Rebagg raises $8M for designer handbag marketplace

Instead of connecting peer to peer, the NY-based startup buys and sells handbags directly

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Rebagg, a marketplace of used designer handbags, today announced that it has raised $8 million in Series A funding led by existing investor General Catalyst with participation from FJ Labs (the holding company of Fabrice Grinda and Jose Marin), Metamorphic Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Founder Collective, and Big Sur Ventures-Necotium.

The company previously closed a $4 million seed round last August from the same list of investors.

Broadly, Rebagg is a marketplace, facilitating the selling and buying of designer handbags. Different from some other secondhand clothing marketplaces like Tradesy (which is focused on designer items like Rebagg) and Vinted (which takes all kinds of clothing), however, Rebagg doesn’t directly connect buyers with sellers.

Rather, the company itself buys handbags from previous owners. If you’re interested in selling your bag, you just snap a photo from mobile or desktop, upload it to the site, and then wait up to a business day for a quote. Once you decide to move forward, Rebagg will send you a free prepaid shipping box (anywhere in the U.S.) or pick up the item for free (in New York City).

The handbags, from top-tier designers like Chanel and Louis Vuitton, are then listed on Trendlee for anyone to buy. Prices for the bags range depending on the type and brand, like $555 for a Saint Laurent shoulder bag to $6,650 for a Chanel clutch.

Aside from buying bags directly from individuals, Rebagg also partners with third-party groups and individuals to help keep its inventory strong. Today, according to General Catalyst, Rebagg works with a network of over 3,500 stylists, personal shoppers, and retail sales associates.

"The resale market for luxury handbags is largely untapped,” said Fabrice Grinda, an investor in Rebagg, in a prepared statement. “There are $12 billion worth of handbags sold every year in the U.S and Rebagg can purchase items from the past 10 years. That represents a pool of inventory in excess of $50 billion at current value."

As I hinted at above, Rebagg obviously isn’t the first to tap into the need for online, secondhand marketplaces. Like Rebagg, Tradesy and TheRealReal offer marketplaces of luxury items, though they have a broader scope, including shoes and clothing in the mix. And Vinted (whose founder and CEO Justas Janauskas will be speaking at Vator Splash Spring 2016 next week), offers a peer-to-peer marketplace not just for clothes buying and selling, but also swapping.

I've reached out to the company to confirm how it plans to compete in this crowded market, and to get a sense of how much profit they're making per handbag.

Rebagg says it will use its new funding to grow marketing and operations through hiring, a new warehouse on the west coast, and more at-home pick-ups in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and other cities.