Luxury reseller EndAnd offers one-of-a-kind authentication service

One of the biggest concerns in purchasing a secondhand luxury item is being uncertain if the item is real or fake. And South Korea-based luxury resale platform EndAnd Inc. is at the forefront of providing a sound authentication system amid the rapidly growing luxury resale scene. 

"Our ultimate goal is to provide a service where users worldwide can safely and confidently purchase resale luxury goods without being afraid of counterfeits," said Kim Dong-hyun, the co-founder of EndAnd, in an interview with The Korea Economic Daily on Oct. 13.

Kim said he was interested in selling and buying goods from a young age. But he really got into the online selling segment when he studied abroad in the UK and started selling UK products to Korea-based consumers to earn pocket money.

After returning to Korea, Kim had an opportunity to work as an online seller, during which time he came to understand the market structure and learn what types of products sell well. He saw a promising opportunity in the luxury resale market.

“The common belief among domestic luxury resellers is that luxury items are cheaper abroad, but our approach was different. Our theory was that used luxury goods were cheaper in Korea when factoring in the condition of the items,” said Kim.

In 2018, Kim co-founded EndAnd with Noh Woong-sub. They decided on the name as for one person selling a used luxury item could indicate an 'end' whereas for another it could be an addition.

The two did thorough market research -- distributing used luxury goods abroad and making price comparisons to verify their theory. During this process, they were able to understand what concerns buyers and sellers had and determined that they could start a service that would address the relevant issues.

In 2020, Kim and Noh officially launched the EndAnd service. The company particularly focused on developing a crowdsourcing authentication system where a pool of authentification experts across the globe examine uploaded images of luxury goods to determine if they are real or fake.

According to Kim, EndAnd is the only platform to offer the crowdsourcing authentication system that not only boosts credibility but also saves money and time as the items can be shipped directly from the seller to the buyer once they have been authenticated, without having to go through the company.

“When people want to purchase used luxury goods, their greatest concern is buying a counterfeit. And we worked on removing that barrier by providing not one, but many, hands-on experts to authenticate the products,” Kim said.

Instead of relying on a single opinion, EndAnd collects at least three of the same opinion before making a final decision. The company also provides free authentication services for potential buyers and sellers.

EYES ON THE GLOBAL MARKET

EndAnd's business model is based on sales commissions, which range between 6.9% and 12% depending on the condition of the item. The company is currently focusing on a business-to-business model, providing used luxury goods from Asia to US-based companies as a wholesale provider. Eventually, the company plans to provide consumer-to-consumer (C2C) operations.

Also, unlike other domestic platforms that focus mostly on inbound business for Korean consumers, EndAnd is eyeing the global market -- particularly the US, where most of the company's traffic stems from.

The company is actively seeking overseas partners. For example, companies that run a luxury resale business abroad would be attractive partners as well as logistics partners to provide a streamlined experience for the users.

Recently, EndAnd wrapped up its pre-Series A funding round. The company plans to carry out a Series A round in 2023 after reaching its target transaction volume of 11 billion won ($9.2 million) by the end of 2022.

By Danbee Lee