South Africans have made over R250 million selling second-hand clothes online

Due to the ever-increasing price of clothes, many South Africans have turned to the second-hand clothing market to go shopping and flip old garments into cash.

Typically, second-hand clothing can be found at charity and hospice shops where it is donated.

However, an online platform connecting second-hand clothing buyers and sellers has allowed users to sell over 1.5 million used garments.

It is not only beneficial for those who would like to thrift shop from their couch but has also allowed South Africans to generate close to R500 million from old clothes. According to Yaga, sellers kept the majority of the revenue.

And the market is only getting bigger. According to ThredUp’s 2024 Resale Report, the global second-hand clothes market will be worth over R6 trillion by 2028. As of 2023, it was valued at just over R3.5 trillion.

The report also notes that the market grew 15 times faster than the broader retail market and that two in five apparel items purchased in 2023 were second-hand.

According to Yaga, people only tend to wear 20% to 30% of their entire wardrobe, resulting in a lot of waste—not only in unused clothes but also in the opportunity cost of not selling them.

ThredUp found that two-thirds of people who sold second-hand clothes in 2023 did so to make extra money, and just under half used the money to cover essential costs.

Many South Africans have also complained about the cost of clothing in South Africa, which Yaga offers a good alternative to.

Yaga CEO Aune Aunapuu said that the idea for the online marketplace came out of pure frustration. She wanted to sell a stroller, but all platforms she was aware of were too “old-school” and lacked options for payments and shipping.

As a result, Yaga has turned into a platform that takes care of all these issues.

When someone wants to sell an item, they can list it with images, a price, and a description, just like any other used marketplace. They will also need to select the condition of the clothing.

Highlights from ThredUp’s Resale Report

This will then appear on the seller’s store or profile.

Once a buyer finds an item they like and would like to purchase it, they will be presented with multiple delivery options.

Yaga offers five delivery options, all at different prices. Sellers can choose which delivery service they would like to make available — if at all.

Paxi at Pep is one option that allows users to send small to medium-sized packages from one Pep to another. There are two sizes to choose from: a standard parcel costing R49 and a large parcel for R60.

The Courier Guy’s Pudo is also a shipping option which operates from locker to locker. Lockers are located nationwide, and prices range between R50 and R100.

Yaga also offers PostNet-to-PostNet and Aramex Store-to-door with standard rates of R109 and R99.99, respectively.

Buyers can choose to collect the item if they would rather not pay for delivery.

Multiple payment options exist, including Ozow, Mobicred, Visa, EFT, and the user’s Yaga wallet.

Included in the final cost of an item will be a buyer protection fee of 5% + R14.90.

When a purchase is made, the money is deposited to Yaga until the package is received, and then it is released to the sender.

If the buyer is unsatisfied with the item, they can return it and receive a refund.

Measures are also taken to protect the seller, such as in cases of radio silence following the parcel being sent. In this case, Yaga completes the order, and the seller gets the money.

As much responsibility as the platform takes, it does encourage sellers to be active when communicating with buyers.