Poshmark, one of the largest destinations for buying and selling new and gently used fashion and accessories, has launched Posh Concierge, a free luxury authentication service for handbags, accessories and other designer items in the peer-to-peer marketplace. “Posh Concierge will have an impact on the luxury items and premium items” on the app, said Manish Chandra, chief executive officer of Poshmark, noting that last year the company processed more than 1.5 million orders. “We expect it will drive sales across categories and across brands.”
Poshmark has a massive inventory of women’s apparel and accessories; $1.5 million worth of fashion is uploaded daily. In addition to members’ own personal storefronts, Poshmark aggregates the merchandise of certain popular brands to create boutiques for Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Gucci, among others. Chanel’s boutique contains 17,000 items.
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Poshmark uses common merchandising, shipping and payment systems. When a buyer purchases a handbag, Poshmark notifies the seller, who is responsible for shipping the product to the buyer using a prepaid shipping label. Once the buyer accepts the item, Poshmark releases the payment to the seller. Chandra said 90 percent of products sold on Poshmark are accepted.
The fulfilment for Posh Concierge will work a little differently. For products priced $500 and higher, sellers will ship the item to Poshmark rather than directly to the buyer. Poshmark will authenticate it, and if it passes muster, ship it to the buyer. “It builds on the idea of buyer protection,” Chandra said. “For sellers and buyers who are already loyal and dedicated to platform, Posh Concierge gives them an extra level of peace.”
Poshmark claims it charges fees lower than traditional consignment shops. For items under $15, Poshmark takes a flat commission of $2.95. For items of $15 or more, the seller receives 80 percent of the sale with Poshmark retaining a 20 percent commission.
Poshmark in August launched Posh Match, which matches products to buyers’ specific requirements. “That has more than doubled our buyer conversion rate since it launched,” Chandra said.
In another effort to help buyers home in on products they want, the company launched Posh Parties, real-time shopping parties that take place in the app. “For brands where we have short supply or demand is greater, we’ll have brand-centric Posh Parties,” Chandra said. “We put out a call to the sellers to supply the inventory.”
Sellers can share their inventories with other sellers or share them with their followers through feeds. Whether buyers and sellers choose to participate in parties, boutiques or other options designed by Poshmark to boost sales is up to them. “It’s all sort of organic,” Chandra said. “We provide free tools.”