Dive Brief:

• United Kingdom-based social shopping app Depop announced it has raised $8 million in Series A venture capital to expand into the U.S. market, with Reddit alum Erik Martin leading.

• “Virtual flea market” has logged 1.8 million downloads on iOS and Android in the United Kingdom and hosts millions of items for sale every day.

• The app’s social-networking aspects allow users to comment, converse, and suggest items for friends. 

Dive Insight:

Part eBay, part Instagram, the mobile shopping app Depop has attracted $8 million in venture capital to fund an expansion in the United States led by former Reddit impresario Erik Martin. The easy-to-use “virtual flea market” is compatible with iOS and Android phones; users simply take a picture of the item they want to sell and upload the image to a virtual store.

Although similar secondhand-goods startups such as Yardsale have floundered stateside, Depop’s social-networking capabilities may make the mobile app more roadworthy. Depop encourages recommendations and offers item curation services to grease the wheels of online commerce, and current users—men and women mostly in the 18-36 age bracket—tend to browse, comment and converse in addition to buying.