SidelineSwap, the leading resale marketplace in sports, today announced that it received a strategic investment from DICK’S Sporting Goods, the leading sporting goods retailer. The two companies have been expanding their resale partnership, including more pop-up trade-in events.
“This is a big step for us,” said Brendan Candon, Co-founder and CEO of SidelineSwap. “This partnership started with our commitment to make it easy for anyone to sell their used sports equipment. We’ve spent the last 5+ years building the best online resale marketplace in sports, and now we’re expanding the business to power resale wherever athletes shop or play through our trade-in platform.”
The resale marketplace landscape is rapidly evolving. Customer adoption of secondhand buying and selling continues to outpace retail growth, and is expected to grow 127% by 2026 according to ThredUp’s 2022 Resale Report. With 3 in 4 consumers reporting that they shopped or were open to shopping secondhand in the past 12 months, it’s clear resale is going mainstream. The increased adoption, led by millennials and Gen Z, is driving brands and retailers to incorporate resale into their shopping experiences. Recently many brands and retailers, including Lululemon, Ikea, and Allbirds, have introduced circular shopping experiences powered by resale partners.
By introducing the SidelineSwap Trade-in Platform, which will include pop-up events, in-store and online trade-in options for brands and retailers, and a suite of tools for resellers in the SidelineSwap community to power their own trade-in experiences, SidelineSwap is building what is likely the next generation of resale marketplaces. The Trade-in Platform is powered by SidelineSwap’s best-in-class marketplace technology and proprietary resale data. The hybrid model, which includes peer-to-peer and first party sales, gives sellers the option to choose whatever works best for them – direct resale or instant trade-in value. Together, this ensures sporting goods customers can always find the biggest and best selection of gear at the best prices on the marketplace.
In some cases customers may even find listings on a partner’s branded marketplace, which SidelineSwap also recently introduced.
“Our trade-in experiences are a true win-win-win,” said Doug Smith, VP of Partnerships at SidelineSwap. “Customers earn great value on their used equipment with hardly any work, retailer partners increase sales and foot traffic while embracing sustainability, and SidelineSwap will have an even better selection of deals. We’re just getting started on a much bigger vision for resale in sports and beyond.”
Founded in 2015, SidelineSwap is the world’s largest online marketplace for sporting goods.