---
title: James Reinhart on Turning Trash into Treasure in the Resale Industry |
description: After his clothes were rejected by his local thrift store, James Reinhart vowed to create a market for clothes between discount and luxury with ThredUP
---

[Trends - Ebooks ](https://www.nlopchantamang.com/trends/ebook)

# [James Reinhart on Turning Trash into Treasure in the Resale Industry |](https://www.nlopchantamang.com/trends/ebook/articles/james-reinhart-on-turning-trash-into-treasure-in-the-resale-industry)

 Written by [Aja Frost @ajavuu](https://www.nlopchantamang.com/trends/ebook/author/aja-frost-ajavuu) | Sep 10, 2019 11:05:37 PM

In 2009, long before the “resale market” had picked up steam, thredUP incorporated. Now, 10 years later, they’ve raised over $300m in funding, including a new $175m round announced in August. They also introduced a new platform powering apparel resale for retailers and brands.

But it took Reinhart awhile to understand thredUP’s unique advantage. How’d he do it? By constantly talking to his customers — and asking a few key questions. We talked to Reinhart about how thredUP found its footing, and how he created demand for a product that, at the time, no one was talking about.

**Takeaways**

- Want to find out who your main competition is? Ask your customers what they would use if your company didn’t exist
- To win at a secondhand marketplace, make it as frictionless as possible for sellers
- In an early-stage market, competitors are your friend: The more players, the bigger the pie

### What inspired you to get into the resale industry?

[View full post](https://www.nlopchantamang.com/trends/ebook/articles/james-reinhart-on-turning-trash-into-treasure-in-the-resale-industry)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Aja Frost @ajavuu"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2021-06-10T19:12:28.818Z",
  "datePublished" : "2019-09-10T23:05:37Z",
  "headline" : "James Reinhart on Turning Trash into Treasure in the Resale Industry",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 350,
    "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/3430677/Imported_Blog_Media/lrg-Screen-Shot-2019-09-09-at-7_32_48-PM_20190909233308-Jun-10-2021-07-05-26-50-PM.png",
    "width" : 623
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.nlopchantamang.com/trends/ebook/articles/james-reinhart-on-turning-trash-into-treasure-in-the-resale-industry",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Trends - Ebooks"
  }
}
```