If you have kids, you know this situation all too well. You buy your toddler an adorable sweater khaki combo that they grow out of almost immediately, and it’s back to the drawing board. But Spruceling, a Dreamit Ventures-backed company, is launching publicly today to disrupt the way parents shop for their children’s clothing.
Spruceling is an open marketplace that lets parents trade in their kids’ clothes once they don’t fit any more, naming their own price for the gently used goods. Parents can also shop on the site, which is focused on the ages of 1 to 10 years old.
According to the USDA, parents spend around $750 per child each year on clothing. Founder Ryan Coyne claims that Spruceling parents will spend around $200, plus those parents will be saved the trouble of driving to a consignment store or charity to sell back or give away the clothing.
Spruceling offers parents the opportunity to sell a box full of clothing, rather than sell one piece at a time, keeping the process relatively painless. After adding a picture of every item (which could be one picture of five things), parents list the retail price, size, brand and type of clothing. Spruceling then recommends a price range based on that information, and the final price of the entire box is chosen by the parent.
When that box sells, Spruceling handles the packaging and shipping needs, sending a pre-paid label and instructions to ensure the clothes are washed, folded, and a checklist of everything that was originally listed on the site.
To make sure that no buyer is disappointed, buyers are required to rate the seller once they receive a box of clothes. There is a zero tolerance policy for anyone that misrepresents their items, meaning that any user who tries to do so will be banned from the site forever. If, however, someone slips through the cracks and the buyer is unhappy with their purchase, users are allowed to return items up to 30 days after receipt.
Coyne tells TechCrunch that most consignment stores take around 60 percent of the transaction as commission, but Spruceling plans to bring that down to 40 percent to generate revenue. And in a Warby Parker-style act of kindness, Spruceling will be making a donation to its non-profit partners like St. Jude’s Hospital and Boys and Girls Club for every box purchased on Spruceling.