Secondhand success: discussing business models and market trends

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90 min
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1

Think about these questions before watching. Share your ideas with a partner.

  1. When you consider buying secondhand items, what are the main factors that influence your decision? Think about aspects like price, sustainability, and the uniqueness of the product.
  2. How have online platforms and apps changed the way people shop for used goods compared to traditional methods like charity shops or flea markets?
  3. The market for secondhand goods is growing rapidly. What social or economic trends do you think are driving this, and how might this affect the 'fast fashion' industry?
2

Watch the video carefully. Pay attention to the main ideas and key details.

Video script149 segments · click a timestamp to jump

[Music]

Vinted is a startup based out of vus

Lithuania and they specialize in the

resell of clothing so they compete with

Brands like eBay Poshmark but they've

come to really dominate the sector

within Europe they've been in operation

now since 2008 they've had a few

different iterations of the business

initially starting for free and then

trying to move to a kind of Poshmark

style model now in their kind of latest

form they're focused on on only charging

buyers fees and making it free for

sellers to operate nobody has ever sold

as much secondhand items as we're doing

in a country so the secondhand

transactions per capita that we're

creating in markets like France Belgium

and the Netherlands is at the level that

nowhere in the world has ever been

achieved before but even at that

penetration level we're still showing

very very strong growth so it's really

that we're creating that market by

making this prod product available also

look at the tracking of our competitors

is not that our competitors or

secondhand shops are not selling anymore

actually they're thriving as well yet we

grow all on top of that at a pace that

is harder faster than everybody else and

thereby we're creating this new market

by make it economically viable and super

easy to uh sell and buy secondhand

clothing so Vinted is a company that

I've been tracking for a while and just

I have a sort of personal matric for how

successful they've been just in terms of

my local BEDA is a pickup and drop off

point for people to send in their

e-commerce packages and like sort of

every week I kind keeping track of just

sort of how many Vinted Parcels were

piling up and overtaking Amazon eBay but

also in this time the kind of the global

resale Market has really boomed one of

the American competitors for vintage

thread up is predicting that the kind of

the global market for second Anders is

going to grow to like over 350 billion

in the next couple of years this is kind

of partly driven by by cost of living

and consumers feeling constrained in

terms of their spending also kind of a

generational shift in terms of how

people want to shop and consume people

are interested in sort of sustainability

and also kind of having a unique look

and Vinted has been really able to kind

of capitalize on the trends and have

been particularly successful within

Europe the US has been stuck on let's

say the old classic eBay model which is

a 20% seller fee and what we did is we

said okay we're going to make that

practically four times less expensive to

5% and we put it on the buy side instead

of the sell side because it's the buyer

who gets practically the comfort of

buying online the buyer protection that

insurance that we give and thereby we

let them pay for it and the seller who

brings the goods to the table actually

doesn't have to pay anything I joined

Vinted as a consultant in 2016 I then uh

was living in New York and moved here to

help out for 5 weeks and that escalated

into me becoming the CEO of Vinted and

living here now for almost 8 years I

found a lot of young enthusiastic people

really wanted to build something but a

business model that was not working I um

had the right knowledge to make the

changes into the business model and how

we operate to make uh all that

enthusiasm uh work into the right

direction to make it a wellworking

business we don't know how large this is

going to be the secondhand transactions

per capita that we're creating in

markets like France Belgium and the

Netherlands is at the level that nowhere

in the world has ever been achieved

before but even at that penetration

level we're still showing very very

strong growth so it's really that we're

creating that market by making this prod

product available the more items you

have available to be bought the higher

the probability that somebody will find

an item that they like if you think

about the sustainability element we do

two things very well so majority of our

shipping is Locker shipping from Locker

to Locker so you pick it up yourself

that type of shipping has 62% more CO2

efficiency than home delivery obviously

because you don't have to drive to

everybody's home then what we see is

that one interestate transactions on our

platform avoids the purchase of a new

item and thereby we see that every

transaction on average avoids 1.8 kg of

CO2 uh compared to buying new items when

and whether there will be an IPO depends

on many different things as a company we

would be ready for that but what we're

trying to do is we try to ensure that we

choose the best possible path long term

for this company IPO is just a way of

financing the company and financially

structuring it we're just making sure

now that we are investing our money in

the right things to hold the right

growth place and organize ourselves in

the right way to achieve our long-term

goals therefore I now my title is group

CEO and not just CEO and we have our CEO

of marketplace Adam J who runs the whole

Marketplace we have FAS who runs the

whole shipping division we have modestas

who runs the whole payments Division and

by creating separate CEOs on each of

these divisions uh we're creating a

system that enables us to build an

ecosystem of businesses and to build a

sustainable longterm strong and big

company in Europe we need to compete

with ecosystems that are available in

the US and in China we cannot just be a

vulnerable single vertical Marketplace

we have to become an ecosystem of

businesses that strengthen each other

and thereby takes a position that can

survive for decades instead of something

that will be a sad for the next few

[Music]

years

3

Answer these questions in your own words. Support your answers with evidence from the video.

01How does Vinted's current fee structure differ from the model used by competitors like eBay?
Sample answerThe video explains that the classic eBay model charges sellers a 20% fee. Vinted changed this by making it free for sellers and instead charging buyers a much smaller 5% fee for services like buyer protection.
02What key trends are contributing to the rapid growth of the global secondhand market?
Sample answerThe video mentions a few factors. People are more constrained by the cost of living, and there's also a generational shift where consumers are more interested in sustainability and having a unique look.
03In what ways does Vinted's operation contribute to sustainability, according to the CEO?
Sample answerThe CEO highlights two main points. First, their use of locker-to-locker shipping is much more CO2 efficient than home delivery. Second, every secondhand purchase on the platform prevents a new item from being made, which saves about 1.8 kg of CO2 on average.
04Why is the company restructuring to become an 'ecosystem of businesses' instead of remaining a single marketplace?
Sample answerThey are doing this to ensure long-term survival and to compete with large ecosystems from the US and China. The idea is that having separate divisions for marketplace, shipping, and payments makes the company stronger and less vulnerable than a single-focus business.
4

Vocabulary

Vocabulary
These expressions will help you communicate more naturally about this topic.
Examples
To gain traction — to become more popular, accepted, or successful over time.
Usage note: This is often used to describe a new idea, product, or company that is starting to grow. For example, 'The app started to gain traction after a major influencer mentioned it.'
To carve out a niche — to create a special, often profitable, position for oneself or one's business in the market.
Usage note: This idiom suggests finding a specific area that larger competitors might be ignoring. For example, 'Vinted carved out a niche in the European secondhand market.'
A shift in consumer mindset — a fundamental change in the way people think about and approach buying goods and services.
Usage note: Use this phrase to talk about big trends, like the move towards sustainability or valuing experiences over possessions. It's more formal than saying 'people are thinking differently'.
To give something a new lease of life — to improve something old or in bad condition so that it can be used again for a longer time.
Usage note: This idiom is perfect for talking about upcycling, repairing, or reselling items. It has a positive, restorative meaning, e.g., 'Buying secondhand clothes gives them a new lease of life.'
Circular economy — an economic system where resources are reused, repaired, and recycled rather than being thrown away.
Usage note: This is a key term in discussions about sustainability. It contrasts with a 'linear economy' (make, use, dispose). Businesses like Vinted are considered part of the circular economy.
5

Decide if each statement is true or false based on the video. Correct the false ones.

01The current CEO originally joined Vinted as a consultant for a project that was supposed to last five weeks.
02According to the video, Vinted's growth has caused other secondhand shops and competitors to lose business.
03Vinted's business model has always involved charging buyers a fee, while keeping the platform free for sellers.
04The company has achieved a record-breaking number of secondhand transactions per person in markets like France and Belgium.
05Using locker-to-locker shipping is mentioned as being 62% more CO2 efficient than home delivery.
6

Complete the sentences with words from the box. One word is extra.

Word bank
01The new sustainable fashion app is starting to gain as more influencers promote it on social media.
02While the secondhand market is huge, this company has carved out a by focusing exclusively on vintage luxury watches.
03There has been a significant shift in consumer , with more people prioritizing sustainability over fast fashion.
04By upcycling old denim, they give the fabric a new of life as a stylish handbag.
05Companies like Vinted are key players in the economy, promoting the reuse of items rather than their disposal.
7

Choose the best answer based on what you heard in the video.

01When the current CEO joined Vinted in 2016, what was his assessment of the company?
02According to the CEO, why is it logical for the buyer, not the seller, to pay the fee?
03What is the company's current position regarding a potential IPO (Initial Public Offering)?
04Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the video as a reason for the secondhand market's boom?
8

Business & E-commerce Vocabulary

Test your understanding of key terms related to startups and online marketplaces.

Match each item on the left with the correct item on the right.

A
B
9

Discuss these questions with a partner. Try to use vocabulary from the lesson.

  1. The video claims Vinted is 'creating' a new market. Do you think companies like this are genuinely changing consumer habits, or are they just successfully responding to a pre-existing shift in consumer mindset towards sustainability and value?
  2. Thinking about your own country, how has the perception of secondhand shopping changed in recent years? Can you give an example of a local business that has carved out a niche in this market and helped the idea of a circular economy to gain traction?
  3. Some critics argue that resale apps don't truly challenge fast fashion; they just allow people to buy more new clothes guilt-free, knowing they can resell them. Do you believe these platforms genuinely give items a new lease of life, or do they risk becoming just another part of a faster consumption cycle?