There comes a crucial time in any fashionable person’s life when they feel slightly overwhelmed by the sheer fullness of their wardrobes.
Where wardrobe doors are close to bursting but most of those clothes you hardly wear? Sound familiar?
Well, that is a massive problem we faced as well during the early stages of the pandemic which is how Wisi-Oi Marketplace started.
At the height of the pandemic, when we were all required to stay at home, we faced the uncanny reality that there was just too much stuff for one person to have.
There were clothes worn only a handful of times or ones that were bought but did not quite fit as well as they were meant to. But the incredible thing is, that someone will always want something you’ve styled incredibly.
That’s how sustainable fashion has blossomed and thrived. Those clothes we have loved and worn time and time again, but no longer have a purpose for us anymore, can be sold to those who want them.
Conveniently, Wisi-Oi offers everything you need and more in one elegantly created platform.
What better way than to declutter your wardrobes and thrift by creating a Wisi-Oi boutique and turn your preloved gems into cash.
With over 150 online boutiques, Wisi-Oi offers the most thrift platform as well as the ultimate guide to shopping online, all in one place.
What do Buyers Need to Know?
Wisi-Oi is one of the biggest preloved fashion marketplaces in South Africa.
Not only does it offer you a platform to essential start your own business selling your own clothes but it also allows you to discover and buy several preloved pieces, from various brands at discounted prices.
To make the deal even sweeter, we have created this platform that allows you to get discovered by other fashionable people who could be interested in partnering with you because of your unique style.
Why Buy Sustainably on Wisi-Oi is the Better Option?
There is a common misconception that thrifting is only reserved for a select group of people with a particular style. There is also an even bigger misconception that preloved clothes are not fashionable and least of all desirable because they have been worn before.
The phenomenal thing about the Wisi-Oi is a thrift marketplace is that it is so easily accessible to everyone.
From start-up fashion designers and stylists to influencers, fashionable individuals and everyone in between.
On that note, what is amazing is how you are directly supporting sustainable fashion by buying from the boutiques on Wisi-Oi. Because boutiques source their preloved items locally from other thrift stores, you are directly supporting the sustainable fashion movement through your support of them.
Thrifting Made Easy
The set-up is simple and hassle-free, the website is easy to navigate and we even have an App that you can download that has the same access, just even more accessible. You can create a wishlist that doubles as a mood board for when you are trying to decide which pieces to introduce into your wardrobe.
Just as you would shop at a variety of different stores, the Wisi-Oi boutiques work the same. Different clothing boutiques source their clothing items from different areas. So, one seller could go out to physical thrift stores and purchase preloved fashion items to sell in their Wisi-Oi boutique. From there, they will upload and sell their items on there.
Benefits of buying on Wisi-Oi
Wisi-Oi has quite an extensive selection of new and thrift boutiques to choose from. The fact that we have just over 150 boutiques, you get to cut your shopping time down by so much because you have the world at your fingers.
You can seamlessly browse all these boutiques, select many pieces and buy all of them without ever having to leave the comfort of your own space.
We have set up our platform in such a way that it makes it easy for you to get discovered by a multitude of interesting people. You can also get styling videos to show different ways to style certain pieces. That said, there are varying sizes from boutique to boutique. Here, you are able to see how certain preloved goodies are styled and how they fit on different body styles.
But rest assured, we ensure that the product description is as true to size as possible. We also create transparency in terms of our boutiques to ensure that you know what you are getting based on familiar brands we all know and love.
Shopping sustainably also gives you a different outlook on shopping entirely. Thrift shopping forces you to slow down your intake of fashion. By slowing down your shopping, you focus more on what you like, how it matches your style and why you like the item. In this way, find a lot more unique pieces than you would in your regular fashion stores.
“And payment? Is it safe?”
Our payment options are safe, easy and flexible with many different options to choose from. While we handle the payments, the sellers can focus on packaging your goodies and shipping them off to you at a small fee. The whole process is both quick and easy.
Over and above the sustainability benefits, this way of shopping is a lot more sustainable than supporting fast fashion companies because it is a more intimate fashion exchange.
Because you are essentially supporting smaller businesses that are just starting up, you are directly impacting their livelihoods by supporting their success.
If there are any problems with orders, you are able to contact sellers directly to flag anything you are unhappy with. For instance, if there is a coat that you do not know how to maintain - in terms of cleaning the item - the buyer is able to contact the seller directly and ask them how can best maintain the preloved clothing item, which is something that is not seen everywhere.
But how do you become a seller, how do you go about buying preloved clothing from the Wisi-Oi Marketplace? Fear not, this is everything you need to know for your ULTIMATE guide to thrifting in South Africa.
How can I sell preloved clothing in South Africa?
Well, the first step would be to download the new Wisi-Oi App app or create a boutique on the website.
You have complete control over your name aesthetic and the general look of your boutique and this is where the fun begins.
If you want to have carefully curated content from your shop store, then you can shoot the content for the pieces you would like to sell and upload them onto your boutique.
You determine the pricing of everything and if you want to make a few items for your store, you can add them there as well.
For each item sold, we - the seller retains 75%, Wisi-Oi marketplace collects a 25% commission.
We make it, even more, hassle-free for you by receiving all payments on your behalf, sorting out all the logistics, and then paying into the bank accounts of each seller twice a month. It's that easy to start thrifting!
But this is not just a seller’s platform, it is just as ideal for buyers too. As we know, thrifting is not the same as conventional retail shopping. The experience is vastly different. With thrifting, you do not plan the trip, you go with the flow with the aim of finding some unique fashionable gems.
But unfortunately, thrifting does require a significant amount of time as one needs to hop from store to store looking for something special.
But as is true to the Wisi-Oi culture, we love to make things super convenient.
you are directly impacting their livelihoods by supporting their success.
You can be both at any point because someone will always love your style just as much as you do, or a the very least draw inspiration from it. While preloved fashion is an option, this platform also allows for emerging designers and stylists to sell some of their pieces without any of the stress of establishing their businesses so early in their careers or having to sell through wholesalers who tend to require a larger share cut.
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