A social marketplace for clothes hounds

Now that social networks have become a regular part of the fabric of modern life, segmentation is well under way, with communities popping up all over focused on specific groups and interests. Case in point: OURthreads.com, a social marketplace designed specifically for users interested in fashion, clothing and accessories. Launched earlier this month, OURthreads facilitates the buying, selling and trading of clothes. Registered users begin by setting up a virtual “closet,” which serves as their home page. From there, they can proceed to display items for sale or look through other users’ closets for something to buy or trade. Users can link to their favourite closets, and they can also advertise on the site to bring more visitors to their own Creating a closet, buying, trading and listing items for sale are all free; sellers pay OURthreads a fee of 3.5 percent of the total selling price for anything they sell. Ads, meanwhile, are available in variably priced packages. Cofounder Pete Yonkman explains: “When we designed the concept we tried to create a community that would allow people to easily create value for the items they have, whether they designed them or they just don’t want to wear them any more.” Though it’s just barely out of the starting gates, the Indiana-based site already has a few hundred registered users—an eclectic mix of “boutiques, stay-at-home moms, a retired teacher who knits clothes, some college students and a few independent designers,” Yonkman says. Buying and selling on OURthreads is currently limited to US residents, but the company is open to partnership and ideas from those who want to make the site better. OURthreads is also gearing up to launch a new program next month, Yonkman says—stay tuned for more! Spotted by: Bill McMahon