Company Description
ThredUp Inc. (NASDAQ: TDUP, LTSE: TDUP) is an online resale company in the retail trade sector that focuses on secondhand apparel, shoes, and accessories. The company describes itself as one of the world’s largest online resale platforms and operates a managed marketplace that makes it easier for people to buy and sell secondhand items. ThredUp positions its business around a mission to "inspire the world to think secondhand first" and to extend the life cycle of clothing as part of a more circular fashion system.
ThredUp’s core marketplace centers on women’s and kids’ apparel, shoes, and accessories, with buyers able to shop value, premium, and luxury brands in one place at discounts that the company states can be up to 90% off estimated retail price. Sellers use ThredUp to clean out their closets and convert unused items into value for themselves or for a charity of their choice, while the company emphasizes that this activity also has environmental benefits by keeping clothing in use longer.
Business model and operating platform
According to ThredUp’s public statements, its marketplace is built on a proprietary operating platform that underpins its managed resale model. This platform includes distributed processing infrastructure, proprietary software and systems, and data science expertise. These capabilities support how items are received, processed, listed, and matched with buyers, and they enable the company to operate at a scale where it reports having processed over 200 million to 250 million unique secondhand items from approximately 60,000 brands across about 100 categories.
ThredUp generates revenue from items sold to buyers through its website, mobile app, and partners. In earlier descriptions, the company notes that revenue is generated from items sold via its own channels and through Resale-as-a-Service (RaaS) partners. The company also reports that the majority of its revenue is generated in the United States.
Resale-as-a-Service (RaaS) and brand partnerships
A notable part of ThredUp’s strategy is Resale-as-a-Service (RaaS), where brands and retailers use ThredUp’s platform to power resale experiences for their own customers. ThredUp states that some of the world’s leading brands and retailers leverage this offering to deliver customizable, scalable resale programs. In its Impact Report highlights, ThredUp notes that it recirculated millions of secondhand items through RaaS and expanded to dozens of brand clients, including names such as Reformation, Torrid, Madewell, Gap, and Athleta.
These RaaS programs are presented as part of ThredUp’s effort to "operationalize circularity at scale," allowing partner brands to integrate secondhand channels into their own customer journeys while relying on ThredUp’s processing infrastructure, software, and data capabilities.
AI-first resale marketplace and product experience
ThredUp has publicly described a transformation into an AI-first resale marketplace, highlighting investments in data and technology to enhance both the buyer and seller experience. The company has introduced a rebranded user experience with new AI-powered features aimed at personalization and discovery in secondhand shopping.
For buyers, ThredUp has announced features such as the "Daily Edit," which provides a personalized daily curation of 100 items to shop, refreshed every 24 hours, and the "Trend Report," a weekly report surfacing fast-growing shoppable trends. It also references AI-powered discovery tools that use advanced search and dynamic shopping modules to generate personalized recommendations. Enhanced listings, with more photos, additional angles, zoom capabilities, and more accurate measurements, are intended to increase confidence in secondhand purchases.
For sellers, ThredUp describes a simplified "Clean Out" process that can include Clean Out Bags, shopping credit, and doorstep pickup to make sending items to ThredUp easier. The company also highlights increased transparency through detailed tracking and clearer payout breakdowns, as well as tools that allow sellers to flag incorrectly labeled items and see photos of rejected items to improve listing accuracy over time.
Circular fashion and sustainability focus
ThredUp repeatedly emphasizes its role in the circular fashion movement. The company states that by extending the life cycle of clothing, it is changing how consumers shop and contributing to a more sustainable future for the fashion industry. Its annual Impact Report outlines environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, including efforts to recirculate secondhand items through RaaS, manage unsold items through channels such as its "Rescues" offering, and participate in industry and policy initiatives related to sustainable fashion.
ThredUp has reported partnerships aimed at recycling and circularity, such as working with The AZEK Company to recycle materials from Clean Out bags into composite decking, and collaborating with American Circular Textiles (ACT) on policy-related efforts like a Sales and Use Tax petition related to secondhand goods. The company also references participation in initiatives such as the Slow Fashion Caucus, where it has advocated for public policy to support a more sustainable fashion future.
Scale, category coverage, and market context
Across multiple public communications, ThredUp describes itself as one of the world’s largest online resale platforms for apparel, shoes, and accessories. It reports having processed over 200 million to 250 million unique secondhand items spanning around 100 categories and about 60,000 brands. The company highlights that three out of four consumers participate in secondhand shopping and points to growing consumer interest in resale for reasons such as value, access to unique or nostalgic items, and sustainability considerations.
ThredUp’s own consumer research, such as its Holiday Report, suggests that a significant share of holiday budgets is being directed to secondhand gifts and that many shoppers are funding purchases by selling items from their closets. The company presents these findings as evidence of a broader shift toward circular shopping behavior, where resale plays a central role in how consumers manage budgets and express personal style.
Financial reporting and public company status
ThredUp is a publicly traded company with Class A common stock listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol TDUP and also referenced as trading on the Long-Term Stock Exchange. As a U.S. public company, it files periodic reports and current reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K.
In its earnings releases and related SEC filings, ThredUp reports on metrics such as revenue, gross profit, gross margin, operating loss, adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations, active buyers, and orders. The company also provides non-GAAP reconciliations and free cash flow metrics, along with financial outlooks for future quarters and full-year periods. These disclosures give investors insight into the performance of its resale marketplace, the impact of its technology investments, and the trajectory of its growth strategy.
Strategic direction and governance
ThredUp has publicly linked its strategy to technology-driven resale, AI-enabled personalization, and partnerships with brands and retailers. The company has described being more than a decade into its effort to transform how people think about and shop for secondhand clothing, evolving from an affordability-focused startup into a participant in mainstream secondhand fashion.
In governance disclosures, ThredUp has reported changes to its board of directors, including the appointment of a new director who also serves as chair of the Audit Committee and is identified as an "audit committee financial expert" under SEC rules. The company notes that non-employee directors are compensated under its Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy and are party to its standard form of indemnification agreement, as described in its registration statement and proxy materials.
How ThredUp fits within electronic shopping and retail trade
Within the broader electronic shopping and retail trade sector, ThredUp operates as an online resale marketplace rather than a traditional first-sale retailer. Its model centers on processing and reselling secondhand apparel, shoes, and accessories at scale, using proprietary technology and infrastructure to manage large volumes of unique items. The company’s RaaS offering connects its platform to established fashion brands and retailers, while its consumer-facing marketplace targets buyers and sellers who are interested in value, variety, and sustainability in fashion.
For investors and observers, ThredUp represents a technology-enabled approach to resale and circular fashion, with its financial performance tied to factors such as buyer and seller growth, operational efficiency in processing secondhand items, and adoption of its platform by partner brands through RaaS programs.