From Zara to Shein, retailers are jumping on the resale bandwagon — but which does the best job of second-hand selling?

PLT Marketplace

PrettyLittleThing made headlines when it launched its second-hand sales app in August, with ITV show Love Island’s Indiyah Polack as its brand ambassador. It offers users the ability to link their PrettyLittleThing accounts and therefore their purchase history to their marketplace account.

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What’s good?

The account link makes the selling process easier: instead of uploading items to be sold, users can simply click to list their previous PLT purchases using the original imagery and description. It uses the same branding, search functionality and categorisation as the original app too, so it feels less like a second-hand marketplace and more like shopping with a retailer. 

It also features other brands, the most common ones being Boohoo, Oh Polly, Missguided and Fashion Nova, which all share similar styles and customer bases to PLT. 

What’s bad?

Most sellers use images from retailer websites rather than their own, which gives it a more slick and curated feel compared to the likes of Vinted, but the condition of the item isn’t clear unless sellers choose to add extra images. That makes it feel riskier for buyers. 

For the moment, PLT has 0% selling fees as an introductory offer but this will not last if PLT wants to make a profit from the platform.

Score – 8/10

The offer works well for its customer base with recognisable branding and ease of use for both sellers and buyers wishing to browse or with something specific in mind.

 

H&M Sellpy

Founded in 2014, H&M’s Sellpy platform is an established retailer-led second-hand marketplace that, unlike many of its rival sites, takes ownership of the selling process: sellers send their garments to be evaluated, priced, photographed and uploaded to the site. Sellpy also takes control of advertising and delivering the items once purchased. Available across 245 countries in mainland Europe, with an app available in some of its markets, it is yet to launch in the UK.

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What’s good?

Uploading a garment to a marketplace is a laborious process, so the fact that Sellpy does the legwork is a real bonus for time-poor sellers. It also boasts an add-to-basket option, making it easier for shoppers to check out in one go with one shipping fee and one package, which may encourage them to spend more. 

What’s bad? 

Sellpy takes a generous cut of the sale price. For items sold for under €50, sellers receive 40%, and for those over €50, they receive 70%, plus there is an ad fee of €1 per item. When considering low or non-existent selling fees on other marketplaces, this may be enough to deter users hoping to make extra cash amid the cost-of-living crisis. 

Sellpy’s website is also harder to navigate than a traditional retail website and more clunky to use with categories broken down more randomly — dresses, for example, are split into party dresses, traditional dresses or other, which is noy an adequate range of descriptions; whereas there are six categories for trousers.

And for that generous cut for advertising and photography, the platform uses a white headless mannequin to model the garments, which looks clinical and uninspiring.

Score — 6/10

Sellpy seems to be popular in mainland Europe, but if it were to venture to the UK it would have some stiff competition.

 

Zara Pre-Owned

A new element has been added to Zara’s famously nightmarish app and site that allows consumers to buy, sell, repair and donate Zara-branded clothes. Sellers have the option to scan the barcode or QR code from their garment, search for it in Zara’s inventory, or upload the garment’s images and details manually.

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What’s good?

It feels clean and shoppers are spared the hilarity of Zara’s fashion shoots (which have been much derided on social media for their model poses) as items are displayed as flat-lays against a white background.

Sellers do receive 100% of the sale price, but buyers pay a fee of £1 plus 5% of their basket price. There’s also a flat postage fee of £3.95 per order per seller. 

What’s bad?

While the barcode idea is great, the function is glitchy and the search option doesn’t have Zara’s whole back catalogue, so has limited utility for selling older Zara garments. 

There’s a lot of friction in the buying process — the search function is hidden and users must click on an image on the grid before they can see the size, then click again to find out more details.

There’s also no direct message function for buyers to ask about item particulars from a seller. Buyers must fill in a form with their request and the product ID, which will then be passed to the seller to update the product page, rather than interacting directly.

Score — 5/10

With only Zara items on offer and a clunky user experience, this offer will only work for buyers on the hunt for a particular product they missed out on.

 

Shein Exchange

A digital jumble sale of products from ultra-fast-fashion retailer Shein, it is only available in the US and shows Shein-branded second-hand buys with a “you might also like” suggestion, linking back to new items on its original site.

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What’s good?

Sellers have access to their Shein purchase history to help them upload the items to be resold, which is useful. Customers mostly opt to add their own pictures of the items, which gives a clearer picture of the condition. 

What’s bad?

To begin with, the name confusingly describes another service entirely (exchanging or swapping is not available) and its proposition of listing new items alongside second-hand undermines its purpose. 

Functionality also leaves a lot to be desired, it’s hidden under an icon on the customer’s app dashboard and it’s very difficult to browse and navigate given the sheer volume and variety of items Shein sells

As it spans the US, shipping prices can vary massively for the buyer, while Shein also deducts a 5% service fee for sellers on any item they sell. Plus the Exchange is only for Shein garments and accessories. 

Score — 2/10

With prices already dirt cheap, Shein’s second-hand offering is only competing with itself and perpetuating the cycle of obsolescence. It feels like a feeble attempt to get into the resale market and appear more sustainable.

Overall verdict

Getting a resale platform right is hard. Many elements are beyond a retailer’s control, with imagery, delivery times and communication to name a few. Having it live as part of an existing site keeps it on-brand, which is great, but for a resale platform to get the attention it deserves it is better to be a separate platform with easy uploading from the user’s main account. 

Resale is trending but customers still want a premium experience. Avoiding a cluttered online boot sale will be crucial in getting them to make the swap.