WalMart entering the pre-owned fashion market

[luckythewinner]

It may get even tougher for used clothing sellers: 

"Walmart on Wednesday announced a partnership with resale platform ThredUp to sell previously owned branded clothing, shoes, handbags and more online"

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/27/business/walmart-thredup-partnership/index.html

[slippinjimmy]

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@inhawaii wrote:

Interesting. I wouldn't think Wal-Mart  would want to "bother" selling used clothes. I guess the market for used clothes is better than i thought.

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Walmart is in a pitched battle with every other online seller or Marketplace. Their goal is to surpass Amazon and become the dominant player worldwide just as they are the overwhelmingly dominant B&M retailer.

[chapeau-noir]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
Also, Thred Up is basically an online consignment company, they aren't going out to yard sales and thrifts to acquire inventory, people send them inventory. And they vet it (which means they are a little picky).

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But in my experience not overly picky - their standards aren't as high as mine, for instance. 

IMHO, Wally World just wants a thumb in every pie, but I'm all for recycling clothing as much as possible.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

The growth of the market for pre-owned fashion has been written up for a couple years now in the business papers, etc. And "recycling" is a big part of the attraction, especially among younger buyers who are concerned about global warming. WalMart is making a smart business move by helping to "normalize" a market that had once been on the fringes of retail. It will help make them more attractive to younger shoppers in particular.

[chapeau-noir]

They're also just the latest giving it a go - other chain stores have been trying out selling pre-owned along with new.  Thing is, the pre-owned fashion market is a lot tougher than many people, particularly Suits, might think, particularly trying to scale it.  The supply chain is constantly disrupted, it cycles quickly and needs extreme agility.  Thred-Up does it fairly well because that's all they do, but I've been buying and selling there for years and I can tell they struggle.   Same with Swap.  I'll be curious to see how it works out (as a fashion seller I don't feel particularly threatened by it, but I'm always interested).

[chapeau-noir]

I should have mentioned up there that so far these ventures seem to be all with Thred-Up.

[mschacha]

They are opening a Starbucks in the parking lot at our Walmart. My thought was you go to Walmart to save a dime and you will spend $6 on a cup of coffee. I can't see it working out in my little town.

[luckythewinner]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
luckythewinner,
That's what I'm saying. If you are big enough to constitute a "brand" (for example, you ARE the Ralph Lauren Company, rather than somebody who just sells Ralph Lauren stuff), you can "partner" with ebay to sell here/promote your brand here

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Actually, you said it was "forbidden".

But now you seem to just be saying that your business model is not successful enough to afford to do it. 

[luckythewinner]

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@m60driver wrote:

And you are surprised?  

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I don't recall saying I was suprised. What gave you that idea?

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

lucky,

Before I posted, I glanced at Thred Ups ebay presence, and it looks like they specifically mention their own website. Pretty sure that is generally forbidden for us regular sellers, is it not? Which is why I said they might have their own arrangement with ebay. And your link suggests THAT "advertising" is probably the arrangement they have. 

All I was trying to say is that Thred Up is here (as well as on WalMart, and probably elsewhere) and their presence here appears to be as a "brand", not as a regular ebay seller.  I'd guess some of the rules differ. I have no objection to that. I'm not a brand and don't aspire to be one. My business model suits me. I assume their business model suits them.

[goldrushfinds]

Wow, I just see a total fail coming. Having sold used clothing for too long myself, I don't see any way a large company can profitably scale the sale of pre-owned clothes. First of all, they would have to carefully screen all clothing for defects and cleanliness. Then they have to photograph the clothing and write a description. On top of that, most consumers now want measurements. Then they have to package the item and ship it. All this for some miniscule profit. I'm betting on a quick failure (both parties, Walmart and Thredup). 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

https://www.ebay.com/str/thredup

[goldrushfinds]

my-cottage - Thanks for the link. They are not the first company to try this. I have quite a number come and go. Too much competition. I wish them luck (not really).

[luckythewinner]

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@goldrushfinds wrote:

Wow, I just see a total fail coming. Having sold used clothing for too long myself, I don't see any way a large company can profitably scale the sale of pre-owned clothes. First of all, they would have to carefully screen all clothing for defects and cleanliness. Then they have to photograph the clothing and write a description. On top of that, most consumers now want measurements. Then they have to package the item and ship it. All this for some miniscule profit. I'm betting on a quick failure (both parties, Walmart and Thredup). 

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IMHO you are viewing this from the perspective of a traditional eBay reseller of used clothes, and not from the perspective of one of the largest new-clothing retailers in the world. 

When this was negotiated, do you think WalMart went hat-in-hand to ThredUp and begged them to consider a partnership at any cost? Of course not. ThredUp gave up the farm just to be included in the conversation.

WalMart dictated the terms, WalMart will make Thredup do all that work, and ThredUp will take all the risk. And I suspect WalMart will be very picky about what they allow on their site, and only accept like-new clothing in current fashions and compatible brands. 

I also wouldn't be surprised if WalMart starts sending its returns into the ThredUp pipeline as well. 

As for "miniscule profit", these items will be on the WalMart website and marketed to people who do not shop on eBay and who will be comparing prices with new WalMart items, not used eBay items. There are five adults in my immediate family, and four of them have never bought anything on eBay. 

[karthok.of.daolodus]

where did you find all of this out - since you post with a puppet id can't tell if you even know anything about used clothing market.

[tellmemama]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@goldrushfinds wrote:

Wow, I just see a total fail coming. Having sold used clothing for too long myself, I don't see any way a large company can profitably scale the sale of pre-owned clothes. First of all, they would have to carefully screen all clothing for defects and cleanliness. Then they have to photograph the clothing and write a description. On top of that, most consumers now want measurements. Then they have to package the item and ship it. All this for some miniscule profit. I'm betting on a quick failure (both parties, Walmart and Thredup). 

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IMHO you are viewing this from the perspective of a traditional eBay reseller of used clothes, and not from the perspective of one of the largest new-clothing retailers in the world. 

When this was negotiated, do you think WalMart went hat-in-hand to ThredUp and begged them to consider a partnership at any cost? Of course not. ThredUp gave up the farm just to be included in the conversation.

WalMart dictated the terms, WalMart will make Thredup do all that work, and ThredUp will take all the risk. And I suspect WalMart will be very picky about what they allow on their site, and only accept like-new clothing in current fashions and compatible brands. 

I also wouldn't be surprised if WalMart starts sending its returns into the ThredUp pipeline as well. 

As for "miniscule profit", these items will be on the WalMart website and marketed to people who do not shop on eBay and who will be comparing prices with new WalMart items, not used eBay items. There are five adults in my immediate family, and four of them have never bought anything on eBay. 

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While some of your post bears some merit, I can assure you the part I bolded does not.  Nothing that Walmart stores carry would ever be found on ThredUp.  They only sell mid range name brands and higher end designers.

Route 66 or whatever their store line is qualifies as neither.