Have you checked out social media lately? I’ve been inundated with ads for Yaga SA – an e-commerce site aiming to be South Africa’s answer to Depop. In case you didn’t know, I’m a huge fan of buying secondhand where you can, limiting your carbon footprint and swapping clothes with friends.

Textile waste is a huge issue globally, and while I understand how the thrifting market has changed (i.e gotten way more inaccessible for most people) – if you can limit your fast fashion purchases, please do.

I’ve also lamented about how I wished Depop was a bigger thing in South Africa, but people are more likely to use Facebook Marketplace and other groups to buy and sell unwanted goods.

I wish more local gals used Depop or even the thrift collectives did? Like honestly it would be great.

— sweaty (@hey_alyx) April 23, 2019

What is Yaga Marketplace?

Yaga marketplace offers the chance to sell your preloved, totally new or just forgotten things in the most simple and fast way.

Yaga SA Facebook page

The platform was conceptualised in Estonia, (yes, really) and has a thriving community there. Essentially, the platform takes away the hassle of Facebook groups and the risk of potential scams by providing a safe, reliable space to buy and sell new, secondhand and pre-loved clothes.

I don’t know about you, but I really got tired of selling on Facebook because if I didn’t get any responses, I got buyers who didn’t pitch or wasted my time.

How do you get started?

You can check out the Facebook page or go directly to the official site. You can easily log in via Facebook or Google and get started. I would advise just browsing around, checking out different shops and just get a feel for the site itself. Setting up your profile and your own shop is free. I logged in with my Facebook details and kinda just looked around for fun. I don’t have anything to sell just yet – but I’ll probably use this and Instagram if I do.

How does it work?

Yaga acts as the safe middleman and eliminates the chance of being scammed or not being able to get your money. According to the site, they will only transfer the money to the seller’s bank account when a buyer has confirmed receiving their order.

In case of order cancellation we’ll transfer money back to the buyer’s account.

Shipping? The company has partnered up with Aramex and this cost is added to the buyer’s purchase total. But it seems like more than one shipping offering is available.

Will I be using it?

In previous decluttering sessions, I’ve just given away or donated my unwanted items to people who would use them. But I definitely will try out Yaga to sell one or two pieces – it really wouldn’t hurt to check it out? I think it’s really suited to people who have already been selling their clothes or items through other platforms and want to try something new.

The issue is that most South Africans don’t have regular internet access and there is a general distrust regarding online shopping. However, I think Yaga is aiming to hit the internet-savvy high school and student crowd, along with the growing local influencer market.

The platform seems easy to use and hopefully you could make some decent cash from using it. But let me know your thoughts?

Ready to get started? Visit their Facebook page, official site or follow their Instagram for more information

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