more like actually showing up at a store/boutique) than for finding specific items, but that is not a hard and fast rule—just something to keep in mind when you’re starting out and perhaps feeling a bit overwhelmed.

PRO TIP: Never ever ever be afraid to make a seller an offer. Poshmark (and to some extent DePop & eBay) is an especially excellent place to hone your haggling skills. Sellers are known to price items with wiggle room for the buyer who wants to make them an offer that is lower than the listed price. Do not sleep on this feature of online thrifting! It is not rude to make a reasonable offer!! It’s actually quite fun and thrilling for all parties involved. If a seller isn’t taking offers, they will say so in the item listing. Otherwise, offer away.

If you don’t have a specific item in mind, but rather a more general vibe you’re going for, a good place to start is actually Instagram. Search around a bit for influencers, brands etc. that embody the style that you, too would like to embody. We personally like @alessandragl,  @alexachung, @londongirlinnyc, @palomija, @camillecherier, @minamigessel, @devonleecarlson (she does great fashion etc. vlogs on Youtube, as does Valeria Lipovetsky), @accidentalinfluencer and her twin sister @double3xposure…. but that’s just us! There are so many people with great style online. Actresses and artists are also often a good place to go to for fashion inspo, as is vogue.com and intothegloss.com. Start noticing what brands people are wearing (they often tag brands in their posted photos), and start checking who they follow/who follows them. Aligned energies often align… Additionally, when you start following a bunch of influencers whose vibes you dig something will magically happen to your instagram algorithm and all of a sudden brands that you have never heard of, but that you nevertheless find that you love, will start spontaneously popping up on your feed & for you page. Oh! The for you page (fyp)! Scroll there from time to time for a great, never ending source of inspiration.

One thing that is nice about DePop specifically is their hashtag (#) feature, which allows you to shop by keyword. So, say for instance a person posts a pair of pants that is not in fact by Reformation, but has a similar aesthetic/vibe, they may choose to add #reformation to their listing so that shoppers like you can find it whilst searching for a Reformation-style wardrobe.

Another good place to go for inspo if you’re feeling particularly committed is TikTok. Scroll through #thrifttok (literally type #thrifttok in the search bar; #thrifthaul & #thrifted also work) for a bit and, similarly to the insta feed algo, you’ll all of a sudden find yourself privy to a bunch of fashion girls with excellent thrift hauls who are willing to tell you all about their fav brands FOR FREE. A gift, truly. This is a particularly good way to find out about more obscure vintage brands (think cool girls 90s style), and to get your creative juices flowing—those thrift girls really know how to come up with and work a unique look. Half the battle with fashion is working up the nerve to wear something that YOU like, versus what you maybe are told you SHOULD like. The people you encounter online are no more special than you, and if the can do it, you can do it. New and different things sometimes (often lol) make people uncomfortable, but thats their problem, not yours. Live your life! Be free! Express yourself! And most importantly, have fun!

That’s all there is to it, really. Still feeling overwhelmed? Start slow… about to buy a pair of clogs off of the J Crew website? Halt! Stand down! Pull up Poshmark and eBay in separate browsers and search for the item there, ifirst. You’ve been eyeballing a stunning pair of sunglasses making the rounds on instagram that is way out of your price range because they’re designer? Hop onto the The RealReal website (the sunglass deals on TRR are actually insane…) and see what you can find. Always check in about quality/condition and if you feel like any info is missing, or lacking, message the seller. TRR accepts returns on some items, but otherwise sales are often NO return. SO DON’T BE BASHFUL! ASK YOUR QUESTIONS! Measurements, more pics… anything goes. Just be polite and reasonable (AKA don’t ask for a bunch of extra pics to be posted of you’re not really that interested in purchasing—the sellers are real people doing real work selling online, just like the people in physical stores).

Good luck. You’re wardrobe is about to get way better, you’re about to save a whole bunch of money, and we’re really excited for you ;)

XX, Tuna Gs

P.S. Have more Qs? DM us on insta!! We’re always happy to chat.