Since launching in 2014, TrueFacet has emerged as the go-to place for fans of high-end jewelry and watches to find quality pre-owned merchandise for sale online. Now, after establishing itself as a trusted source for some of the most popular jewelry brands, those companies have turned to TrueFacet to help sell their goods directly to consumers.
For customers of TrueFacet, the idea of purchasing pre-owned is often less about getting a good deal — after all, the type of person who’s willing to drop a couple of grand on a pre-owned watch or necklace is hardly price-sensitive — and more about the ability to track down styles they like and trust that what they’re buying is the real thing.
In a world where counterfeits are abundant and not always easily recognized, building that kind of consumer trust is paramount. To ensure that all items are authentic, TrueFacet’s experts vet and certify all products sold on its pre-owned marketplace.
After winning over the trust of the consumer, TrueFacet was also able to win over trust of the brands whose products are being listed. And with that trust, the company was able to convince those brands to leverage its existing platform and customer base as a new online sales channel.
TrueFacet’s newly launched Brand Boutique will operate as a separate business from the company’s pre-owned marketplace, but it will allow customers to discover new styles from their favorite brands without having to wait for a previous owner to sell them off.
For many of the brands it’s partnering with, the new section represents the first online distribution channel they’ve had outside of their retail relationships, according to TrueFacet CEO Tirath Kamdar.
But the company isn’t just providing a place for brands to sell their products. It’s also giving them data about who their customers are, which is something those brands miss out on when their customers purchase jewelry from most third-party retailers.
Furthermore, by giving brands a direct connection between them and the customer, TrueFacet can control prices and reduce some of the brand dilution that comes from gray market goods being sold at steep discounts.
That’s a pitch that’s increasingly catching on with some of the top jewelry and watch brands. While Kamdar says it took nine months to get the first partner on board, now the company is launching its online boutique with 16 different brands and expects to have 25 onboard by the end of the year.
TrueFacet had raised about $15 million from investors that include Freestyle Capital, Maveron, Liquid2 Ventures, Techstars, and the Founders Co-op. With both pre-owned and new goods, the company should be able to not just expand its inventory, but also its sales.
Source: TechCrunch
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