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Show HN: I built a website to buy and sell used clothes in Indonesia

92 points by frizkyK 3y ago

edweis 3y ago
Great website! I really like the endeavor.
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Thank you! :)
rizky05 3y ago
Great Job! We need more Indonesian web here in HN. It load fast, and has many items posted. As a native Indonesian, I am curious are you based on jakarta?
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Hey Rizky, thanks a lot. I agree, and yes, I'm in jaksel! :)
carlossouza 3y ago
Nice, well done! Btw, there's a public company in Brazil that does exactly that: https://www.enjoei.com.br/ https://www.enjoei.com.br/ Their GMV is ~US$ 200 million/year, and their revenues are ~US$ 30 million/year.
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Thanks for sharing the website. It's truly inspiring, and I'm loving the clean and intuitive design!
marapuru 3y ago
Looks good, how did you get your initial content on there? Did you reach out to some influencers or used your own local network? Are you also tapping into other Indonesian sites like tokopedia or the gojek/grab economy? Edit: It looks as if you are getting data from instagram. Is that correct?
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Thank you! All the content is user-submitted, and we rely on Instagram and Twitter for traffic. Some influencers spread the word and it really got things rolling. We're actually competing with Tokopedia and Shopee, but they're not exclusively for second-hand clothing, although it's allowed there. We reached out to some sellers and found the turnover rate to be high, but it requires a lot of effort. For pickup and delivery, we collaborate with couriers like Grab and Gojek. Additionally, we've partnered with a company/API that handles pickups and deliveries when a seller makes a sale on our platform, taking advantage of affordable postage in Indonesia. Thrifting in Indonesia is booming, with Instagram as the main hub for buying and selling. Surprisingly, there's no (modern) dedicated platform like those in the West for the Indonesian market. So, I created one, and it gained rapid traction. Now, I'm figuring out how to take it to the next level.
  - marapuru 3y ago
    Thanks for your elaborate answer and good move to build this. I think there are a lot of opportunities there for new digital products like this that fit niches. I think making a basic app out of your website would be a great move.
  - dotcoma 3y ago
    Have you thought about promoting your service via StyleDoubler ? https://www.styledoubler.com/ https://www.styledoubler.com/
    - frizkyK 3y ago
      No I haven't, wasn't aware of them until now. Thanks for the suggestion, will definitely look into it.
st4lz 3y ago
There is a similar company in Europe: https://www.vinted.com/ https://www.vinted.com/ I think the popularity comes from the really good mobile experience, that would be a top priority from a service like this.
- frizkyK 3y ago
  I'm also from Europe, and Vinted is awesome! Totally agree about the mobile aspect. Initially, I focused on making the website mobile-first, but we received numerous requests for a mobile app. Since I'm not well-versed in mobile development and we're self-funded with a tight budget, I opted to super optimize the website for mobile instead. I figured optimizing for free traffic through SEO would be a fantastic starting point. Surprisingly, I stumbled upon a ton of high-traffic keywords with little to no competition, which got me pretty excited.
mrTee1977 3y ago
Nice website. I am just curious to know what web stack (front and backend) you used to develop this website
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Thanks! I've used VueJS/NuxtJS/Tailwind for the frontend and a NodeJS/ExpressJS/Postgres combo for the backend.
  - gminic 3y ago
    Great stack! Is it performing well? Are you using a VPS?
    - frizkyK 3y ago
      Yes! The platform is currently running on a smaller DigitalOcean droplet. I've already upgraded it once and handling some DevOps tasks along the way. The Hackernews traffic is giving the server a serious stress test. As it continues to grow, I'm considering switching to render.com, especially when more expertise is needed to handle the increased demand.
user_named 3y ago
Nice site. The hard part is growing the user base. Have you started and how is it going?
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Thanks! Yup, almost hit 10k sign-ups! Influencers played a big part initially, giving us a boost by mentioning our platform organically. Growth has slowed down lately, but I'm going all-in on SEO. Found a bunch of untapped, high-traffic keywords with little competition. Fingers crossed for some serious results!
  - user_named 3y ago
    It's cool that you're doing SEO and SEM in Bahasa. On your own or with a team?
    - frizkyK 3y ago
      Doing it on my own. I'm running the platform, along with my girlfriend. She handles design and social media marketing, while I take care of development and SEO. Team effort! :)
    - netsharc 3y ago
      My pet peeve: people calling it "Bahasa". It's called Indonesian. Or "Bahasa Indonesia". Bahasa just means "language". Do you also ask people if they speak "langue" if you want to know if they speak French?
      - _TwoFinger 3y ago
        Indonesians themselves call it "bahasa". I guess the user you responded to is either Indonesian, or has been there.
        netsharc 3y ago
        LOL, sibling comment voted to death, because I guess HNers know better than 2 native speakers (I am also one). If you're talking about Indonesians refererring to Indonesian in an English language context, yeah some of them do this too (like the original commenter I replied to above), I can't imagine a context where an Indonesian would ask someone else in Indonesian if they understood "bahasa", because the Indonesian being asked would wonder "Which language do you mean?". It would be like a Brit asking someone in London, "Do you speak language?". But just like there's Singlish in Singapore, there's probably Indonesian English. Another pet peeve of mine is Indonesians using "married" as a verb (in an Indonesian sentence) instead of an adjective.
msephton 3y ago
This is awesome, well done! I use Depop and Vinted here in the UK. We also have one called Preloved, which could be problematic. I also know some vintage clothes sellers and a lot of stock comes from Indonesia. I'm always on the lookout for specific colours and styles of vintage items. Could you open up your site Internationally somehow? I can already search using English terms. Currency conversion would be relatively easy. The main thing would be shipping. It might only be sensible to collect packages in Indonesia and ship them in bulk to the buyer (so, like Buyee for things from Japan)
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Thanks a bunch! I'm familiar with and love Depop! And I'm aware of Preloved too. Luckily, we're targeting different countries, so that potential issue you mentioned might not affect us. Love the idea of international shipping! The shipping API we partnered with supports it, so it's definitely on our radar for the future. However, our current Indonesian payment provider has limitations. Credit card payments are disabled due to low usage, and the fees are quite high. Maybe we can consider implementing a minimum spending requirement for international orders? On another note, I'll be kicking off the dev of the mobile app soon, so it might be a while before we can accept international orders.
  - synthpop 3y ago
    +1 for international orders, would love to get notified once that goes live. I noticed that there doesn't seem to be a shopping cart to check out with multiple items at once, even if they're all from the same seller. Suppose that's not a big deal yet until I'm actually able to get orders shipped to USA, though. Good looks so far, very promising stuff!
    - frizkyK 3y ago
      Absolutely! I'll prioritize working on the shopping cart soon. Thanks for your interest! To stay updated, the best way is to create an account. Once international shipments become available, I'll send an email to everyone since it's a major development.
4silvertooth 3y ago
What's the decimal format of Indonesia, I am seeing price like Rp 4.500.000, how much is that?
- daveguy 3y ago
  Much of the world uses . and , in the opposite way we do in the US. So the dollar store here would have 1.00 prices here, but 1,00 elsewhere. Rp 4.500.000 is 4.5 million rupees, which is currently about $54,865.00.
  - BOOSTERHIDROGEN 3y ago
    4.5 million rupiah is USD300
  - frizkyK 3y ago
    You're right about the commas, however, Indonesia uses the Rupiah, which sounds very similar to the Rupee used in India. Just to clarify, 4500000 rupiah is approximately equivalent to 300 USD.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
msephton 3y ago
The site seems to be having some loading issues right now. Lots of images failing to load.
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Yes, sorry for that! Unexpectedly made it to the front page of Hackernews, and now my small server is seriously being put through its paces. It's clear I need to upgrade it ASAP.
no_wizard 3y ago
I'm curious: Why Indonesia? Is there a specific reason for sourcing from this country over others?
- anotheraccount9 3y ago
  I'm guessing ease of shipping locally. I'm very curious too - there must be some practical or legal obstacle?
  - frizkyK 3y ago
    Yep, local shipping companies here are great! They offer pickups and deliveries for around a dollar, sometimes even less within the same city. When sellers make a sale on our platform, their item gets picked up from their address and delivered, usually on the same day, depending on the chosen delivery option.
- frizkyK 3y ago
  The platform is exclusively for the Indonesian market, allowing transactions within Indonesia only. Though I'm born and raised in the Netherlands, my Indonesian heritage and language skills give me some insight into the market. After doing limited SEO and market research, I saw a great opportunity. So, I hacked together a platform and recently launched it. It's showing promise, but I'm still a bit skeptical.
- robobro 3y ago
  Literally tons of used clothing gets sent here. Indonesia is not very green but technology like this can help address that
  - frizkyK 3y ago
    Exactly this
  - reverendjames 3y ago
    Not any more. The ban on clothing importation was recently enforced and my friend lost their business, and their shipments were seized. This will likely affect the business discussed in this post.
bevan 3y ago
Great site! Had a brief look and the clothes look great. Looks like CC isn't accepted, but bank transfer is. Curious why that is?
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Thanks! In Indonesia, credit card usage is around 6%, one of the lowest in the region. We prioritize e-wallet payments, with banks as a secondary option. E-wallets have minimal fees compared to credit cards, which are relatively high with our current payment provider. For now, I've disabled credit card payments, but I might enable them in the future for orders above a certain amount.
hzzhdev 3y ago
Awesome stuff! Any plans on getting investors on board or get funding for team expansion etc.?
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Thank you! While it's not in my immediate plans, I'm definitely intrigued and open to learning more about it, especially if the platform keeps growing.
mandeepj 3y ago
Your site logo has a 8 bit flair. Are you a Minecraft or Mario fan? Are you comfortable in sharing your MRR? Even ballpark is ok. If traffic is slowing down, your site might be suffering from that post-runout exhaustion in that channel. I see you are already taking steps to mitigate that. Have you thought about partnering or hosting your inventory on a popular retailer's site? Good luck with your biz.
- frizkyK 3y ago
  I used to be a gamer, but I have to give credit to my partner for creating the logo, haha Currently, the MRR is in the low three figures. No, I haven't explored that yet. It sounds intriguing, but managing and removing user-submitted content could be challenging since it's all user-driven. Thanks a lot!
taw1516 3y ago
wow this is great job! Congrats. Curious if you can share your tech stack for this? Did you use any headless commerce to speed up development?
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Thank you! I've used VueJS/NuxtJS/Tailwind for the frontend and a NodeJS/ExpressJS/Postgres backend. I've developed everything custom and didn't rely on a headless commerce solution.
  - taw1516 3y ago
    it's amazing you built a complex marketplace/commerce site all from scratch. big kudos! if you ever do a paid course on your development, I am more than happy to pay!
    - frizkyK 3y ago
      Awhh, thank you! I don't have plans for a course, but feel free to hit me up on Twitter if you need any help or advice, haha. Best way to learn imo is to just start with an idea and tackle one task at a time. Before you know it, you'll have a fully functional and impressive creation on your hands
akomtu 3y ago
How do you automate sorting clothes? I assume you're getting huge piles of random stuff.
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Surprisingly, we only had a couple of random submissions out of thousands. I've added categories, subcategories, brands, colors, and sizes for users to customize their listings. Thankfully, most users are putting in a lot of effort, so moderation isn't a big issue in this area. I set up a Telegram bot to notify me whenever a new listing is added, which helps me stay on top of things quickly. :)
- Closi 3y ago
  It’s like eBay - clothes are listed and shipped by users. If you did have to sort clothes from bags though you would probably just do it manually to start with, and if you had to scale up you would probably empty the bags onto a belt conveyor and then have people manually pick and sort into different containers, then put those containers through inspection phases or different disposition routes (ie only a small portion will contain clothing worthy of sale on an apparel site, some will be stained and need to go through a different sales channel, there will be bags of junk or bedsheets that need to be sent for shredding to become industrial rags etc)
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

92 points by frizkyK 3y ago

edweis 3y ago

Great website! I really like the endeavor.

frizkyK 3y ago
Thank you! :)

rizky05 3y ago

Great Job! We need more Indonesian web here in HN. It load fast, and has many items posted. As a native Indonesian, I am curious are you based on jakarta?

frizkyK 3y ago
Hey Rizky, thanks a lot. I agree, and yes, I'm in jaksel! :)

carlossouza 3y ago

Nice, well done! Btw, there's a public company in Brazil that does exactly that: https://www.enjoei.com.br/ https://www.enjoei.com.br/ Their GMV is ~US$ 200 million/year, and their revenues are ~US$ 30 million/year.

frizkyK 3y ago
Thanks for sharing the website. It's truly inspiring, and I'm loving the clean and intuitive design!

marapuru 3y ago

Looks good, how did you get your initial content on there? Did you reach out to some influencers or used your own local network? Are you also tapping into other Indonesian sites like tokopedia or the gojek/grab economy? Edit: It looks as if you are getting data from instagram. Is that correct?

frizkyK 3y ago
Thank you! All the content is user-submitted, and we rely on Instagram and Twitter for traffic. Some influencers spread the word and it really got things rolling. We're actually competing with Tokopedia and Shopee, but they're not exclusively for second-hand clothing, although it's allowed there. We reached out to some sellers and found the turnover rate to be high, but it requires a lot of effort. For pickup and delivery, we collaborate with couriers like Grab and Gojek. Additionally, we've partnered with a company/API that handles pickups and deliveries when a seller makes a sale on our platform, taking advantage of affordable postage in Indonesia. Thrifting in Indonesia is booming, with Instagram as the main hub for buying and selling. Surprisingly, there's no (modern) dedicated platform like those in the West for the Indonesian market. So, I created one, and it gained rapid traction. Now, I'm figuring out how to take it to the next level.
- marapuru 3y ago
  Thanks for your elaborate answer and good move to build this. I think there are a lot of opportunities there for new digital products like this that fit niches. I think making a basic app out of your website would be a great move.
- dotcoma 3y ago
  Have you thought about promoting your service via StyleDoubler ? https://www.styledoubler.com/ https://www.styledoubler.com/
  - frizkyK 3y ago
    No I haven't, wasn't aware of them until now. Thanks for the suggestion, will definitely look into it.

st4lz 3y ago

There is a similar company in Europe: https://www.vinted.com/ https://www.vinted.com/ I think the popularity comes from the really good mobile experience, that would be a top priority from a service like this.

frizkyK 3y ago
I'm also from Europe, and Vinted is awesome! Totally agree about the mobile aspect. Initially, I focused on making the website mobile-first, but we received numerous requests for a mobile app. Since I'm not well-versed in mobile development and we're self-funded with a tight budget, I opted to super optimize the website for mobile instead. I figured optimizing for free traffic through SEO would be a fantastic starting point. Surprisingly, I stumbled upon a ton of high-traffic keywords with little to no competition, which got me pretty excited.

mrTee1977 3y ago

Nice website. I am just curious to know what web stack (front and backend) you used to develop this website

frizkyK 3y ago
Thanks! I've used VueJS/NuxtJS/Tailwind for the frontend and a NodeJS/ExpressJS/Postgres combo for the backend.
- gminic 3y ago
  Great stack! Is it performing well? Are you using a VPS?
  - frizkyK 3y ago
    Yes! The platform is currently running on a smaller DigitalOcean droplet. I've already upgraded it once and handling some DevOps tasks along the way. The Hackernews traffic is giving the server a serious stress test. As it continues to grow, I'm considering switching to render.com, especially when more expertise is needed to handle the increased demand.

user_named 3y ago

Nice site. The hard part is growing the user base. Have you started and how is it going?

frizkyK 3y ago
Thanks! Yup, almost hit 10k sign-ups! Influencers played a big part initially, giving us a boost by mentioning our platform organically. Growth has slowed down lately, but I'm going all-in on SEO. Found a bunch of untapped, high-traffic keywords with little competition. Fingers crossed for some serious results!
- user_named 3y ago
  It's cool that you're doing SEO and SEM in Bahasa. On your own or with a team?
  - frizkyK 3y ago
    Doing it on my own. I'm running the platform, along with my girlfriend. She handles design and social media marketing, while I take care of development and SEO. Team effort! :)
  - netsharc 3y ago
    My pet peeve: people calling it "Bahasa". It's called Indonesian. Or "Bahasa Indonesia". Bahasa just means "language". Do you also ask people if they speak "langue" if you want to know if they speak French?
    - _TwoFinger 3y ago
      Indonesians themselves call it "bahasa". I guess the user you responded to is either Indonesian, or has been there.
      - netsharc 3y ago
        LOL, sibling comment voted to death, because I guess HNers know better than 2 native speakers (I am also one). If you're talking about Indonesians refererring to Indonesian in an English language context, yeah some of them do this too (like the original commenter I replied to above), I can't imagine a context where an Indonesian would ask someone else in Indonesian if they understood "bahasa", because the Indonesian being asked would wonder "Which language do you mean?". It would be like a Brit asking someone in London, "Do you speak language?". But just like there's Singlish in Singapore, there's probably Indonesian English. Another pet peeve of mine is Indonesians using "married" as a verb (in an Indonesian sentence) instead of an adjective.

msephton 3y ago

This is awesome, well done! I use Depop and Vinted here in the UK. We also have one called Preloved, which could be problematic. I also know some vintage clothes sellers and a lot of stock comes from Indonesia. I'm always on the lookout for specific colours and styles of vintage items. Could you open up your site Internationally somehow? I can already search using English terms. Currency conversion would be relatively easy. The main thing would be shipping. It might only be sensible to collect packages in Indonesia and ship them in bulk to the buyer (so, like Buyee for things from Japan)

frizkyK 3y ago
Thanks a bunch! I'm familiar with and love Depop! And I'm aware of Preloved too. Luckily, we're targeting different countries, so that potential issue you mentioned might not affect us. Love the idea of international shipping! The shipping API we partnered with supports it, so it's definitely on our radar for the future. However, our current Indonesian payment provider has limitations. Credit card payments are disabled due to low usage, and the fees are quite high. Maybe we can consider implementing a minimum spending requirement for international orders? On another note, I'll be kicking off the dev of the mobile app soon, so it might be a while before we can accept international orders.
- synthpop 3y ago
  +1 for international orders, would love to get notified once that goes live. I noticed that there doesn't seem to be a shopping cart to check out with multiple items at once, even if they're all from the same seller. Suppose that's not a big deal yet until I'm actually able to get orders shipped to USA, though. Good looks so far, very promising stuff!
  - frizkyK 3y ago
    Absolutely! I'll prioritize working on the shopping cart soon. Thanks for your interest! To stay updated, the best way is to create an account. Once international shipments become available, I'll send an email to everyone since it's a major development.

4silvertooth 3y ago

What's the decimal format of Indonesia, I am seeing price like Rp 4.500.000, how much is that?

daveguy 3y ago
Much of the world uses . and , in the opposite way we do in the US. So the dollar store here would have 1.00 prices here, but 1,00 elsewhere. Rp 4.500.000 is 4.5 million rupees, which is currently about $54,865.00.
- BOOSTERHIDROGEN 3y ago
  4.5 million rupiah is USD300
- frizkyK 3y ago
  You're right about the commas, however, Indonesia uses the Rupiah, which sounds very similar to the Rupee used in India. Just to clarify, 4500000 rupiah is approximately equivalent to 300 USD.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

msephton 3y ago

The site seems to be having some loading issues right now. Lots of images failing to load.

frizkyK 3y ago
Yes, sorry for that! Unexpectedly made it to the front page of Hackernews, and now my small server is seriously being put through its paces. It's clear I need to upgrade it ASAP.

no_wizard 3y ago

I'm curious: Why Indonesia? Is there a specific reason for sourcing from this country over others?

anotheraccount9 3y ago
I'm guessing ease of shipping locally. I'm very curious too - there must be some practical or legal obstacle?
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Yep, local shipping companies here are great! They offer pickups and deliveries for around a dollar, sometimes even less within the same city. When sellers make a sale on our platform, their item gets picked up from their address and delivered, usually on the same day, depending on the chosen delivery option.
frizkyK 3y ago
The platform is exclusively for the Indonesian market, allowing transactions within Indonesia only. Though I'm born and raised in the Netherlands, my Indonesian heritage and language skills give me some insight into the market. After doing limited SEO and market research, I saw a great opportunity. So, I hacked together a platform and recently launched it. It's showing promise, but I'm still a bit skeptical.
robobro 3y ago
Literally tons of used clothing gets sent here. Indonesia is not very green but technology like this can help address that
- frizkyK 3y ago
  Exactly this
- reverendjames 3y ago
  Not any more. The ban on clothing importation was recently enforced and my friend lost their business, and their shipments were seized. This will likely affect the business discussed in this post.

bevan 3y ago

Great site! Had a brief look and the clothes look great. Looks like CC isn't accepted, but bank transfer is. Curious why that is?

frizkyK 3y ago
Thanks! In Indonesia, credit card usage is around 6%, one of the lowest in the region. We prioritize e-wallet payments, with banks as a secondary option. E-wallets have minimal fees compared to credit cards, which are relatively high with our current payment provider. For now, I've disabled credit card payments, but I might enable them in the future for orders above a certain amount.

hzzhdev 3y ago

Awesome stuff! Any plans on getting investors on board or get funding for team expansion etc.?

frizkyK 3y ago
Thank you! While it's not in my immediate plans, I'm definitely intrigued and open to learning more about it, especially if the platform keeps growing.

mandeepj 3y ago

Your site logo has a 8 bit flair. Are you a Minecraft or Mario fan? Are you comfortable in sharing your MRR? Even ballpark is ok. If traffic is slowing down, your site might be suffering from that post-runout exhaustion in that channel. I see you are already taking steps to mitigate that. Have you thought about partnering or hosting your inventory on a popular retailer's site? Good luck with your biz.

frizkyK 3y ago
I used to be a gamer, but I have to give credit to my partner for creating the logo, haha Currently, the MRR is in the low three figures. No, I haven't explored that yet. It sounds intriguing, but managing and removing user-submitted content could be challenging since it's all user-driven. Thanks a lot!

taw1516 3y ago

wow this is great job! Congrats. Curious if you can share your tech stack for this? Did you use any headless commerce to speed up development?

frizkyK 3y ago
Thank you! I've used VueJS/NuxtJS/Tailwind for the frontend and a NodeJS/ExpressJS/Postgres backend. I've developed everything custom and didn't rely on a headless commerce solution.
- taw1516 3y ago
  it's amazing you built a complex marketplace/commerce site all from scratch. big kudos! if you ever do a paid course on your development, I am more than happy to pay!
  - frizkyK 3y ago
    Awhh, thank you! I don't have plans for a course, but feel free to hit me up on Twitter if you need any help or advice, haha. Best way to learn imo is to just start with an idea and tackle one task at a time. Before you know it, you'll have a fully functional and impressive creation on your hands

akomtu 3y ago

How do you automate sorting clothes? I assume you're getting huge piles of random stuff.

frizkyK 3y ago
Surprisingly, we only had a couple of random submissions out of thousands. I've added categories, subcategories, brands, colors, and sizes for users to customize their listings. Thankfully, most users are putting in a lot of effort, so moderation isn't a big issue in this area. I set up a Telegram bot to notify me whenever a new listing is added, which helps me stay on top of things quickly. :)
Closi 3y ago
It’s like eBay - clothes are listed and shipped by users. If you did have to sort clothes from bags though you would probably just do it manually to start with, and if you had to scale up you would probably empty the bags onto a belt conveyor and then have people manually pick and sort into different containers, then put those containers through inspection phases or different disposition routes (ie only a small portion will contain clothing worthy of sale on an apparel site, some will be stained and need to go through a different sales channel, there will be bags of junk or bedsheets that need to be sent for shredding to become industrial rags etc)

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]