Ever since I was a teenager, I always thought there was something magical about thrifting. Magical might be a weird term to describe what I felt but I mean, come on! Imagine going to a shop with no idea what you will buy and going out of it with 10 new outfits, some jewelry that was simply too interesting to leave behind, and even something to decorate the house; all purchased for the grand sum of €30. Sounds like magic to me!
Last year, I heard of Vinted, an online platform that allows you to buy and sell used clothes with other users on the platform, and I have to say, I was rather suspicious about its value proposition. The whole point of thrifting is going to some random shop or a clothing pile somewhere in a market and surprising yourself by finding some cool pieces….. Right?
Well, to my surprise, I fell in love with the application. The digitalization of one of my favorite activities turned out to be as fun as the real deal itself! Vinted not only made thrifting clothes as an activity available to me at any place and time but also allowed me to profit from it as now I sell pieces that I don’t wear anymore to people that might like them.
However, there are some aspects of having this activity digitized that go against “thrifting” as a concept. The main one being the overpricing of items on the application; the price of the sold pieces does not reflect the quality of the pieces and designer items are often sold for immense amounts of money. Now new startups are also trying to tackle this problem. One such startup is FENYX, the platform of which will allow individuals to unlock the total value of their belongings by highlighting alternatives to premature disposal and what the value of their belongings is at a certain moment.
With such exciting players coming to the field, it is certain that the market for online thrifting platforms or marketplaces is far from stagnant.
