Continuing our Marketplaces 2018 series, today we look at letgo. To find a full list of marketplaces we’ve written about already, visit our Marketplaces 2018 page here.
Marketplaces 2018 is produced in association with Flubit.com, the largest UK owned marketplace to sell your inventory on.
Web address: letgo.com
Marketplace overview
Online retail apps that serve as marketplaces are becoming increasing popular and, aside from Wish, one of the most important is letgo. One of the more distinctive aspects of this marketplace is that it serves sellers of second-hand goods solely. We have written about this marketplace before.
As they say of their service:
With tens of millions of users, letgo’s the largest and fastest growing app to buy and sell locally. Already among the top mobile apps in America, letgo’s users buy and sell everything from electronics, cars and collectibles to clothing, furniture and other home décor. Our free app makes it easy to sell what you don’t need and find great deals nearby on what you do. Posting something for sale is as simple as taking a photo because letgo’s the only app of its kind that automatically titles and categorizes your listing using artificial intelligence and image recognition.
– Letgo
letgo was founded in 2015 by Alec Oxenford and Jordi Castello, with cofounder Enrique Linares joining soon after. Oxenford previously cofounded OLX, which is installed on hundreds of millions of devices worldwide. Named one of 2016’s “Hottest Startups” by Wired and among the year’s “Best Apps” by Google, letgo’s investors include Naspers, Accel, Insight Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, 14W, Eight Roads Ventures, Mangrove Capital Partners and FJ Labs. letgo is based in the Netherlands and has offices in New York and Barcelona.
Seller registration and requirements
You just sign up and get selling. There is no accreditation or clearance. Just confirm you email address to get started.
Listings, fulfilment and payments
The most interesting aspect of letgo is how it is very easy to get your items listed. The free app makes it easy to sell what you don’t need and find great deals nearby on what you do. Posting something for sale on letgo is as simple as taking a photo thanks to its rather clever AI/machine learning technology.
They say that it is the only app of its kind that automatically titles and categorises a seller’s listing using artificial intelligence and image recognition. Users browse local listings, chat with sellers instantly in the app and can view each other’s profiles, ratings and reviews.
You deal with payments and fulfilment yourself. Often, you meet buyers in person and take cash.
You can details of the letgo selling rules and details of banned items on this page.
Tamebay’s take on the letgo marketplace
As it stands at the moment, letgo isn’t a service that’s established and honed to service business sellers. It is, however, focussed on helping consumer sellers find buyers online for preloved items. It also doesn’t yet have a massive presence in the UK (shock has greater brand awareness) but it may well develop in the future into an exciting commercial opportunity. But it is still well worth looking at to see if it can become an additional sales avenue for you.
