After a serendipitous encounter at a thrift store, former Apple engineer Alex Ruber and ex-Twitter and Asana engineer Parth Chopra co-founded Encore, a second-hand goods search engine, aiming to address the pain points consumers face when searching for desired items in the vast second-hand market. This emerging startup has successfully been selected as part of Y Combinator's first-ever batch of fall startup projects.
The duo initially met on Y Combinator's founder matching platform and later ran into each other at a thrift store. As tech workers with immigrant backgrounds, both founders are passionate about treasure hunting in thrift stores, and this shared interest sparked the idea to develop a specialized second-hand goods search tool.
"The entire second-hand shopping market is highly fragmented. There are hundreds of resources available, such as Depop, Mercari, ThredUp, eBay, Craigslist, and more. Consumers find it challenging to sift through all these resources to find what they need," Ruber stated in an interview. For him, the project also carries a special personal sentiment, "My mom used to take me to flea markets every Sunday. I bought a lot of things from those places, including a piano. The core idea behind flea markets and Encore is to find a hidden gem."
Encore utilizes artificial intelligence technology, allowing users to search for items across multiple platforms like Poshmark, the RealReal, Grailed, Etsy, and eBay through natural language. Users can even input specific search requests like "Show me the dress Emily wore in Episode 4 of Season 3 of Emily in Paris." The platform also offers smart tips such as "clothing inspiration" and "shop from the show" to help users make better use of the search function.
Data shows that Encore processes over 50,000 searches per month, with a 26% month-over-month increase in search volume and a 15% increase in clicks. Currently, the platform primarily earns revenue through affiliate commissions and is testing a $3 monthly subscription service that offers advanced search features, image search, and customer support.
As the second-hand retail market continues to expand, analysts predict that by 2028, the U.S. second-hand retail market will reach $73 billion, and the global market will hit $350 billion. According to ThredUp, by 2025, online second-hand resales will dominate half of the second-hand market. Against this backdrop, Encore's innovative search solution is undoubtedly set to bring new vitality to the rapidly growing second-hand goods market.
