Companies like Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba generally get all of the headlines as global leaders in the online marketplace area (although none have managed to achieve complete global domination). While Amazon is considered a global leader, local players such as Flipkart in India and Alibaba in China maintain the lead in their local markets. And in the coming years, online marketplaces are going to become ever more diversified. In a recent report by Coresight Research, global marketplace platform provider revenues are expected to more than double from $18.7 billion in 2017 to $40.1 billion in 2022; all driven by the sharing economy.

Not all online marketplaces are the same, nor do they all provide the same features and functions. In addition to selling product (think Amazon & eBay), there are online marketplaces for resale and rental of products, as well as finding and booking services such as hair salons and restaurant reservations (think OpenTable).

For us here at B-Stock, we think of our marketplace platform as an online mall where nine of the top 10 major U.S. retailers auction off liquidation merchandise to SMB owners who then resell that merchandise through other marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay, Jet, Groupon Goods,  and so on. These sites can be considered resale marketplaces (in addition to being considered traditional retail marketplaces), which allow resellers to distinguish their used products from conventional retail marketplaces where new goods are sold.

Resale marketplaces have been gaining popularity as an increasing proportion of consumers opt to buy used items to save money or save resources. A Statista survey from June 2017 indicates that around 75% of U.S. consumers have bought a used item at least once in the last year. Leading the charge is the popularity in reselling apparel, accessories, and shoes. Three popular sites for reselling apparel include ThredUp, Poshmark, and Rebag. The emergence of these resale marketplaces is actually great news for major retailers looking to sell overstock and returned merchandise.

Due to increasing buyer demand for slightly used or unsold clothing, major retailers can increase their recovery rates on returned and overstock merchandise. This is how it works:

  1. A major retailer puts bulk lots of its overstock and returned merchandise up for auction on B-Stock.
  2. Our qualified and pre-approved business Buyer Network can then bid and compete for that merchandise.
  3. The winning business buyer can then turn around and resell that discounted apparel either through his own site or through one of these upcoming resale marketplaces such as ThredUp, Poshmark, Rebag, or more traditional channels such as Amazon, eBay, and so forth.

Easy as 1-2-3. Want a more specific overview? Get in touch with us today for a demo.

Email Us

Author

Editorial Team

Author

B-Stock Editorial Team

More from the B-Stock Blog

Unlocking Value with Store Return Auctions: A Guide for Resellers
Unlocking Value with Store Return Auctions: A Guide for Resellers

Today’s consumer purchases happen more rapidly than ever, making returns an unavoidable aspect of the shopping experience. Every year, billions of dollars worth of returned goods make their way back to retailers, often resulting in excess inventory. Many of these…

Dec 18 2024 · 5 min read

Holiday Returns: By the Numbers
Holiday Returns: By the Numbers

After weeks (or in some cases, months!) of holiday shopping, most consumers are getting ready to kick back and relax with an eggnog in hand and open their gifts. Sounds merry, right? Unfortunately, retailers still have a good chunk of…

Dec 16 2024 · 3 min read

2024 Holiday Returns: Managing the Post-Sales Surge
2024 Holiday Returns: Managing the Post-Sales Surge

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 have shattered records yet again. By the end of Black Friday, $10.2 billion was spent online (a 16% increase), while Cyber Monday sales surged to $11.5 billion, making it the biggest online shopping day…

Dec 11 2024 · 3 min read

Like what you see?

Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest news from B-Stock.