Vinted is an online marketplace for second-hand clothing and curated luxury fashion items. It claims to have “zero tolerance for replicas” and to check with luxury brands before the sale.
The company, headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, was founded in 2008 by Milda Mitkute and Justas Janauskas.
Vinted strictly upholds its policy on reselling. The site was not created for regular merchandising businesses, and it imposes limitations on resellers to help individual people trade their pre-loved items.
Under the company’s Catalog of Rules, selling for regular income is discouraged. The platform may even deactivate an account that intentionally sells for profit.
Vinted is free to use. Sellers on this platform can list second-hand clothing and vintage fashion items, which are then packed by the company with a prepaid shipping label. Unlike many competitors, which charge sellers, fees are charged to buyers on this marketplace.
Known as the Buyer Protection Service, these fees account for additional services, insurance, and shipping costs.
Check out Vinted's detailed founding story and business model here
The founders of Vinted, Lithuanian entrepreneurs Mitkute and Janauskas, met at a party where Mitkute pitched her idea for an online marketplace inspired by her professed “shopping addiction.”
Mitkute, who had just moved out for college, realized how many clothes she had and how few of them she actually wore. The idea for the company struck her when she tried to imagine how many other girls were caught up in the same wardrobe dilemma.
After some back-and-forth, Mitkute and Janauskas thought that they could use their talent and frustration as inspiration to establish an empire where users could buy and sell pre-loved products. That led to the establishment of Vinted in 2008.
As time went on, Janauskas and Mitkute eventually became less and less involved in the operations of Vinted. And in 2016, Thomas Plantenga, previously an advisor to the firm’s founders, was appointed as the new CEO.
Since then, Vinted has gone through a trajectory of success. Just three years after Plantenga’s appointment, Vinted became the first Lithuanian unicorn company, a non-publicly listed firm valued at $1 billion.
Vinted is available in 18 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. The company reportedly had $263 million in revenues in 2021. That year, $2.8 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) was transacted through the site. Vinted also concluded 2021 with around 45 million users.
The methodology used to rank competitors of Vinted is based on various data points. These include GMV, revenue, the number of active users, and anything else relevant.
For comparability’s sake, this analysis only considers competition from other resale marketplaces in the fashion and clothing industry. The competition in electronics, home decor, collectibles, and alike is not included (although some of the below-listed companies also operate in those industries).
Additionally, companies that Vinted (partially) owns are included as well. For instance, United Wardrobe, a competitor, was acquired by Vinted in 2020. Still, the two continue to compete in some areas of Europe.
Lastly, this analysis doesn’t include indirect competitors of Vinted. For example, traditional luxury brands, social media-based clothing lines, fast fashion stores, in-store shopping malls, and boutiques.
So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the top 10 competitors of Vinted.
1. Poshmark
Headquarters: Redwood City, California Founder(s): Manish Chandra, Tracy Sun, Chetan Pungaliya, and Gautam Golwala Year Founded: 2011
Poshmark is another rising marketplace for second-hand fashion. The platform sells clothing and accessories for women, men, and children, as well as home decor and electronics. Unlike Vinted, Poshmark does not take control of the products listed on its platform.
Poshmark also hosts Posh Parties, which are virtual events for specific categories. These are like department stores that focus on certain groups of products to give them a higher chance of being sold.
For example, when Poshmark holds a Posh Party for Calvin Klein, all of the brand’s products will be featured as part of today’s sale. Shoppers can browse through these items to choose from a variety of products by Calvin Klein.
Chandra, one of the company’s founders, first worked on a startup called Kaboodle, a platform where people can share home decor. A few years later, he sold it and started Poshmark.
Together with some former Kaboodle connections, Chandra immediately gathered a couple of funds and investors. Poshmark gradually grew and expanded to Canada in 2019. Two years later, it also entered Australia and India.
Poshmark went public in 2021 and raised $277 million in funding. It also plans to expand into Europe, although it has not yet announced which specific country will be its next stop. As stated above, the company only serves the US, Canada, Australia, and India.
According to Poshmark’s annual report, the company, in 2021, earned $326 million in revenues and sold more than $1.8 billion worth of merchandise on the platform (GMV). During the same year, Poshmark reportedly had around 7.6 million users.
Sources: Poshmark Financial Reports, Poshmark Parties, SuperPosher, VentureBeat
2. StockX
Headquarters: Detroit, Michigan Founder(s): Josh Luber, Dan Gilbert, Chris Kaufman, Greg Schwartz Year Founded: 2015
StockX is also an online marketplace for curated high-end brands. Josh Luber, the founder of StockX, has been an entrepreneur since he was young.
Like many young boys, Luber also went through the phase of desperately begging his parents to buy him his “dream shoes,” which–when talking about teenage boys–are likely some pairs of high-profile brands that cost a month’s worth of income.
Luber aspired to help young men somehow access footwear they could confidently wear. At the peak of the basketball and NBA hype in the 2010s, the launch of StockX was just in time to offer the shoes of the fans’ favorite players.
Initially, StockX focused on the founder’s goal: shoes. But in time, as StockX adjusted to customers’ needs, it gradually established its name in other product lines, including clothing and accessories.
StockX works like a stock-bidding market. People who want to buy products can browse through the site, and if they see something they like, they can decide on a price to offer. The highest bidder wins.
Prospective sellers ship the item to StockX, where it will undergo authentication. If the product is successfully authenticated, StockX pays the seller and transfers it into its inventory.
After five years at StockX, Josh Luber announced his resignation as CEO amidst the company’s newly found success of reaching a $1 billion valuation. The then-CEO admitted that among the reasons for this mutual decision was that he wanted to focus on another startup.
In 2021, StockX’s platform recorded over 300 million monthly visitors across more than 200 countries, including the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK. During the same period, StockX reportedly sold over $1.8 billion worth of products. Based on estimates, the company was expected to have earned over $528 million in revenue.
Sources: About StockX, Front Office Sports, Highsnobiety, Inc Magazine, Quartz, StockX
3. Vestiaire Collectives
Headquarters: Paris, France Founder(s): Fanny Moizant, Sophie Hersan, Sébastien Fabre, Christian Jorge, Alexander Cognard, Henrique Fernandes Year Founded: 2009
Vestiaire Collectives is a curated marketplace for luxury brands and pre-loved fashion. Here, customers can choose from second-hand branded clothes to bags, footwear, and accessories.
Vestiaire offers sellers the opportunity to post their products on the platform. Upon settling a sale, they can then ship the item to Vestiaire for authentication. And if it passes, Vestiaire will ship it out to the customer.
The platform is strict when it comes to the brand. It only allows authentic high-end brands; thus, you won’t see regular, mass-produced items on Vestiaire Collective. Overall, the company’s goal is to help users declutter their wardrobes, which had been a long-time frustration of its founder.
As a native Parisian, Fanny Moizant was always exposed to high-end brands. Fanny saw how influencers could quickly get rid of their pieces with a well-deserved value, while her friends couldn’t seem to find the right place to flaunt their wide range of outfits. She thought of letting ordinary people experience that, too.
In 2009, the young entrepreneur officially launched Vestiaire Collectives with her other five co-founders. They started the platform with 3,000 pieces sourced from friends’ wardrobes in Paris.
Vestiaire Collective’s main selling point, aside from easy decluttering, is that it helps people own second-hand luxury items without breaking the bank.
Following the company’s consistent success, Vestiaire Collectives was hailed as the eleventh French unicorn company in 2021. A year later, the company announced its acquisition of Tradesy.
Vestiaire Collective did not regularly report financial figures before the acquisition. According to a post-acquisition report, Vestiaire and Tradesy have a combined GMV of $1 billion. It is estimated that the company earns $250 million yearly and had 8–15 million users before Tradesy.
Sources: Forbes, Irish Tatler, PR Newswire, Tatler Asia, Vestiaire Collective Contact & Community
4. Depop
Headquarters: London, UK Founder(s): Simon Beckerman Year Founded: 2011
Depop is an online marketplace that sells fashion and clothing products for men, women, and children. The platform sells mass-produced, unbranded products and authenticates high-end brands for customers on the platform.
Depop’s founder originally intended to create a social app through which readers of his magazine could purchase advertised products. However, he went beyond that when he accepted PayPal as a form of payment, enabling his clients to sell their own items.
Before he knew it, Depop had grown into a platform that fused the social aspects of Instagram with the commercial principles of eBay. After a series of innovations and realigning goals, Depop became known for its cheap yet high-quality shopping experience.
Unlike Vinted, Depop is well suited for small businesses. The Depop app is also designed in such a way that buyers can easily scroll, which means more opportunities to draw in customers who weren’t actively hunting for the item until they stumbled across it.
Currently, the platform is available in over 150 countries. In 2021, the company reported $670 million GMV and 30 million users. The same year, Depop announced that it had been acquired by Etsy, a popular online marketplace for handmade and vintage products.
The acquisition helped Depop gain more credibility with investors. With more funds, Depop had more opportunities to improve its services through technology development and fraud protection.
Sources: Depop Newsroom, Depop Premium, Digital Commerce 360, PR Newswire, Trovalarisposta
5. The RealReal
Headquarters: San Francisco, California Founder(s): Julie Wainwright Year Founded: 2011
The RealReal is a luxury consignment platform. It identifies and ships authenticated products from sellers to its warehouses, then sells these items to end customers.
The RealReal acts as a consignee. Upon receiving authenticated products, sellers should wait for their products to be purchased before they receive payment. Payments are based on predetermined commission rates.
Wainwright, the founder of The RealReal, spent her time between ventures working on Reel.com and Pets.com. She later closed them down in 2000 when she was going through a divorce. Although the decision received criticism, she later got back on her feet and revived her entrepreneurial spirit.
Once back, she immediately began to study the market. She realized that although e-commerce is a potent business, it often lacks authentic, luxury items that customers want to have. In addition, the long lines in consignment stores in San Francisco were an issue she wanted to address.
With those ideas at hand, Wainwright launched The RealReal in 2011. The company was dubbed the first Resale’s New Wave after it went public in 2018. It had recently raised $115 million in funding before its IPO. That figure grew to $300 million after the IPO.
The RealReal is available in 60 countries, with 797,000 users in 2021. The same year, it reportedly earned $120 million from $1.4 billion worth of products sold on the platform.
Source: Forbes, Forbes, The New Yorker, The RealReal, The RealReal Annual Report
6. eBay
Headquarters: San Jose, California Founder(s): Pierre Omidyar Year Founded: 1995
As an e-commerce giant, eBay is a household name in many countries. It is an online marketplace for wide-ranging products. eBay also has the eBay Authenticity Guarantee feature, which lets customers shop for high-end brands with guaranteed originality.
eBay works by letting consumers independently sell their items—that is, by giving sellers the power to transact directly with their buyers. Upon sale, it is only then that eBay will physically check the product’s authenticity (if previously arranged).
When sellers put an item on eBay for auction, they also list it with an end time, which is one of the differences between eBay and Vinted. They pay a percentage fee to eBay if the item sells.
On the other hand, Vinted has no expiration date, so the items will be available online until they’re sold or the sellers take them down.
Another thing that sets eBay apart from Vinted is the variety of products to choose from. While this may benefit many, some may appreciate Vinted’s focus more, with options limited only to fashion.
Sports equipment, high-tech gadgets, and kitchen tools can all be sold on eBay. These are prohibited on Vinted, as specified in their Catalog Rules.
It’s currently possible to buy and sell items on eBay in 180 countries. However, the site’s Authenticity Guarantee is available only for a select few, including the UK, Japan, Canada, Germany, Italy, and South Korea. According to its 2021 report, eBay has 159 million users.
eBay does not release financial information about its luxury line as of writing. In 2021, the company reportedly earned $10 billion in revenues while processing $87 billion worth of goods.
Sources: eBay Annual Report, eBay Authenticity Guarantee, eBay History, eBay Pages, Statista
7. ThredUp
Headquarters: Oakland, California Founder(s): James Reinhart, Chris Homer, Oliver Lubin Year Founded: 2009
Reinhart founded ThredUp to make it easier to sell used clothing. Back then, he needed some cash and saw how many clothes he had that he didn’t wear.
In hopes of making his own, he attempted to sell some “lightly worn” clothes in thrift stores. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t sell. To know if others had faced similar problems, Reinhart interviewed every man, woman, and child on the street and at Harvard University, where he studied business and public policy.
He learned that most owners threw their clothing away after removing it from their closets. He recognized an opportunity to improve the process by which people could trade in clothing they no longer wore and profit from it. That’s when he got the idea of a peer-to-peer platform to let people casually buy and sell pre-loved items.
ThredUp keeps the products in its own inventory, meaning authenticated products are already under the company’s care. Only after a sale will the item’s seller receive the corresponding payment.
ThredUp used to focus solely on men’s fashion, but as the company grew, it had to adapt by branching into women’s and children’s clothing, which it throughout 2013.
The company also introduced the Clean Out Kit, a reusable bag that users can order to put their decluttered items in. Accepted women’s and children’s items in the bag can earn the user cash or credit.
ThredUp is only available in the US and Canada, and there have been no announcements or plans for expansion yet. Despite that, the company reportedly had over 1.6 million users in 2021. ThredUp went public in the same year and earned more than $251 million in revenue.
The company’s gross domestic merchandise is not disclosed, but it’s been said that ThredUp experienced a 50% increase in GMV in 2021.
Sources: Crunchbase, Insider Intelligence, Latana, ThredUp, ThredUp Annual Report, ThredUp Help Center
8. Tradesy
Headquarters: Los Angeles, California Founder(s): Tracy DiNunzio, Sash Catanzarite Year Founded: 2009
Tradesy is an online platform that lets users buy and sell pre-loved, authenticated branded products. It’s particularly popular with female shoppers looking for deals on clothing. In fact, during its early years, Tradesy (formerly named RecycledBride) focused on wedding-related items only.
DiNunzio, the founder of Tradesy, was inspired by her own experience of not being able to find clothes she liked in her closet—even though there were a lot of unworn items. She thought about how women could help each other get the clothes that best suited them if only they could “share” closets.
In 2009, she made that idea come to life in her apartment’s bedroom, which served as the company’s first office. She started RecycledBride to help brides and gradually added more clothing items, leading to its rebranding as Tradesy in 2012.
Early in 2022, Vestiaire Collectives, a competitor, completed the acquisition of Tradesy for an undisclosed amount. The venture reportedly resulted in a combined GMV of more than $1 billion.
Before the acquisition, Tradesy had around 7 million users and an estimated annual revenue of $30 million.
Sources: About Tradesy, CBS News, Los Angeles Times, Observer, PR Newswire, Yahoo Finance
9. Mercari
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan Founder(s): Shintaro Yamada, Tommy Tomishima, Ryo Ishizuka Year Founded: 2013
Mercari is an e-commerce platform that offers a variety of products, including pre-loved luxury goods. With Mercari Authenticate, shoppers can safely purchase these items from the platform. Aside from fashion, Mercari also sells toy collectibles and sports gear.
The company also launched “Mercari Shops,” where users can create their own online stores and sell their products straight to consumers using only their smartphones. They may also follow one another and like products on the platform.
Yamada, a serial entrepreneur, came up with the idea for this business while traveling abroad. He wanted to make it easier for people to buy and sell products by creating an online marketplace. A year later, the platform already had more than 1 million product listings.
Within just three years of operating, Mercari became the first unicorn company in Japan (a non-publicly listed company valued at $1 billion). The company went public in 2018 and has raised more than $1.2 billion throughout its existence.
In 2021, Mercari earned more than $1 billion in revenues and recorded around $15 billion in gross merchandise value. This community-powered marketplace reportedly had 19 million active users in the same year.
Aside from the company’s strong presence in Japan and the US, Mercari offers cross-border sales to more than 100 countries.
Sources: About Mercari, Akihabara News, Digital Innovation and Transformation, Mercari UK, Statista, Tech in Asia
10. Grailed
Headquarters: New York City Founder(s): Arun Gupta, Jake Metzger, Julian Connor Year Founded: 2013
Grailed is an online peer-to-peer marketplace for designer gear. Like Vinted, this platform has its own system that checks the authenticity of products before they are listed in the feed.
However, unlike Vinted, Grailed uses digital authentication to verify the originality of its products. It uses photos, artificial intelligence, and expert moderators. Items that pass the authentication process will display a badge indicating their authenticity.
Gupta, who was working on a smart wristband Wakemate at the time, got the idea for Grailed when he was using Reddit’s marketplace and Styleforum. He created the site to share the purchasing experience on niche forums like these.
At Grailed, aside from curated products, items are also categorized into Basics (vintage and products for the masses), Hype (streetwear and new releases), and Grailed (the upscale and rare finds).
Grailed mainly offers men’s fashion, although it also launched a sister site named Heroine in 2017 to cater to female customers. The site also has a “white glove” service that helps influential people find rare menswear.
Grailed is popular among users from the United States, but the platform also ships internationally. In 2021, it reportedly had around 7 million users. Revenue figures are currently not being disclosed, though.
Sources: Business of Fashion, Complex, Grailed Authentication, Grailed Help Center, OneShop
