OfferUp, letgo To Merge As Biz Nets $120M In VC Funds

OfferUp has been winning recently, closing out a $120 million funding round and acquiring its top competitor, letgo, according to a blog post on the company’s website.

The funding round ended with support from leader OLX Group as well as previous OfferUp investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, GGV Capital and Warburg Pincus. OLX Group is the top investor for letgo, which led to the latter company being acquired by OfferUp, according to TechCrunch.

Both OfferUp and letgo are some of the larger third-party eCommerce sites outside of the biggest names like Amazon and eBay. The merger will allow OfferUp to play at a more consistent level with its bigger rivals.

The acquisition of letgo was touted as a good opportunity to move forward with goals of creating a massive, easy-to-use and wide-spanning database for both buyers and sellers.

Nothing will change for existing OfferUp or letgo accounts, the blog stated, and any items already on either site will remain intact with no changes. The apps for both services will still be available on the Play Store and App Store.

The union of the two companies will make way for an overall larger network of buyers and sellers. Shipping will be nationwide. And there will be access to advanced trust and safety programs.

For consumers, the merger will mean that they won’t have to list their for-sale electronics, furniture or other household items on as many different platforms anymore.

Since its formation nearly a decade ago, OfferUp has raised a total of $380 million, TechCrunch reported.

In the blog post, OfferUp acknowledged that the current coronavirus pandemic may not be the optimal time to announce such good fortunes, but the company wanted to continue to provide services in spite of the challenging times.

eCommerce has seen an increase in activity lately, as customers shy away from traditional retail, and in many cases cannot shop that way as stores close and people are laid off. A recent survey by PYMNTS show that 28.3 percent shop in stores less often, and 10.5 percent shop online more often.