With recent estimates putting the secondhand resell market value at about $77 billion by 2025, it’s no wonder everyone has jumped onto the vintage bandwagon. Blood is in the water and the sharks are most definitely circling.  What we’re now finding is that larger financial interests are looking to sink their tees into the untapped well that is vintage. 

So hold onto your Patagonia, we’re taking a little dive to see who these most recent big names are, coming after the vintage space. None of us are unfamiliar with the success and energy Instagram and Facebook live brought to resell. When fleas, auction houses and bins were closed during the height of the pandemic many of us turned to lives to sell, buy, and frankly survive. And in this limbo, we all found ourselves, livestream shopping apps really grew. Whatnot and Popshop Live are two of those apps which seemed to have risen above the rest (but there are countless more).

With Popshop valued at $100 million and Whatnot at a hulking $1.5 billion, we have to ask whether we should be worried, excited or a bit of both, as these livestream companies turn a more direct focus towards us. After raising $150 million from a variety of investors, including private equity firms, Whatnot CEO, Grant LaFontaine, announced on Yahoo Finance their efforts to target vintage clothing categories and dealers on the platform. Such efforts include luring bigger resellers with enticing contracts used to purchase even more finds. 

One anonymous vintage dealer with a substantial IG following said, “I received a $10,000 offer from Whatnot to do a few live streams. Then there were bonus incentives based on how many signups I was able to bring in. I almost signed it until I was reached out to by a representative from Popshop who offered me almost $30,000 for a contract that included live streaming and some other deliverables. I couldn’t say no to that.”

A small price to pay perhaps for exclusivity and non-competes. With millions at your disposal why not use a small bit of that to clear the field? But get everyone on your app and then what? Not all vintage is sold through livestream and virtual fleas. Right now, demand for vintage is at an all time high. And, these emerging tech startups see long term potential in being able to extract value from the vintage community.

But when heavy hitters continue to hit the bins, fleas and local thrift stores we all have to know where we stand. Are we allies or competitors with these financially backed companies? And, are we comfortable with the direction this space is headed?