Dive Brief:

• Mobile-focused resale marketplace startup Poshmark Wednesday announced what it’s calling a “new, private wholesale portal” where sellers can access and sell new, unused merchandise.

• The startup will be vetting sellers for the opportunity, tapping those with the highest sales and best buyer reviews, and will also grant 50 of its sellers $500 grants to help them expand.

• CEO-co-founder Manish Chandra told Retail Dive that the expansion into new merchandise will be a boon to brands and the site, and that the move is part of the startup’s long-term strategy, happening sooner than he thought possible.

Dive Insight:

Poshmark is one of many startups dealing in used clothing and but is unique in its emphasis on community. The site’s activity, which takes place mostly on mobile, involves curated “parties” and social-media-esque sharing, following, and liking that Chandra says makes buying and selling there fun.

For many sellers, it also makes it quite lucrative, he says, and the move to wholesale could ramp that up significantly for some of them, and, if it does, for the site itself.

More than a dozen brands have signed up with Poshmark’s new portal. Chandra told Retail Dive that the site is focusing on unique brands like Style Mafia and Snob Essentials initially in order to appeal to to its younger, fashion-forward users. Because Poshmark is also a tech company, many of its tools, including reviews, will help monitor the quality of the new goods.

“I think with any kind of scaling that you do you have to worry about quality,” he said. “With our curation and tools that we put in place, we can ensure that.”