Fashion resale specialist Vestiaire Collective introduces option to buy directly from vendors

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Sep 10, 2019

After tweaking the way in which commissions are calculated last April, French second-hand fashion and luxury goods specialist Vestiaire Collective has introduced the option for its customers of buying directly from approved vendors. This means a €10 saving per purchase, since the products won’t go through the authentication stage carried out by Vestiaire Collective at its offices in Paris, London, New York, Milan, Berlin and Hong Kong.

With the new service, Vestiaire Collective has introduced two certificates, ‘Vendeur Recommandé’ [recommended vendor] and ‘Vendeur Expert’ [expert vendor], to identify vendors who have proved themselves to be reliable in terms of their products’ authenticity and condition. Vestiaire Collective underlined that its decision is based on data analysis showing that a direct customer-vendor transaction doesn’t pose, in these specific cases, a significant risk. Nevertheless, the ‘Envoi Direct’ [direct delivery] option will have a price ceiling, as it will only apply to products costing less than €200, among a selection of some 2,000 labels.

The new service has been deployed from September 4 on a selection of French labels, and is available to all EU customers. It will be extended to all the other Vestiaire Collective markets from 2020. To mark the new option's launch, Vestiaire Collective is highlighting special partnerships with Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot, Ba&sh, Amélie Pichard and MaisonCléo, whose products are enjoying extra visibility on the site, while customers will benefit from a €10 gift as a reward for their “participation in the circular economy.”

“After nearly 10 years in business, this seems to be the ideal time to boost the trust we have built in our best vendors, working with leading labels to involve an even broader audience in promoting the circular economy’s advantages,” said the site’s co-founder and president, Fanny Moizant.
 
Vestiaire Collective was launched in 2009, and currently claims to carry a range of over 900,000 articles, with 3,500 new ones introduced daily, and a community of 7 million customers. Last June, the company raised €40 million in a funding round led by BPI France. Among the investors was Maximilian Bittner, CEO of Vestiaire Collective since the end of 2018.