S9 Ep16 THREDUP: Cynthia Lee, Head of Merchandising at ThredUp - on merchandising one of the largest online resale platforms, and curating a 20,000 piece vintage collection.
Pre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
Release Date: 05/12/2025
Pre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
On today’s show, we’re chatting with Marika, the general manager of – she’s a global expert in the secondhand market, her career spanning career spanning from auction houses in Sydney and London to making the estate sale space more technologically-innovative for the modern day secondhand buyers and shoppers. Now, listeners of this show will probably be familiar with – the place to find estate sales online. On today’s episode you’re going to hear about some of the new ideas – like virtual line management and hybrid auction sales – that are making estate sales more...
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On today's show, we're chatting with Julia O'Mara, the co-founder of Pickle, the peer-to-peer fashion rental marketplace. Pickle's goal is making it easier and more affordable to rent high-quality clothing within communities – on today's episode, Julia will tell you about how she was working in business and product engineering when she had this idea: a gap in the fashion market. And it led her to build Pickle, a first-of-its kind platform, which – in less than a year – has boomed onto the scene, recirculating 100,000 items, top lenders paying their NYC rent with their Pickle earnings!...
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This episode is brought to you by Classic Coco, thank you for making Pre-Loved Podcast possible! This is the space where we talk about all things vintage, secondhand and pre-loved across the fashion space! And for new listeners, or longtime pals, to follow along with all things thrift, vintage, rad, retro, and sustainable, you can find me Emily Stochl, across the internet as @emilymstochl. Come hang out I’d love to chat with you! On today’s show, we’re chatting with Brie, the founder of Very Breezy, a luxury vintage fashion studio in New York. Brie is a lifelong...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
This episode is brought to you by Classic Coco, thank you for making Pre-Loved Podcast possible! This is the space where we talk about all things vintage, secondhand and pre-loved across the fashion space! And for new listeners, or longtime pals, to follow along with all things thrift, vintage, rad, retro, and sustainable, you can find me Emily Stochl, across the internet as @emilymstochl. Come hang out I’d love to chat with you! On today’s show, we’re chatting with Monique of LA Retro Girl! You might know her from being a regular vintage dealer at Pickwick...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
This episode is brought to you by Classic Coco, thank you for making Pre-Loved Podcast possible! This is the space where we talk about all things vintage, secondhand and pre-loved across the fashion space! And for new listeners, or longtime pals, to follow along with all things thrift, vintage, rad, retro, and sustainable, you can find me Emily Stochl, across the internet as @emilymstochl. Come hang out I’d love to chat with you! On today’s show, we’re chatting with Lale Boz, the founder of Normal NYC and the Not-A-Normal Show – which, if you’re listening to this...
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On today’s show, we’re chatting with Marissa, the Head of Designer Handbags & Fashion in the U.S. at Bonhams Auction House. If you’ve listened to the episode we did with Bonham’s UK-based counterpart, Meg Randell, Bonhams is building on its success in offering handbags & fashion by introducing the category to the US market. Marissa bring twenty-years experience to this position, previously she worked at Resurrection Vintage, where she learned to source, date, and place exquisite antique and couture pieces with the world’s most renowned fashion houses, museums, stylists. Then,...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
This is the space where we talk about all things vintage, secondhand a0nd pre-loved across the fashion space! And for new listeners, or longtime pals, to follow along with all things thrift, vintage, rad, retro, and sustainable, you can find me Emily Stochl, across the internet as @emilymstochl. Come hang out I’d love to chat with you! On today’s show, we’re chatting with Meg Barnes, the founder of Eclectic Inventory. Meg is a New York-based interior designer turned vintage dealer, who started an Etsy shop in 2012. Her side-hustle has grown and evolved – Eclectic Inventory...
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Inside ThredUp's Massive Vintage Collection with Cynthia Lee: On today’s show, we’re chatting with Cynthia Lee, the Head of Merchandising at ThredUp, who have just launched a limited-time, first-of-its kind curated assortment of more than 20,000 vintage pieces in partnership with Beyond Retro. From childhood treasure-hunting on San Francisco's Haight Street to managing millions of unique daily listings, Cynthia brings 15 years of merchandising expertise from powerhouse brands like Neiman Marcus, eBay, StockX, and Sephora. A lover of vintage herself, Cynthia spearheaded this initiative, and...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
On today’s show, we’re chatting with Haile Lidow, the founder of Lidow Archive, which is a clothing rental fantasyland of over 9,000 pieces of vintage & contemporary designer clothing and accessories that Haile has collected over the course of 15-years — it now occupies an entire wing of her Los Angeles home/studio. Her pieces have been worn by Chappel Roan, Lady Gaga, and Madonna and that’s because Haile loves the vibrant, the stand-out, the statement making….. And we haven’t even talked about the shoe closet yet, which contains 24 pairs of Marc Jacobs boots, including 9 pairs...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
On today’s show, we’re chatting with Amanda Marcuson, the founder of BAG CRAP. Bag Crap is a vintage bag charm brand built on nostalgi and individuality Amanda is a longtime vintage collector, with a love of treasure hunting that grew over the years as she spent countless weekends at estate sales, thrift stores, and flea markets searching for quirky items. She became a luxury handbag resale expert turned designer and charm curator. She uses vintage keychains and repurposed toys to transform nostalgic items into playful one-of-a-kind bag charms that celebrate sustainability. Her...
info_outlineInside ThredUp's Massive Vintage Collection with Cynthia Lee:
On today’s show, we’re chatting with Cynthia Lee, the Head of Merchandising at ThredUp, who have just launched a limited-time, first-of-its kind curated assortment of more than 20,000 vintage pieces in partnership with Beyond Retro.
From childhood treasure-hunting on San Francisco's Haight Street to managing millions of unique daily listings, Cynthia brings 15 years of merchandising expertise from powerhouse brands like Neiman Marcus, eBay, StockX, and Sephora.
A lover of vintage herself, Cynthia spearheaded this initiative, and she’s coming on the show today to share how it all came together. Plus, what’s involved in merchandising when you’re talking about millions of unique digital listings, why "flawed gems" deserve a second life, and what’s ahead for the industry in 2025.
Consider this your exclusive behind-the-scenes look at ThredUp's team "knee-deep in boxes" while curating this massive vintage collection! Let’s dive right in:
DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:
- [4:03] A lifelong fashion lover whose family was in the fabric business, Cynthia grew up appreciating quality clothing and shopping vintage on Haight Street.
- [6:17] The evolving art of merchandising across luxury and digital platforms for brands like eBay, StockX, Sephora, and Neiman Marcus.
- [14:41] The daily challenge of merchandising and curating 50,000 new unique listings at ThredUp
- [18:07] What’s changed the most in the secondhand industry since Cynthia started doing this work.
- [21:48] Why secondhand doesn't devalue luxury brands—it makes them more accessible
- [24:07] What’s trending in the secondhand fashion industry in 2025.
- [27:16] Sorting through hundreds of boxes for ThredUp's x Beyond Retro 20,000 piece vintage collaboration
- [35:05] How this vintage activation might shape future offerings at ThredUp.
EPISODE MENTIONS:
- ThredUp
- The Vintage Pop-Up
- Beyond Retro
- Wasteland
- 7 Timely Takeaways from the ThredUp Resale Report
- Talking Key Trends with ThredUp’s Danielle Vermeer
- Danielle Vermeer on Pre-Loved Podcast
- ThredUp 2025 Resale Report
- Awkwafina in Crazy Rich Asians
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