Etsy Takes Cue From eBay, Pilot Tests “Make an Offer” — Retail Bum

Although brand-owned resale is generating a lot of excitement in circular fashion, vintage fashion is also a category that is creating a lot of buzz, especially on marketplaces such as Etsy.

According to Etsy, searches for vintage fashion — articles of clothing between 20 to 100 years old — are conducted on the platform every 10 seconds. The demand has, in fact, been so high that vintage fashion now accounts for nearly 75% of Etsy’s total revenue, which reached a record-high $2 billion in 2022.

Etsy is looking to further capitalize on this trend with a new feature called “Make an Offer,” which is very similar to eBay’s price negotiation feature that allows sellers to suggest a starting price and enables potential buyers to make offers. The offering lets sellers choose which listings to receive bids for and set minimum prices. However, unlike eBay, sellers can manually select which offer they want to accept and directly negotiate with the buyer further.

An Etsy spokesperson confirmed that while the feature is now in testing, it is a behavior that was already taking place informally on the platform. The test’s purpose is to simplify the process for both the seller and buyer.

“Make an Offer” was officially rolled out for testing on April 5, 2023, and will…