Love, Lydia - Notes from a geeky, plus sized artist.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Thred Up VS Poshmark + A Julep Giveaway!

Hi friends!

Today I'm finally getting to my comparison review of Poshmark and Thred Up.  Both are excellent sites to sell your new and gently used clothing, shoes, and on Poshmark accessories and makeup too.  So, let's take a look!


Thred Up

Buying from Thred up

Pros: 

  1. Good sized inventory for most sizes
  2. Quick turnover, especially in plus sizes
  3. Pretty fast delivery since your order comes straight from their warehouse
  4. Items have little or no signs of use (supposedly, for what it's worth I bought a dress that had a rip in it which got past their inspectors)
  5. Free returns within 2 weeks of receiving your order
  6. You can get $20 in credit (no strings attached! You receive it in your account as soon as your friend makes their first order of any amount.) for each person you refer, and they get $20 too.  Here is my link - http://www.thredup.com/r/A6CEKT

Cons:

  1. Very little plus size selection over a size 18, there are typically 200 or less items in my size (20-24)
  2. Some fantastic brands are not accepted by their site - City Chic, Aeropostale, American Apparel, many department store brands from stores like Belk, JC Penney, Kohls, etc, and other less known or foreign brands.
  3. People can hoard items by putting items in their cart for 24 hours, and repeating before time is up (I've found leaving a browser window with the first page of your size open and hitting reload every 10-15 minutes in the evening will show new items often)
  4. Items may be missing belts or other accessories, always noted.
  5. It can take 3 weeks or more to process a return
  6. They're desperate enough for plus sizes they tend to have a good number of items that aren't on trend from brands targeted to more mature women simply because they're nice quality. (example below, hello dated seasonal applique!)
  7. The site has sales on items only when they've been in their stock longer than they'd like, which I have never seen happen with any plus size items because the demand is so great.

My buying experience:

I bought 4 items between the credit I had from a friend, the $5 payout and spend $11 out of pocket for the remaining amount.  Of the 4 items two were too big, one was surprisingly too small, and one item fit beautifully, but had a rip at the waist.  I loved the ripped item enough to keep and repair, though I was surprised that it got past their inspections.  The other items were pristine though!  I think in most cases you will not run into this issue, so I will be buying from them again.

This is what I ordered, the green dress was the item kept, the boots were too small in the calf, but gave no measurement so I was ordering blind and assuming Lane Bryant would have reasonably wide calf boots.  The tiny flaws listed on two of the items were marks that would come out in the wash or very light signs of wear.


Selling on Thred Up

Pros:


  1. They do the work for you - you get a postage paid bag sent to you, which you fill and send back.
  2. It takes very little time.
  3. You can get cash (through Paypal) or credit for your items.
  4. You can clean out your closet in the least intimidating way possible.

Cons:

  1. They typically accept under half of most bags sent to them.
  2. You have to be very critical of what items you send in regards to condition.
  3. The don't accept certain brands and are overstocked on others, check their site for details.
  4. You get 1/4 of whatever they think any item is worth, which may not be very much.

My selling experience:

I sent a bag with a total of 17 accepted items (out of about 28, so a good ratio for those selling plus size).  I got a total if $18.06 for those items, and paid $12.99 to have the remaining items shipped back to me.  I'm glad I did because I didn't realize until after mailing things to them that they wouldn't accept items from City Chic (an Australian brand I love which is sold in Nordstrom and a growing number of their own US stores, which are so far all in California.)  So I made a whopping $5 in profit.  I was not impressed, and quickly knew I wouldn't be selling with them again.  However, depending on the stores you prefer you may do much better than I did.  I don't think their service is bad, just not right for me.  I'd rather put in the work and see greater profits because of it.


Which brings me to Poshmark

Buying from Poshmark

Pros:

  1. You usually see the exact condition of the item you're getting
  2. You can ask the seller questions
  3. The site will have sales that give you free shipping or other discounts pretty regularly.
  4. You can make a lower offer on an item you like.
  5. Shipping is usually pretty fast because sellers want to please their buyers.
  6. There is a huge amount of plus sized items!
  7. There is more variety in brands, and items since they also allow you to sell jewelry and makeup.
  8. You can earn $5 when a friend uses your code on their first purchase.  It also gets them $5 off their purchase, win-win!  You can use my code PYIHF for $5 off at http://www.Poshmark.com

Cons:

  1. There is a chance you could get an item that doesn't match up with the pictures or condition it was reported to be in, but you can dispute that and get a refund.
  2. There are more well used items to sift through.
  3. Photos of items may be less than ideal.
  4. There are people who make careers selling here, which you may or may not want to deal with.
  5. You can't return items, though you can certainly resell them.

My buying experience: 

I haven't bought from Poshmark yet, but having made a sale I can see pretty well how it works from a buyer's standpoint.  You'll be a little nervous the first time or two, but mostly have great luck with honest people like you who want to sell their clothing for fair prices.  I have my eye on several pairs of purple converse sneakers and there's much less rush to purchase items.  You have a much better chance to compare items without the pressure to buy while it's available as Thred Up would be.  Here's a shot of their search interface for desktop, it just keeps scrolling and has hundreds of items for what I searched:


Selling on Poshmark

Pros:


  1. It's easy for anyone who's tried eBay or Etsy.
  2. You mostly fill in blanks and pick the category your item is in.
  3. You print a prepaid shipping label and drop your item in the mail if your item sells.
  4. You can get cash or credit from Poshmark.
  5. You can bundle items (and add a slight discount on bundles), which make buyers more likely to purchase from you.
  6. You get a better cut of your sales.
  7. You can always go back and edit your item listings, and even lower an item's price, which will send an email to anyone who saved it if you changed the price by 15% or more.

Cons:

  1. You have to follow site rules, not too tough.
  2. You get better results if you use your own photos, so you have to be able to take reasonably good photos.  
  3. You have to post all sales through their app, not on a desktop site.
  4. You have to make your item as accurate as possible and be very honest about any flaws it may have, which can take work to sounds good.
  5. You have to remember buyers are also paying $5 for shipping.

My selling experience:

I listed my first items on October 4th and added a couple more a few days later.  One of the items listed later (October 12th!), sold on October 14th.  And I've found the process very easy to handle.  I listed the item at $15 (originally $25, it was still in new condition), a person made me an offer for $12, which I accepted, and I earned $9 off the sale. You only need 1-3 sentences about your item, a good description and a couple photos.  Pictures of the item on you or another person who's not a model tend to do well, but my first item only had a shot of it on a hanger as the main picture and a picture of the model wearing it as a secondary photo.  I love the site, and I think the only thing I don't like is that I can't list on my computer.

Thred Up

Use this Thred Up link for $20 off!     

Poshmark

My Poshmark Closet (use code PYIHF for $5 off)


If you've got more tips are trick for either site let me know in the comments.  Thanks so much for reading and please look below for my first ever giveaway!

Love,
Lydia

Julep Giveaway!


One lucky reader will get a set of 4 Julep nail colors and a set of holographic decals.  Julep makes amazing nail polish which last up to a week without chipping, and they even have a subscription box!  You can sign up here via my affiliate link and read more about my last unboxing here to find out more.  This giveaway will last just over a week, so hurry and enter while you can!  The colors included are as follows: 
  1. Lydia - a Stardust textured finish in a pyrite color that shows as gold to green
  2. Lee - a red creme finish (these first two being my first and middle names!)
  3. Florence - a lovely nude creme shade
  4. Sandi - an eggplant creme color



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Japan Crate Unboxing

Hello folks,

Today I'm sharing my unboxing of a new subscription box I'm trying called Japan Crate!  Bryan and I figured we'd try one month and see how we liked it.  They send out a mini, original, or premium sized box of Japanese snack to your door each month.  Ready for the delicious results?

Japan Crate


 Step one, receive box
 
Inside treats are tightly packed!

There's also a booklet with information on Japanese culture, a manga (not going to spoil the storyline by putting it in here, but it's really cute!), and guide to the contents of the box.


Here are all the snacks, so you can get an idea of what's in the premium box.  It's a ton!  Bryan and I would share an item or two each night and we rushed it a little because I was so excited about writing it and finished in about a week.  If you're single or not sharing it might last a lot longer!




There was also another cute item in its own little ball, an adorable "Food Dog Gashapon"  This little Boston Terrier looks like he's stuck inside some French toast!  And the example pup in the guide was a Jack Russell inside a sandwich. 

On to the Snacks!



Chocolate Mini Pancakes - This item was included in all three boxes, mini through premium.  Apparently Japanese people like a red bean version of filling, but I'm happy with the chocolate myself!  The pancakes were a bit spongy and the filling almost like the jelly balls you can sometimes get to go in bubble tea.  I feel like these are their version of our gummy burgers and other novelties in some ways.  Now for our ratings:

Bryan ***1/2
Lydia ****


Rum Raisin Soft Candy - Again this was an item included in all three box sizes.  These candies were creamy and surprisingly good in flavor.  They reminded us a little of Mentos when it came to the texture.  We really liked them, and want to try more.
Bryan ****1/2
Lydia ****


Grape Gummy Ribbon - These were included in the original and premium crates.  Inside the bag are the individually wrapped candies that can be pulled apart, though we didn't bother trying.  They have a less gummy feel, and kind of felt like gum, but instead of staying solid as you chewed it broke down some, so you won't mistake it for gum.  I really liked the grape flavor, but found the texture a little weird.
Bryan ***1/2
Lydia ***1/2


Poifull Soda Beans - These were in the original and premium crates.  They're jelly beans in Japanese soda flavors including cola, ramune, lemon squash, and cider.  The flavors were pretty good and even had a bit of fizz to them.
Bryan ***1/2
Lydia ***1/2


Chitto Soda DIY - This little kit allowed you to make your own ramune soda flavored mochi.  It was included in the original and premium boxes.  In the end you get a creation that's a cross between gummy candy and jello, which Bryan was less a fan of because he doesn't care for jello much.  It was fun to make, though at first I was a little nervous that I might mess it up.  I really liked the main pink part, but the blue glaze applied at the end was just ok.  I loved the flavor though!  There a couple more pictures below, with the finished version in the second shot.
Bryan **1/2
Lydia ****


Sour Fruit Gummies - These gummies were only in the premium box.  The flavor of these was good, but pretty typical, grape, peach, apple and orange.  I thought they were a little too chewy, but Bryan really enjoyed them.  They weren't very sour, just a little.
Bryan ***
Lydia **


Rich Cheese Scones - These are pretty much Cheetos, but with a sweeter creamy taste.  They came in the original and premium size boxes.  I thought they were good, and Bryan is less a fan of Cheetos overall, but liked the flavor so our ratings were:
Bryan ***
Lydia ***1/2


Gyutan Umaibo Stick - We got three of these corn sticks in our box, and they came in all the box sizes.  They're cow tongue flavored, which Bryan immediately thought was gross.  I was more openminded about them because I has some delicious cow tongue tacos while in Mexico a couple years ago because my friend Michael told me had tongue normally back in Australia where he was from and I'd like it.  I did, but this version not so much.  Bryan and I both thought they were overly spiced and Funyun like.  The smell seemed really strong to me, and it tended to linger.
Bryan *
Lydia *


Tohato Caramel Corn - These snacks were in all three box sizes.  They also had a texture like Cheetos, but a good caramel popcorn like flavor that was free of hulls.  They were supposed to be a peanut version, but there were only 5 actual nuts in our bag.  I enjoyed the flavor and so did Bryan, though again the texture was less to his liking.
Bryan ***
Lydia ****


Bireley's Orange  - Only the premium box includes a beverage, and this orange drink is what I got.  Bireley's was originally an American brand but took off when brought to Japan, and that's now the only place you can find it!  I really enjoyed this, it had a true orange juice flavor, but was less acidic and a little less intense.  It's not carbonated at all.  Bryan is less a fan of orange juice, hence his rating.
Bryan ***
Lydia ***1/2


Mysterious Soda Balls - This was another premium only item.  They felt like Skittles in terms of texture, but came in soda flavors - cola, pink lemonade, cider, grape, melon, lemon squash, and Calpis.  (Calpis is a milky, uncarbonated beverage that has a touch os acidic tang, a little like yogurt)  I thought some of the flavors were good and didn't like others as well.  My favorites with the Calpis, melon, pink lemonade, and lemon squash.
Bryan ***
Lydia ****


Vitamin C Lemon Drops - At first I thought I might like these, Bryan had figured he probably wouldn't because he's not very fond of citrus flavors.  However, I noted on the label that there's no actual sugar in them, just aspartame, which I tend to be sensitive to.  When we tried them they had a touch of menthol like buzz, but I found the aspartame overwhelming.  Bryan said he might have liked them in another flavor.
Bryan **
Lydia *

Overall I was really happy with this box, and would like to keep getting it.  Though we're on a tight budget right now, so it might be cut for a little while.  Hope you liked this review, and if you know of a subscription box you think I'd like or you'd like to see me review let me know in the comments below!

Love,
Lydia