OfferUp — a Bellevue startup that helps people buy and sell everything from bed frames to bicycles to used cars — is in the process of raising $60 million to $100 million in venture capital financing, according to a report on Re/Code.
We’ve heard rumblings for months now that OfferUp is on fire, creating an alternative marketplace to Craigslist. But CEO Nick Huzar has kept things pretty close to the vest when we’ve spoken, simply noting that they plan to make a big splash soon.
We’ve reached out to Huzar for comment, and we’ll update this post as we hear more.
A few months ago we heard that Andreessen Horowitz was backing the startup, a tidbit that Re/Code’s Jason Del Rey confirms. The report also notes that OfferUp will be valued at more than $500 million when the round closes, with some early employees cashing out shares.
Huzar came up with the idea of OfferUp after looking around his home after the birth of his daughter. The former DealSpringer CEO and T-Mobile product manager told GeekWire in 2012 that he “soon discovered that many items had to come and go into our home, or else we’d wind up on a TV episode of Hoarders.” More from Huzar — who co-founded the startup in 2011 and raised a seed round of financing a year later — in this episode of NextCast.
OfferUp provides a more visually-appealing listing of products than Craigslist, which continues to thrive despite a rudimentary design.
OfferUp also has embraced mobile, with Re/code noting that the app has consistently ranked in the top 10 of the Google and Apple app stores in recent months.
The timing of the news comes as Etsy — a 10-year-old online marketplace for crafts, jewelry and other items — files to go public. It produced $195 million in revenue last year, up 56 percent over 2013, and is looking to raise $100 million.
UPDATE: OfferUp’s Huzar declined to comment this morning, saying that they are “still not quite ready to tell the OfferUp story.”
Here’s a look at results of a search for “bicycles” in Seattle on OfferUp.
Editor’s note: OfferUp is a GeekWire annual sponsor.
