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Pencil case It aims to reimagine the used market by giving sellers the opportunity to have a digital storefront and physical retail presence.
Launched in June, the platform offers an alternative approach compared to other marketplaces such as Archive, Depop, Facebook Marketplace and Poshmark. With Pinstripe, sellers take their clothes to local consignment stores, vintage stores, and retailers, where store employees handle the delivery, freeing sellers from the burden of handling in-person interactions. Pinstripe also recently introduced an automated bidding system that uses its AI-powered assistant to manage the bidding and ordering process.
Sellers often face pressure when setting up booths at flea markets or organizing pop-up sales to sell vintage or used clothing, accessories, and other curated items. Those looking to sell clothes from their own closets also face challenges, such as the inconvenience of strangers visiting their homes or the difficulties of coordinating public gatherings. Additionally, the hassle of shipping products can be another major headache.
With the emergence of the used retail market – driven by the growing acceptance of purchasing used items and the fast fashion industry’s contribution to… Landfill waste– Founders of Pencil Case Sam Blumenthal and Taro Tomiya She recognized the need for a better solution.
“Both of us are passive shoppers as well as sellers,” Blumenthal told TechCrunch. “The pain point we really identified was that it’s easy to shop for used items, but it’s really hard to sell them. Our reason Landfills That you can see from outer space, that is 82 pounds “Every person in America throws away clothes every year, because it’s much easier to get rid of something in order to sell it or donate it.”
Pinstripe is currently only available to users in New York City, where finding adequate closet storage space is a challenge, and stores have ample unused space.
“What we do is we connect people who have a lot of clothes and stores with a lot of space,” Blumenthal said. “We realize there’s a synergistic exchange, but what stores want is more traffic and more revenue, and what influencers want is a way to monetize their wardrobe.” And a way to get rid of it immediately.
Sellers appear to benefit the most from this arrangement, as they receive 70% of sales revenue. In return, Pinstripe gets 20%, while retail partners get the remaining 10%.
Although its retail partners take the smallest slice 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, he also acknowledges that the limited number of employees in some of these stores may present challenges, as it requires additional warehouse space and manpower to facilitate transactions.
Blumenthal and Tomiya also realized that some customers might be frustrated with other marketplaces because they couldn’t try on clothes before buying. Pinstripe offers the advantage of allowing buyers to browse and purchase items online while also trying on clothes in person. Customers can try out the items, and if they are not satisfied with them, they can request a refund.
Additionally, Pinstripe offers express next day delivery for $10. However, it is important to note that buyers who select the delivery option cannot try before they buy, and all purchases are final. Only personal shoppers are eligible for a refund.
Although Pinstripe stands out from many of its competitors, the app experience is what users typically expect.
For buyers, there is an algorithm that curates options based on their personal style. Buyers can filter listings by size, price, brand, color, condition, and more. Additionally, there is a map feature that allows users to discover nearby sales models, flea markets, pop-up stores, and estate sales. Capture process It is the standard. Buyers receive an email or in-app notification when their item is ready. To receive their purchase, they must have a confirmation code.
Sellers can create listings, upload photos, write descriptions, and set prices on the platform. One notable difference is the lack of an in-app messenger to chat with buyers.
Pinstripe’s new AI-powered feature, called Bidding, uses ChatGPT and open source templates to help sellers manage the bidding process. Sellers can now ask the AI assistant to 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.
Evolving from a similar startup founded by Blumenthal and Tomiya in 2022 called Banter, Pinstripe is an e-commerce platform that features multiplayer shopping and social elements, allowing consumers to connect with like-minded shoppers. Last February, the startup raised nearly $900,000 in a small seed funding round from Breaker VC, General Advance, Muchmore Ventures, and Unpopular Ventures.
“We pivoted after seeing this huge new trend that my friends and my co-founder and I were doing from a consumer standpoint, which was thrifted second-hand fashion. A lot of these brands and stores are not taking advantage of (the shift),” Blumenthal said.
The pencil case is available in App Store And on Web. It touts a few thousand or so monthly active users and works with nearly a dozen retail partners, including Club Vintage, Lahn Shop, Leisure Center and The Brooklyn Vintage Club.
The platform also features notable advisors, including Ben Max Rubinstein (ex-META) and Julie Bornstein (ex-Stitch Fix).
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