The Age of Consignment

21 May 2016

The Age of Consignment

HBS alumni have ushered in an era of easy reselling

Re: Rie Yano (MBA 2010); Jie Charles (MBA 2010); Christopher Homer (MBA 2009); James Reinhart (MBA 2009); Israel Ganot (MBA 2000); Eric Grosse (MBA 1995); Aditya Julka (MBA 2009); Osman Khan (MBA 2009)

Topics: Sales-eCommerce Entrepreneurship-General Change-Trends Lifestyle-Fashion and Beauty

Photo by Amy Lombard

“Ethical elimination” is the necessary corollary of ethical consumption, writes the New York Times, and HBS alumni are leading the way with online resell companies that make it easy to get rid of—and even make a profit from—your old gadgets, outdated fashion, and unloved furniture and artworks.

The article highlights the efforts of online fashion resellers Material Wrld, founded by Rie Yano and Jie Zheng (both MBA 2010), and thredUP, founded by Christopher Homer and James Reinhart (both MBA 2009) as well as gadget collector Gazelle, cofounded by Israel Ganot (MBA 2000), furniture marketplace Chairish, cofounded by Eric Grosse (MBA 1995), and art auction house Paddle8, cofounded by Aditya Julka and Osman Khan (both MBA 2009).