Secondhand fashion has stopped being a side category. It’s now a habit, and habits are exactly what loyalty programs are built to protect.
Yet most resale marketplaces still treat loyalty as an afterthought: a seller badge here, a paid early-access subscription there. That leaves value on the table when every member can be both buyer and seller, and good listings are harder to come by than shoppers.
Below, we look at why every resale marketplace needs a recommerce loyalty program, what the biggest players run today, and which behaviors beyond the transaction deserve a reward.
Key takeaways
- Secondhand shopping is now a repeat habit, with 47% of consumers buying secondhand at least monthly, so retention matters as much as growth.
- Sellers are the scarce side of a resale marketplace, so loyalty should reward supply as seriously as spend.
- Non-transactional behaviors like quality listings, fast dispatch, and relisting keep a marketplace moving better than discounts do.
In case you’re also interested in the latest loyalty trends and stats, grab our Global Customer Loyalty Report.
What Is Recommerce?
Recommerce, short for reverse commerce, is the buying and selling of pre-owned goods. In fashion, it covers peer-to-peer marketplaces like Vinted and Depop, consignment platforms like The RealReal, thrifting sites like ThreadUp, and brands’ own branded resale and trade-in programs.
Is Secondhand Fashion Now a Repeat-Purchase Habit?
Yes, and the frequency data shows it. According to eBay’s 2026 Recommerce Report, 47% of surveyed consumers shop secondhand at least monthly, up from 35% a year earlier. On top of that, 89% expect to spend the same or more on secondhand goods in 2027.
The market behind that habit is growing fast. ThredUp’s 2026 Resale Report found that the US secondhand apparel market grew 13% in 2025, nearly four times faster than wider clothing retail. In the same year, 59% of consumers bought secondhand apparel.
Growth attracts competitors, and resale shoppers are value-led. A member with no reason to stay will leave for a lower fee or a better find, which makes recommerce a retention challenge as much as a growth story.
Why Should Resale Marketplaces Reward Sellers First?
Because supply, not demand, is the bottleneck. ThredUp’s report argues that the next $23.3 billion in US resale value depends on making selling as easy as buying. Every seller who leaves takes their inventory to a competitor.
That risk is real, because sellers multi-home: cross-listing tools post the same jacket on three platforms in minutes. A resale loyalty program has to give them a reason to call one platform home, through better visibility, lower fees, or faster payouts.
The two sides also feed each other. eBay told investors that Depop customers who both buy and sell are several times more valuable than one-sided users, and that newer cohorts buy and sell more than earlier ones.
A seller with credit becomes a buyer, and a buyer who sells funds the next purchase. Loyalty is what keeps that loop inside one marketplace.
What Loyalty Schemes Do Resale Platforms Run Today?
Most resale platforms already reward loyalty, but almost always one side of the marketplace at a time.
| Platform | Scheme | Who it rewards |
| ThredUp | Tiered rewards: lower free-shipping minimums, early access to new arrivals, priority service and birthday perks, plus $15 credit for a first Clean Out bag. | Buyers, with one seller incentive |
| The RealReal | RealReal Rewards: four consignor tiers by annual net sales. VIPs get a commission bonus and complimentary First Look access. | Sellers |
| Vestiaire Collective | Trusted and Expert Seller badges (volume, accuracy, shipping speed) and a Fashion Activist badge for buying and selling within a year. | Sellers |
| Depop | Top Seller program: 3 months of targets, then a faster payout, priority support, Forum access, and more. | Sellers |
| Vinted | No points or tiers. Its referral program pays both members vouchers when the newcomer lists 3 items within 7 days and sells within 30 days. | New sellers |
| Rebag | Rebag⁺ membership: a paid membership, where contributions become store credit, plus lower prices and up to 5% higher seller payouts. | Sellers and Buyers |
3 Recommerce Loyalty Programs That Stand Out
Three programs are our favorite examples, each for a different reason: Rebag rewards both sides of one customer, ThredUp swapped points for cheaper perks members value more, and Depop rewards its best sellers with tools to grow.
Rebag⁺: One Membership for Both Sides
One membership covers both sides of the same customer. Rebag lets people sell three ways (consign, trade, or buyout), and Rebag⁺ members get offers up to 5% higher on buyout and consignment sales.
As buyers, members pay up to 5% less, get free shipping and returns, and shop new arrivals early. Their contributions sit as R⁺ Credit that earns a 1% monthly bonus for up to nine months.
The payout bonus pulls in supply, and the credit keeps the money inside Rebag.
ThredUp Insider: Perks Instead of Points
ThredUp dropped points in October 2024 and relaunched its program as ThredUp Insider with three tiers: Star (free), Superstar ($200 spend/year) and VIT, short for Very Important Thrifter ($1,000 spend/year).
Every tier gets a birthday credit and free shipping at lower thresholds, while higher tiers add early access to sales, priority service, and 24-hour early access to new listings. Superstar and VIT members also get a credit for their first Clean Out bag.
Depop Top Seller: Tools as Rewards
Depop’s Top Seller program is seller-side by design. To qualify, sellers need $1,000 or £1,000 in monthly sales for three consecutive months, 50+ new listings a month, a 4.5 lifetime average rating, and buyer disputes under 3% of lifetime sales.
The rewards are business tools rather than discounts: a blue tick, payouts as soon as an item sells instead of after delivery, shop insights, and a community of fellow Top Sellers.
For professional sellers, the most valuable perk is often help growing the shop.
Why Do Resale Platforms Still Need to Reward Buyers?
Because sellers only stay where their items sell. A program built entirely around supply leaves buyers with nothing but price, and price is easy to undercut.
Buyer rewards work best when they suit one-of-a-kind inventory, and when some of them feel like an experience rather than a saving:
- Price-drop alerts on wishlisted items, sent first to top-tier members
- Free shipping on bundled orders from one seller
- Free returns or protection upgrades as a tier perk
- Credit for reviews and fit feedback that helps the next buyer
- Experiential perks such as curated vintage drops, styling sessions with top sellers, and invites to in-person resale events
How Could Recommerce Loyalty Programs Do Better?
Treat each member as one circular customer instead of two.
- One status for buying and selling: Count both sides toward the same tier, so a member who sells three items and buys one outranks a pure shopper.
- Bonus credit instead of cash: A small boost for taking earnings as platform credit keeps money in the loop and costs less than a payout.
- Grace periods before demotion: A tier freeze for a quiet month protects relationships that took months to build.
- Perks only resale can offer: When every item is one of a kind, saved-search alerts, authentication fee waivers, and early access by size beat a 10% discount.
Which Non-Transactional Behaviors Should Recommerce Platforms Reward?
The ones that make the marketplace move faster: listing quality, logistics, and cadence. Members are open to it. Forrester found that 77% of US online adults like to engage with loyalty programs even when they are not buying.
Listing Quality and Trust
In Depop’s first quarter under eBay, its US GMV, monthly active users and items sold each more than doubled year over year on a pro forma basis. Over the same period, Depop simplified its AI-assisted listing flow and started ranking higher-quality listings first.
Points for complete measurements, clear photos, and accurate descriptions make quality a habit. Trust works the same way: when eBay extended its Authenticity Guarantee to lower-priced trading cards, eligible sold items in the US rose more than 20%.
Logistics Milestones
Shipping is where cheap items stop making sense. eBay said its investments in cheaper Depop shipping made lower-priced items economical, increased purchase frequency, and improved seller velocity, helped by access to eBay’s preferred carrier rates.
Loyalty can pull the same lever by rewarding fast dispatch, in-app labels, and bundled orders.
Cadence and Circular Behavior
Reward the rhythm of selling, too: listing streaks and monthly selling milestones, plus relisting past purchases. The RealReal already offers $50 credit for reconsigning a previous purchase listed at $500 or more. Reviews, fit feedback, and referrals belong on the list too.
That’s where an event-based loyalty engine comes in. Any trackable action, from a printed label to a delivered parcel, can trigger a reward and be measured against sell-through.
How Can Antavo Help Recommerce Platforms Reward the Right Behaviors?
Antavo’s loyalty engine is built around events, so anything a marketplace can track can earn a reward.
Workflows turn a listing with complete measurements, a label printed within 48 hours, or a first sale into points, credit, or a status boost.
Challenges cover listing streaks and monthly selling goals, while Tier Management counts buying and selling toward one status.
Through Antavo’s integrations with e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, CRMs, and marketing automation tools, those events flow in automatically, and rewards reach members in the channels they already use.
How Can Fashion Brands Add Branded Resale to an Existing Loyalty Program?
By making resale one more way to earn. Most fashion loyalty programs already have the infrastructure; trade-ins, repairs, and pre-owned purchases just need to count inside it.
- Points on top of trade-in credit. ThredUp’s resale-as-a-service turns resale earnings into store credit with partner brands. Bonus points on that credit tie resale to member status.
- Tier credit for pre-owned. Count secondhand purchases toward tier progress like new ones, so circular shoppers are never second-class members.
- Rewards for care. Repairs, care content, and recycling unsellable items earn points, signaling that the brand values longevity.
- Visible impact. A “pieces kept in circulation” counter turns sustainability from a brand promise into a member status.
For more ways to reward responsible behavior, see our guides to sustainable loyalty programs and green loyalty programs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Recommerce Loyalty Programs
Do resale marketplaces like Vinted and Depop have loyalty programs?
Mostly not in the classic points-and-tiers sense. Vinted, for example, runs a referral program rather than a loyalty program. The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective reward sellers through tiers and badges, while Rebag’s paid membership also covers selling and buying as well.
How do you reward sellers on a secondhand marketplace without discounting?
Reward the behaviors that make selling reliable: complete listings, accurate descriptions, fast dispatch, and steady activity. Higher payouts, commission bonuses, boosted visibility and bonus credit all work better than price cuts. Status matters too, as long as one quiet month doesn’t wipe it out. The aim is a seller who lists more, ships faster, and stays.
How can a resale platform stop sellers from cross-listing on other marketplaces?
It can’t ban cross-listing, but it can make one platform clearly more rewarding. Commission bonuses that grow with volume, visibility boosts, and boosted credit payouts all favor sellers who concentrate their inventory. Tier status built over months is the strongest anchor, because a seller can’t take it to a competitor. Make that status easy to lose and the anchor disappears.
How can fashion brands reward customers for trade-ins and buying pre-owned?
Add resale to the existing loyalty program instead of launching a new one. Award points on top of trade-in credit, count pre-owned purchases toward tier progress, and reward repairs and recycling. A visible impact counter turns those actions into a status members can see. It also gives the brand first-party data on its own secondhand market.
What Is the Real Takeaway for Recommerce Loyalty?
Resale platforms already understand that trust is their product. The next step is seeing loyalty as the way to scale it.
Reward sellers as seriously as buyers. Count both sides toward one status. Pay out in credit that comes back. Reward the listing, the label and the streak, not only the sale.
Do that, and inventory and purchase frequency grow together, which blanket discounts have never managed to buy.
Antavo is the AI loyalty and incentives platform that brings together loyalty, promotions, and agentic AI to turn customers into regulars: the customers who come back on their own, buy more often, and bring others with them. For more than a decade, Antavo has powered identity-led loyalty strategies for brands including SKIMS, Paul Smith, KFC, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, and Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection. Marketers build, change, and launch programs and promotions themselves, without waiting on engineering.
If you’re tired of paying to win the same customers twice, book a call with our experts and see how Antavo turns them into regulars.
Don’t forget to grab the latest edition of our Global Customer Loyalty Report featuring the latest stats and trends!
