Ecommerce platform Vinted is minted

Some… interesting stuff (Source: Etsy)

Vinted is an online platform that allows ~45m users to buy and sell fashion accessories, home goods, and this probably haunted doll.

To keep the party going, TechCrunch reports that the Lithuania-based startup just raised $303m at a $4.5B valuation (a notable jump from its $1B price tag in 2019).

The pandemic has boosted…

… the circular economy (AKA buying and selling stuff you already own instead of shopping for new goods).

Why? Well, people spent a lot of time at home Marie Kondo-ing their closets or looking for new ways to bring in income, and there’s a lot of interest in finding sustainable ways to shop — like repurposing items or buying them secondhand.

Plus, as brick-and-mortar shops closed, online shopping exploded, resulting in a ~$175B boost in ecommerce revenue in 2020, according to Digital Commerce 360.

A number of similar platforms flourished in 2020

You’ve probably heard of these:

• Etsy, the marketplace for artists and crafters to sell their wares, reported $10.3B worth of products sold, +107% YoY. Masks made up 4% of purchases last year.
• Ebay’s US sales grew 22% in 2020, thanks in part to 11m new customers.
• It’s not just sales platforms. After initially shutting down amid virus fears, Buy Nothing Facebook groups saw a big uptick with neighbors giving each other all sorts of things, free of charge.

That’s a lot of goods… none of which will be weirder than the Etsy find pictured above.