The Spark of Genius Series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. Each post highlights a unique feature of a startup. If you'd like your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Name: HipSwap
Quick Pitch: An online consignment store for designer fashion and home goods.
Genius Idea: A more visual, more secure alternative to Craigslist.
There are many things to love and despise about Craigslist. In the former category, it's got a clean, simple interface with adequate search and browsing capabilities, it's free to use and it's incredibly easy to list goods you want to get rid of. But anyone who's used Craigslist also knows it can be a headache: Without a verified payment system, the site is a notorious draw for scammers. It can also be difficult to coordinate the buying or selling of goods, since users must often book appointments with each other to examine items and transact sales.
HipSwap, which launched in beta last November, has developed an online and mobile consignment service that addresses many of those issues. CEO and Cofounder Rob Kramer says he was inspired to launch the company after trying to sell a handmade collectors' bike last year: He found eBay's listing process a headache, and it was impossible to show the beauty of the bike on Craigslist, he said.
"eBay is an amazing company, but it has catered over the years to professional sellers," he observed. "It's become too complicated for mass-market sellers, the people who want to sell stuff out of their closets, their garages, their homes. We also wanted to make this a venue for local shops with unique inventory."
HipSwap invites users to set up their own shops with bios and links to their social media profiles, connect (and verify) their PayPal accounts and list items for free. Listings can even be cross-posted to Craigslist with a single click.
Sellers can specify whether an item can be shipped, or if it is only available for local pickup or delivery. If buyers live in Los Angeles or New York City, they can opt to have their item picked up and delivered via one of HipSwap's pink vans for a mere $5 — great if you're in the market for furniture. The startup charges a 3.5% introductory transaction fee.
The listing experience is solid, but the site's browsing and filtering capabilities are in need of some improvement. Shoppers can browse the site by category, region, store or seller or the curated collections HipSwap features on its front page. They can't, however, filter by brands or sizes, which makes shopping the many clothing and accessories products on its site difficult. Search is not much help in that department, either; though I came across size 9 heels on the site, typing in "heels size 9? yielded no results.
HipSwap also runs a charitable program called "HipSwap Saturdays." Residents of Los Angeles and New York City can arrange to have their items picked up and delivered to Goodwill for free on Saturdays.
Santa Monica, Calif.-based startup has raised $1.1 million in seed funding from investors including Founders Fund, Greycroft Partners, Mahalo President Jason Rapp and former Microsoft exec (and early Pinterest investor) Hank Vigil.
Going forward, Kramer says HipSwap is focused on building out its verification systems, video offerings and linking up users' social profiles to help them discover items based on their interests. The startup also plans to expand its delivery service to more cities, including San Francisco, and launch an Android app.
Image courtesy of Flickr, andrewarchy
Series presented by Microsoft BizSpark
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible byMicrosoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives software startups three-year access to Microsoft software development tools, marketing visibility to help promote their business and a connection to the BizSpark ecosystem, giving them access to investors, advisors and mentors. There is no cost to join, so if your startup is privately owned, less than three years old and generates less than U.S. $1M in annual revenue, sign up today.
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