Resale vs Takeback Scheme: Which is right for your fashion brand?

If you’re thinking of launching preloved for your fashion brand, there are two key routes you can go down: peer-to-peer resale or a takeback scheme. They’re both great ways to bring circularity into your business, but neither is a one-size-fits-all solution. Your choice will depend on your brand’s size, team capacity, budget, and goals.

So this is a guide to both initiatives, with the questions you need to ask to find the right fit for you.

First of all, let’s get clear on what each one involves:

What is a takeback scheme?

A takeback scheme is when your customer sends their item back to you after they’ve finished using it. You might recycle it, repair it, or clean it up and resell it. In return, you can offer the customer immediate store credit or a discount voucher to spend on new stock.

This model gives you full control over the resale process including logistics, storage, and authentication. You’ll process the stock yourself, store it before it’s sold or recycled, and send it with your preferred courier. You can set up a takeback scheme through a specialist partner who handles the products for you, or you can organise it yourself.

Patagonia’s Worn Wear is a great example, or Toast Reworn.

What is peer-to-peer resale?

Peer-to-peer resale is when your customers sell directly to each other, and you provide a branded marketplace for this. You can set this marketplace up with a partner who powers the technology.

You can generate shipping labels for sellers and promote their listings, but since customers interact directly with one another, you don’t need to process their items yourself or hold onto them as pre-loved stock. Customers can chat to one another, make offers, and post their own photos, with a similar experience to platforms like Vinted or Depop.

For example, take a look at Tiba + Marl, or Sargasso & Grey. They let their community do the heavy lifting while the brands control the environment.

Questions to ask to decide which option is right for you

Let’s look at four key areas that can help you choose which initiative fits your brand. You’ll want to look at your brand positioning, team, products, and goals.

1. What kind of brand are you building?

If your brand is luxury or built around heritage pieces, your customers will expect the highest standards, even from preloved. If they need confidence that your team has verified every item and that they are in perfect condition, a takeback model may be the safer choice.

For premium brands or those shaped by a strong community, peer-to-peer resale could be a natural fit. When your customers trust each other and love sharing stories about your pieces, they’ll want to pass them on to someone who will appreciate them just as much. To build even more trust, you can use customer data to confirm who bought the item and when, giving each listing that extra layer of authenticity.

2. How much time and space do you have?

If you’re a small team already wearing lots of hats, peer-to-peer resale might be the easier option. Since your customers sell to one another, you don’t need a warehouse or a team sorting returns; you just need the right tech in place. Many providers also handle customer service, meaning there’s no need for extra capacity there either.

If you have more capacity or physical space to process items, takeback might work well for you. You can handle the quality checks, cleaning, and reselling, and you get more control in return. Alternatively, you can organise a takeback scheme through a partner that handles processing, repairs, and storage, though they’ll need your input on what to do with different item conditions.

3. How do your pieces hold up over time?

If your products are well-made and still look great after a few wears, peer-to-peer resale can work really well. When quality holds up, buyers feel more confident purchasing secondhand, and sellers feel proud passing items on.

If your products are delicate, require careful inspection, or may need mending, you might want to go with takeback. That way, you can ensure that the listings look great and that the buyer gets their item in the best possible condition.

4. What’s your goal with resale?

If your goal is to grow your community, welcome new customers, and keep fans engaged, peer-to-peer resale is perfect for you. It allows people to connect over shared style, pass on pieces they’ve loved, and bring conversations that might already be happening in Facebook groups or resale apps back onto your own site.

If your goal is to control the entire lifecycle of your products with services like repair and recycling, takeback could be the route for you. Since you handle every item, you can decide on the best course of action for each one.

Both options allow you to increase revenue and customer LTV through offering store credit. With a takeback scheme, you can offer customers a fixed amount of in-store credit per item returned. With peer-to-peer resale, you can offer customers the value of their sale in store credit to spend on a new item. These both boost sales of new stock and keep customers engaged with your brand.

Choose what’s right for your team

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Both peer-to-peer resale and takeback schemes can help your brand move closer to circularity, and it just depends on what you’re building, who your customers are, and what your team can take on right now.

If you’re all about community and need an operationally lightweight solution, peer-to-peer could be the way in. Takeback might be a better fit if you want full control and your pieces need more aftercare.