Why Are Used Clothing Marketplaces Hot All Of A Sudden?

The recession is over, but maybe Americans have retained the frugal streak that it gave us. A hot new category of Silicon Valley startups are marketplaces for used clothing, especially those that make it easier to list clothing for sale. A recent promotion between marketplace ThredUP and Target sold out almost we were even to tell readers about it. Why are people into old clothes all of a sudden?

Well, at the moment, it’s not that consumers are into the marketplaces as much as investors are. After some initial resistance and confusion from venture capitalists, now investors are throwing money at used-clothing marketplaces. While there might be plenty of Lululemon flippers, they’re meant for regular people who want to sell their old clothes quickly and easily. The catch: they might lout on some money on thee deal.

The marketplaces offer varying levels of help and automation and market niches, and eventually the Old Clothes Wars will end and a few sites will emerge victorious. What they have in common is that they’re filling a gap in both the used-stuff market and the fashion market.

Because of the variety of sizes, colors, and styles, standard e-commerce marketing doesn’t work so well, especially when inventory coming from sellers can be erratic.

Why Is Silicon Valley Pouring Millions of Dollars Into Old Clothes? [Bloomberg]