A new resale marketplace called Known Source is seeking to challenge the dominance of big players like The RealReal, Grailed and Vestiaire Collective.
Launched this month, Known Source is building a global platform for buying and selling pre-owned luxury fashion items including apparel, bags, shoes, accessories and jewelry. It says it aims to differentiate itself through a trusted reputation system, expert authentication, higher payouts to sellers and a focus on community.
Trusted reputation system
Known Source allows buyers to leave public reviews of their experience purchasing from a particular seller, creating a trusted reputation profile for each account. This helps ensure only reputable sellers are listed on the site.
“ authentication is a big issue in resale and preowned fashion, so we’ve integrated authentication from leading fashion Authenticators like Authenticate First, EIG and The LION to provide guarantees of authenticity,” said Kate Partridge, CEO and co-founder of Known Source.
Higher seller payouts
Known Source charges sellers a 20% commission on items sold compared to 25-35% at other major resale marketplaces. This means more of the revenue from item sales is returned to sellers.
“We believe that by paying sellers a higher percentage of the final sale price, they will be more inclined to list their high-quality items on our website versus competitors where they’d make less money,” Partridge said.
Focus on community
Known Source aims to build a close-knit community of buyers and sellers through social features like messaging, searching via hashtags, tagging other users and a feed highlighting the latest items posted. This fosters more engagement and discovery on the platform.
“We want people on Known Source to feel like they’re part of a wider community of fellow fashion enthusiasts and to really get to know the sellers and types of items they consistently list on our site,” Partridge said.
With a focus on trust, authenticity, value and community, Known Source is looking to challenge the dominance of major resale players and carve out its own niche in the growing pre-owned fashion market. Only time will tell whether its strategy pays off.
