Recommerce Digest, one-stop links to press covering recommerce twice a month...
Great news for the planet in the week that included Earth Day
Welcome to the first digest of Recommerce digest. I follow recommerce news as the CEO of MaxSold, so I figured an easy to absorb one-stop digest published twice a month with recent news would be helpful to those following this category. (sign-up here to be notified of upcoming recommerce digests)
MaxSold is an industry leader in recommerce operating in nearly 2000 communities (from Boston, MA to San Diego, CA) in the US and Canada with a team of over 500 people on the ground (and growing). MaxSold established itself as an industry leader through a simplified, customer-focused and sustainable approach to the auction business. MaxSold, with recent Series B financing, is now transforming into a recommerce powerhouse, creating a significant impact to landfill avoidance, extending the life of things for new generations to love.
FloorFound, Facebook Marketplace, threadUp, eBay and Bidadoo made this week’s headlines:
FloorFound announced findings from its inaugural Earth Day consumer survey on consumer behaviours around sustainability, resale and circular commerce. The three top resale items on America’s shopping list are: clothing (40%), furniture (31%), home improvement and tools (25%). Nearly 7 in 10 Americans say their shopping habits have changed because of rising prices; 3 in 4 Americans plan to buy used or resale items in the next year. Value and sustainability are the top two reasons shoppers are embracing recommerce.
The study found that Facebook Marketplace was a top destination, but lacked trust. I presented at the Fintech summit in Toronto early April. I spoke to the point about marketplaces like LetGo, Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji and Craigslist facing trust, transparency and privacy problems.
As a marketplace platform, it’s not easy so create trust, transparency and privacy, it’s something that the team at MaxSold doesn’t take for granted, we work on this every single day.
Continuing on with press from the week, thredUp announced the Recommerce 100, a comprehensive review of brands and retailers with dedicated resale programs. It measures year-over-year growth in the number of resale shops brands are launching and includes the number of resale listings in each brand’s resale shop. There is terrific data about the industry at the above link. The press release is available here.
MSN.com reports on the growing resale industry among clothing retailers. One important addition, is in the selling side: for people who don’t necessarily want to donate or throw items away, but who also aren’t interested in being a seller on eBay, it is a good option to send clothing back in exchange for a gift card or store credit.
As inflation is on everyone’s minds, articles on how recommerce is impacted:
Modern Retail also reports that rental and resale services are anticipating that more people will use their services as inflation rises. Such providers are hoping to attract more customers with discounted, pre-used merchandise. The article indicates that while a year ago, sustainability and the environmentally friendly roots of recommerce were the primary driver, the “calculus has shifted back to resale’s historical roots of providing price-value.” Similarly, as supply chain issues persist, inflation has also trumped sustainability. The article focuses on fashion rental and reseller companies.
The article is linked here, “Rental and resale services hop to benefit from inflation concerns,”
In other news, PYMNTS.com ranked the top ten shopping apps showing eBay at number 6 and OfferUP at number 10. (MaxSold is building a recommerce app, and I’m confident that we will top that list.)
Erie Times-News, in Erie Pennsylvania reports that local second-hand retailers anticipate an uptick in business as a result of rising inflation, combined with an interest in sustainable shopping. The article is linked here.
Bidadoo (an auction service for construction equipment on eBay) achieved record first quarter sales, experienced record buyer demand and represented the highest number of sellers on the marketplace, according to a press release issued by the company. Buyer demand drove higher selling prices by an average of 35% across many equipment and truck categories. Bidadoo, uses the online marketplace to eliminate the need to travel to purchase or sell equipment. The press release is available here and is copied here. I’m sure Richie Brothers, a global company founded in Canada,$7+ Billion in market cap, a company I’ve been following for over a decade, is paying notice.
Sign-up here so you don’t miss out on upcoming recommerce related one-stop digests.
Now to the self serving part of this digest…
The Logic covered MaxSold’s series B raise
BetaKit’s “Retail Times” Column, featured MaxSold’s Series B funding announcement on April 7, 2022.
Chester Spirit in Pennsylvania picked up MaxSold’s Series B funding announcement.
Get in touch if you are looking to partner with MaxSold, we are working on enterprise solutions to provide “recommerce as a service”. If you are looking at a home or business inventory clearout go to https://maxsold.com/sell - we have an on the ground team of over 500 in 30 metros, and we can sell everything from the cleaning supplies under the sink to the Ferrari in the driveway within two weeks.
