If you haven’t heard of “Twice” just yet, you will. The startup has raised a great deal of money to get rolling. The question is whether the company will be able to stand the test of time and become a real competitor for eBay. Trust me, there are not many good options for selling your used items online. I have tried a few eBay alternatives with zero success. The traffic is just not there to turn into sales.
Twice looks to be a bit different from other auction sites though. The issue I mentioned about low traffic on eBay’s competition’s websites is not relevant with Twice. You don’t need anyone view your auction page at all in order to make money. You clean out your closet and then mail the items to Twice with a prepaid shipping label. They will even send you a bag to mail the clothing in if you prefer. They will make you an offer once your shipment gets to them.
Getting paid in one lump sum is going to be appealing to many people, especially those who don’t really want to profit from the items. People who simply want to declutter their closet and dressers will just appreciate a check for something they needed to do anyway. It is like getting paid to clean up your living space!
Clearly Twice needs lots of buyers to make a go of it. So they only sell higher end clothing. They don’t want to be seen as an online thrift shop. That means they will pay as little as possible to you, the seller. Then they will try and sell your items for as much as possible. They are not the Red Cross. They are a company that needs a profit to exist and grow.
I think some sellers that are in it for a profit and not just a way to incentivize their decluttering efforts may be upset with the offer they get from Twice. Selling an American Eagle blouse for $2 after having paid $30 retail may hurt some feelings. That is the one sticking point I see with Twice. You only get an offer for your shipment after they receive it and go through it to check the appearance. You can refuse the offer and pay $4.95 to have it returned to you though. They have a chart of estimated prices they will pay for various brands, but actual pricing is only available once they have your items.
I hope that Twice thrives. Ebay needs some competition to evolve. And we sellers need more options for online sales. That gives us more places to offer our items and it also helps keep fees from rising all the time on eBay. I need to do some decluttering around my house, so I will let you all know how Twice worked in the coming weeks.
