Rid

What do they actually do

Rid is a consumer resale service that lets you sell by texting a photo of your item. They create the product profile, list it across marketplaces, handle buyer messages and negotiation, and coordinate pickup or shipping. You’re only charged after the item sells, with the commission and a cap stated up front (rid.me).

Behind the scenes, Rid uses automation and an “agent” approach to evaluate items, draft listings, and manage the sale end‑to‑end; they describe this as “agentifying resale” on their YC page (YC profile).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Busy urban professionals clearing space: They don’t have time to photograph, write listings, and juggle buyer messages across platforms; they want a one‑step handoff by texting a photo (rid.me, YC).
• Owners of higher‑value or niche items: They’re unsure how to price or market items and worry about lowball offers; they want credible valuation and skilled negotiation to avoid leaving money on the table (rid.me, YC).
• Older or non‑technical sellers: Marketplace UIs and messaging systems feel confusing; they want a service to post, communicate with buyers, and handle pickup for them (rid.me).
• Small-scale or casual resellers: Listing many items across channels is tedious; they need automated posting, inventory sync, and negotiation to make selling repeatable and less time‑consuming (rid.me, YC).
• Sellers concerned about safety and privacy: They worry about scams, meeting strangers, and sharing personal info; they want clear trust/safety processes, secure payments, and privacy controls when someone else handles listings and buyer contact (rid.me, social/demo comments).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Personal outreach to friends, family, and nearby contacts; run white‑glove, end‑to‑end trials for free or reduced commission to validate the “text a photo” flow and document playbooks and time/cost per sale (rid.me).
• First 50: Turn early users into referrers with small rewards and partner with local movers/estate services and consignment shops; post hyper‑local classifieds (“text a photo”) and standardize onboarding scripts so each referral converts quickly.
• First 100: Run small hyperlocal ads to a text number, sponsor micro‑influencers to show the workflow, and recruit casual resellers with batch intake and consistent payouts; launch a simple buyer/seller referral program and track conversion by channel.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

U.S. recommerce is estimated around $64.3B, while global secondhand apparel alone is projected to reach roughly $367B by 2029, signaling a very large underlying market (Yahoo Finance summary of U.S. recommerce report, ThredUp 2025 Resale Report).

Bottom-up calculation:

Using ~$64.3B U.S. recommerce as a base and assuming 20% is the higher‑value/white‑glove slice, Rid’s relevant U.S. GMV is ~$12.9B; applying 20–40% commissions implies ~$2.6B–$5.1B annual revenue TAM (Yahoo Finance, luxury share commentary: industry summaries, commission benchmarks: The RealReal, consignment split guides).

Assumptions:

• ~20% of U.S. recommerce GMV represents higher‑value/white‑glove‑aligned items.
• Rid’s model can sustain 20–40% commissions in line with consignment/white‑glove benchmarks.
• Initial focus is the U.S.; global expansion is excluded from the near‑term TAM.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• The RealReal: Luxury consignment with authentication and white‑glove services; a leading option for high‑value fashion and accessories with published take‑rate tiers (commission reference).
• ThredUp: Large online consignment/thrift service with a mail‑in “Clean Out” flow where the company lists and sells items for you—mainly apparel (ThredUp).
• Kaiyo: Furniture resale platform offering pickup, listing, and delivery—effectively a white‑glove category specialist for bulky items (Kaiyo).
• AptDeco: Peer‑to‑peer furniture marketplace with integrated pickup and delivery logistics, reducing seller friction for local furniture sales (AptDeco).
• Poshmark: Large peer‑to‑peer fashion marketplace; sellers typically handle their own listings and negotiations, making it a common DIY alternative (Poshmark).