This resale platform enables parents to resell their children’s toys and old belongings sustainably
Mumbai-based SoldResold is a resale platform for children’s products that promotes sustainability by encouraging parents to sell and buy pre-loved gently used and new items.
A common complaint of many parents is the accumulation of high-quality items bought for their children across years that are now barely used. One way to address the issue lies in reselling. This is where Mumbai-headquartered online platform steps in to ease this process by catering to parents throughout India.
Launched in 2019 by Shradha Virani and Heena Kalantri, the company claims to be a first-of-its-kind place to buy and sell gently-used children’s clothes, toys, and everything else, and has since inspired many similar business models. In the last two years, SoldResold’s unique concept of promoting sustainability has attracted several celebrities and influencers like Genelia Deshmukh, Soha Ali Khan, Mitali Sagar of House of MISU, and others.
“At SoldResold, we aim to normalise the concept of resale by inspiring people to reduce, reuse, and upcycle. We want to provide the easiest way to shop and sell high-quality, preloved, pre-cared as well as some brand-new children’s products,” explains Shradha as she joins YSWeekender for a chat.
An item at SoldResold
How it works
With a BBA degree in hand, Shradha always had a head for entrepreneurship. She has been a parenting and lifestyle influencer since 2014 and founded Neeru’s Cakes and Desserts.
Heena is also a business graduate who helmed her family business of manufacturing steel pipes, along with other stints in the corporate and retail business worlds.
Young mothers themselves, Shradha and Heena joined hands to tackle the immense wastage of gently-used children’s goods. They realised that launching a buy and sell platform like SoldResold was the best way to address this issue, and Instagram allowed them to reach the largest number of people.
“To list products with us, all one has to do is send the product name/model, its purchase price and year, the price they want to sell it at including our 20 percent, the condition of the product, their location and contact details. We also request multiple images and a video,” explains Shradha.
Once the item is sent in with the required information, the person receives a confirmation of their listing. After it is sold, a sales confirmation is sent and the team at SoldResold organises the logistics to dispatch the item from the seller to the buyer. The seller is then responsible for the safe and secure packaging of the items.
Those looking to buy items need only browse their Instagram page, where new items are uploaded every day on Instagram stories. “Most things fly off the virtual shelves almost instantly. Parents can drop a message on an item they’re interested in, and the team guides them through the process of payments and noting down shipping addresses and then eventually aligns the logistics,” she says.
Through word of mouth and social media, SoldResold has done well for itself. As a parenting influencer, Shradha was able to tap into her community to spread the word. The founders also received support from numerous parenting platforms.
New celebrity parents like Genelia Deshmukh, Soha Ali Khan, Mitali Sagar of House of MISU, Kinita Kadakia, Dr Aalika Banerji, Simone Khambatta, Anupama Vriksham, Shradha Salla, Mahi Vij, and others have also lent their support to the platform.
The products
Shradha says, “You can buy or sell anything on our platform – literally from pillow to pram. We list everything associated with kids which can be passed on from one child to another.”
She lists out examples that include clothing, carriers and slings, strollers, travel cots, décor, and accessories, feeding essentials like baby food processors, feeding equipment, breast pumps, feeding bottles, furniture for kids’ rooms, infant activity sets, maternity wear, nursing items for mothers, outdoor toys and activities including inflatable pools, play tables and play houses, safety equipment like baby monitors and bed guard rails, soft furnishings like baby beddings and maternity pillows, sports equipment for kids, and toys of all kinds.
“Our most popular product is the Mamaroo, which is an efficient electronic rocker. Books and toys are also popular, as parents are always on the lookout for age-appropriate ones as their children grow. Unique edutainment items do well too. The BabyZen Yoyo – a world-class, lightweight, and compact stroller is another hot-seller, as are the baby carriers and play gyms because they make the parenting process easier. Breast pumps are also coveted items,” shares Shradha.
Their reach is pan-India, with newer and farther places being added every day. They currently don’t ship out of the country but have many clients living abroad who have items sent to local addresses in India, before being shipped abroad.
Though content with the online format, the team recently participated in their first on-ground exhibition, receiving an overwhelming response. This has made them keen to explore more pop-ups in the future.
Shradha’s role as an influencer helped her onboard many brands to work with the platform as aggregators and channel partners. These brands discount their items listed on SoldResold heavily and often organise virtual pop-ups as a means of brand introduction.
“Further, in some cases, items get damaged in transit. A broken box, a missing piece, a minor manufacturing defect or something else, which brands are stuck with. So, they come to us to sell those items at discounted prices as the damage doesn’t interfere with the functionality of the item and parents make their peace with the minor issue in exchange for the great prices!” she smiles.
The growth
According to the 2019 BCG-Altagamma True-Luxury Global Consumer Insight study, the second-hand luxury goods market in India was expected to grow from an estimated $25 billion in revenues in 2018 to around $36 billion in 2021, increasing by an average of 12 percent per annum. The report also states that 80 percent of second-hand market participants use online channels for trade. Business data platform Statista estimates that the number of digital buyers across the country is approximately 329.1 billion. Hence, SoldResold entered this market at the right time.
With an initial investment of Rs 2 lakh, the team of seven core members has clocked tremendous growth. Shradha shares, “We started off from ground level and now have an organic conscious community consisting of over 47,000 parents. We started with Mumbai and gradually moved to metros and now have presence throughout India.”
As they continue to grow, their team is on the lookout for more members to join, and plan to make the website into an ecommerce platform.
When asked about their competition, Shradha says, “We were the first ones to enter this field, but I believe there is also space for others who have followed our footsteps. Fortunately, our success has not been deterred by new entrants.”
Shradha believes there has been a huge shift in people’s mindset in the last couple of years, as many have accepted the value of resale. She says the preloved marketplace for children’s goods was untapped when they began, and she cherishes the feeling of bridging this gap in the market.
“When parents come and tell us we have been life saviours as we sourced items they had never hoped to find or found something on our platform that they really wanted for their child – that feeling of joy is inexplicable!” she beams, signing off.
Edited by Kanishk Singh