Pinstripe Sellers are reimagining the second-hand market by giving them the opportunity to have both a digital storefront and a physical retail presence.
Launched in June, the platform offers an alternative approach to other marketplaces such as Archive, Depop, Facebook Marketplace, and Poshmark. With Pinstripe, sellers take their clothes to local consignment stores, vintage shops, and retailers, where store employees handle the hand-off process, freeing sellers from the burden of in-person interaction. . Pinstripe also recently introduced an automated offer system that uses its AI-powered assistant to manage the bid and ask process.
Sellers often face the pressure of setting up booths at flea markets or organizing pop-up sales to sell vintage or second-hand clothing, accessories and other ready-to-wear items. People wanting to sell clothes from their closets also face challenges, such as the discomfort of strangers coming to their homes or difficulties coordinating public meetings. Additionally, the hassle of shipping products can be another major headache.
With the rise of the second-hand retail market – supported by the growing acceptance of buying second-hand and the fast fashion industry Landfill waste – Founder of Pinstripe Sam Blowmental And Question Tomiya Recognized the need for a better solution.
“We’re both second-hand buyers and sellers,” Blumenthal told TechCrunch. “The pain we really identified was that it’s easy to buy second-hand, but it’s really hard to sell it. The reason we have Landfills The one you can see from outer space, that 82 pounds More clothing is thrown away per person in the U.S. each year, because it’s easier to throw something away than to sell or donate it.
Pinstripe is currently only available to customers in New York City, where finding a decent wardrobe is a significant challenge and stores have a lot of unused space.
“What we do is we connect people to stores with a lot of clothing and a lot of space. We recognize that there is a synergistic exchange, but what stores want is more traffic and more profit, and that impact Wanting influence is a way to monetize your closet and get rid of it quickly,” Blumenthal said.
Sellers seem to benefit the most from this arrangement, receiving 70% of sales revenue. Conversely, Pinstripe takes 20%, while retail partners receive the remaining 10%.
Although its retail partners take the smallest piece of the pie, Blumenthal reports positive feedback, as the platform aims to help businesses that lack an online presence or social media marketing teams. However, they also acknowledge that limited staffing at some of these stores can present challenges, as it requires additional storage space and manpower to facilitate transactions.
Blumenthal and Tomiya also acknowledge that some customers may feel disenchanted with other markets because they cannot try on clothes before they buy. Pinstripe offers the advantage of allowing shoppers to browse and purchase items online while also experiencing the clothing in person. Customers can try on the items, and if they are not satisfied with them, they can request a refund.
In addition, Pinstripe offers next-day courier delivery for $10. However, it is important to note that buyers who choose the delivery option cannot try before they buy, and all purchases are final. Only personal buyers are eligible for refunds.
While Pinstripe stands out from many of its competitors, the app experience is what users typically expect.
For shoppers, there’s an algorithm that curates options based on their personal style. Shoppers can filter listings by size, price, brand, color, condition and more. Additionally, there is a map feature that allows users to explore nearby auctions, flea markets, pop-up shops, and estate sales. The act of lifting is standard; Buyers receive an email or app notification when their item is ready. In order to collect their purchase, they must have a verification code.
Sellers can create listings, upload photos, write descriptions and set prices on the platform. One notable difference is that there is no in-app messenger for chatting with buyers.
Pinstripe’s new AI-powered feature, called “Offer,” uses ChatGPT and open source models to help sellers manage the bidding process. Sellers can now request that the AI assistant automatically accept offers.
Also, if an item doesn’t sell after 30 days, sellers can choose to donate it, and Pinstripe sends local charities to pick it up and donate it on their behalf.
Pinstripe evolved from a similar startup founded by Blumenthal and Tomiya in 2022 called Banter, an e-commerce platform that includes multiplayer shopping and social elements, allowing users to connect with like-minded shoppers. can do Last February, the startup raised about $900,000 in a small pre-seed funding round from Breakers VC, General Advance, Muchmore Ventures, and Unpopular Ventures.
“We were motivated by seeing this massive new trend that my friends, my co-founder, and I were dealing with from a consumer perspective, which was promoting second-hand fashion. Many of them Brands and stores are not investing. [the shift]Blumenthal said.
Available in pinstripe. App store And on Web It adds a few thousand or more monthly active users and works with about a dozen retail partners, including Club Vintage, Lahn Shop, Leisure Center, and Brooklyn Vintage Club.
The platform also has notable advisors on board, including Ben Max Rubinstein (ex-Meta) and Julie Bornstein (ex-Sewfix).
Credit : techcrunch.com
