When Jonathan Elias moved back to Toronto from San Francisco, the self-described fashionista ran into a problem trying to sell high-end clothing he no longer wanted.
Traditional consignment businesses wanted commissions too high, he found eBay cumbersome to post, and listing and shipping fees too expensive, and Craigslist and Kijiji, he felt, were cluttered shopping experiences.
Based on the idea that necessity is the mother of all invention, Mr. Elias created ShopMyClothes in 2009, a free online marketplace to buy pre-owned, gently used high-end clothing and accessories.
To learn more about the business, I interviewed Andrew Macdonald, who joined ShopMyClothes last April as chief operating officer.
Q: How does the service work?
A: With ShopMyClothes, interested shoppers can browse the marketplace without signing up for an account. They can search using our advanced tools, such as filters to search by geography, categories (e.g. jeans), type (e.g. slim), size, and brand.
When they find something they like, they submit an inquiry via our site and, from that point, communicate with the seller directly, usually via e-mail, but sometimes text or phone.
Buyers and sellers usually meet up in person to complete the transaction (we suggest a local Starbucks or Tim Hortons), as this way items can be tried for fit, feel, and condition. Buyers get a great deal as well – items typically retail for 25 per cent to 30 per cent of their original sale price, and are without any taxes or shipping costs.
Though sellers must sign up for an account, the process is simple and posting items for sale is free. The listing tool is intuitive, and their ‘for sale’ listings reside in our database until the item is marked sold or removed from the site. About 30 per cent of items posted to our site to-date have sold.
Q: What market niche is it filling?
A: We are the only free, curated marketplace tool focused on local resale of the best brands in fashion. We are focused on building a community of fashion lovers, not merely bargain hunters.
A number of elements of this ‘business definition’ are important to us.
We are local. For resale of gently used fashion items, we think this is a crucial element to having a positive transaction experience. Users have told us they are most comfortable meeting up locally, so they can see the item in person, check its condition, and, most importantly for fashion items, try it on for fit and feel.
We look at every single item posted to the site on an hourly basis. If the brand does not fit our site’s mandate for high-quality fashion, we gently ask the seller to de-list it, and if they don’t comply, we remove it.
Additionally, authenticity is a huge concern of high-end fashion buyers, and we maintain a strict “no fakes” policy. If an item is listed as a “replica” or a “copy,” we immediately remove it. If an item is suspected as fake by us in our manual screening process, we ask for proof of authenticity from the seller. If they can’t provide it, their listing is removed.
Additionally, there is a feedback flagging system for the community to police itself, and we will be making this tool more robust in the coming months.
Q: What has been the reception so far?
A: With any marketplace business, there is a classic chicken-and-egg scenario. You can’t promote the site to customers before there are sellers in the marketplace, because who wants to shop in an empty store? On the other hand, how do you convince sellers to set up shop before there are customers walking the grounds?
