The world of secondhand and preloved fashion has seen a step backward recently with the announcement of Poshmark, a popular social shopping marketplace, closing its operations in Australia, UK, and India last year. This move is set to offer exciting opportunities for other platforms in the space, such as Reluv, to fill the gap and provide a vibrant thrift and preloved marketplace for buyers and sellers.
Poshmark's closure was a result of the company's decision to refocus its attention on its core markets in the U.S. and Canada. With 8.1 million monthly active users on its phone apps, Poshmark has played a significant role in the reshaping of the fashion industry. Unfortunately, the platform's popularity was dwindling in international markets, with fewer than 500,000 active users in the past month across the UK, India, and Australia.
The sudden announcement was upsetting to sellers and buyers who had come to rely on the platform for trading preloved items. From a seller's perspective, they were given a week’s notice prior to the shutdown, slated for November 2. This left many scrambling to resolve final orders and transfer funds. Buyers, on the other hand, found themselves with short notice to use their Posh Credits and find an alternative platform for their shopping needs.
In a move to convert Poshmark shoppers, fellow marketplace eBay provided offers to Poshmark app users.
For sellers, eBay offered a 6 month free feature store subscription and 0% fees on their first five sales of 2024.
Poshmark buyers with credits remaining could secure a $20 coupon from eBay by reaching out to the company through Instagram DM. First-time buyers were also eligible for a discount.
Currently, alternatives to Poshmark include Depop, eBay, Reluv and Facebook Marketplace.
Reluv, like Poshmark, is a platform for buying and selling new and secondhand fashion. For the seller, Reluv removes the hassle of listing and liasing with customers. Buyers benefit from the knowledge that Reluv is a trusted reseller with a quality guarantee and easy returns. It’s an excellent alternative for those looking for a platform that values the concept of sustainability and encourages the idea of reusing and recycling fashion items.
As Poshmark CEO Manish Chandra expressed in his farewell message, "We hope to be back at some point in the future." Until then, the spirit of sustainable fashion will continue to thrive in platforms like Reluv.
