Rare chairs, real money, and the business of getting strangers to trust each other. How 1stDibs turned a Paris shopping habit into a public marketplace - and why shipping quotes now matter as much as taste.
Retrofit is an AI-curated vintage marketplace that uses AI agents to sift through hundreds of thousands of secondhand listings, analyzing social media trends, sales data and personal style to surface pieces matched to a shopper's taste, size and budget. Founded in 2024 by Sandra Lifshits and Maddy Yip and backed by Y Combinator (W25), it standardizes photography and descriptions from partner vintage stores so shoppers get a clean, personalized feed instead of endless digging.
Buffalo Exchange is a family-owned resale fashion chain founded in Tucson, Arizona in 1974 that pioneered the buy-sell-trade model for secondhand clothing. Customers bring in gently used, on-trend clothing and accessories and receive cash or store trade on the spot, while shoppers browse a hand-picked mix of current styles, vintage finds and designer pieces at a fraction of retail. With roughly 40 stores across the United States and about 590 employees, Buffalo Exchange has built a business around affordable, sustainable style, keeping millions of garments in circulation each year and channeling small change into local charities through programs like Tokens for Bags.