Carro, Abound and Droply: What Makers Need To Know
Updated March 2024
For years, Abound was a major player in the wholesale marketplace world – and a major competitor to Faire. So for many small brands, Abound was a marketplace they had considered selling with.
In 2023 and 2024, though, Abound made an abrupt business model transition and then (effectively) closed altogether. In this article we wrangled all the details of that evolution – and we’ll give you the details you need for Abound, Droply, and their Droply’s parent company, Carro.
A Quick Summary On Abound, Droply and Carro.
Abound was an online marketplace that focused on small brands. They operated from 2019 to 2023. Abound transitioned to Droply by Abound in June of 2023.
Droply is a wholesale dropshipping platform that was launched in June of 2023.
Both Abound and Droply were acquired by Carro, a collaborative commerce platform, in January 2024.
For the details of each of these platforms, read on…
What was Abound?
If you hadn’t heard of Abound, this ‘middle of the road’ marketplace was founded in 2019, and was known for their focus on small brands. Abound advertised brands to their retailers via paid ads, facebook groups, and email marketing. They could be difficult for brands just starting out to join, because they required a large Instagram following and over 50 SKUS to be considered.
In June of 2023, Abound sent users notification of their transition to Droply, a drop-shipping marketplace. Users were not automatically migrated to the new website, they had to apply for the new marketplace. Before Droply had been in operation for 6 months, Carro purchased Abound and Droply, to gain access to Abound’s over 70,000 transacting brands.
What was Droply?
Droply was a short lived drop-shipping marketplace founded in June of 2023. Customers would place an order via a retailer’s online storefront (the stockist’s website), and that order would be routed directly to the maker. Stores would keep zero inventory, effectively lowering their overhead costs. Brands had to keep more of their stock on hand, and were required to have a quick lead time and the ability to ship items to the customer.
When Carro purchased Droply’s parent company, Abound in January of 2024, Droply was included in the purchase and merged into Carro.
What is Carro?
Previously known as Influencer News, Carro was founded in 2015, as a venture backed Shopify App focused on Influencer Product Partnerships. They rebranded as Carro and transitioned to a more sustainable cross-selling model in 2021. Their partnerships include some well-known brands like Blendjet, Arizona Iced Tea, Chubbies Shorts, ZigZag, MUDWTR, Rachel Zoe, and Olive & Rain to name a few. Carro is not a wholesale marketplace, they are an e-commerce application that connects brands to retailers selling related products in a drop-shipping model. Their focus is on cross-store selling, mainly to brands using Shopify. They advertise 28,000 Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands, with 1 million products, and over 85 million unique shoppers.
How does Carro work?
Carro markets a curated series of similar brands and/or corresponding products to retailers in order to boost sales and Average Order Value (AOV). Carro facilitates the relationships and infrastructure required for retailers to cultivate a product line-up of complimentary items that customers are more likely to purchase together. For example, customers typically purchase socks and running shorts with running shoes. In this example, Carro would provide the running shoe retailer with related product suggestions like running shorts, socks, sunglasses, sunscreen, hats etc.. Retailers who are seeking complimentary products select products that align with their selected criteria and request a partnership via Carro. Brands with an approval status set to “curated” review and if accepted, their product listing will be displayed on the retailer’s storefront.
Customers place their order via the retailer’s storefront. Those orders are routed to makers directly for fulfillment. Shipping methods and fees are collected by the retailer. Makers are paid minus the revenue split and 5% cut for Carro.
Carro makes their money in two ways, first they receive 5% of each sale of a partner product, and they charge retailers who wish to have 10 or more brand partnerships a tiered subscription fee. There is no fee for makers to join Carro. Makers previously on Abound and/or Droply are not automatically transitioned to Carro and must sign up to use Carro.
Long story short: the Abound wholesale marketplace no longer exists. And Carro, while an interesting exposure opportunity, is not a marketplace. So if you’re looking for a wholesale marketplace to sell to shops, you’ll need to consider Faire or its competitors.
How We Can Help You Grow Wholesale:
Wholesale In a Box
Our beloved comprehensive course and coaching is your all-in-one way to grow wholesale fast, steady, and long-term. Learn more here.
Getting Started With Wholesale
A free 4-part email course covering the basics of how wholesale works, keys for success, whether it’s right for you, and how to get started. Sign up here.
The Wholesale Reset
Our free email course for more advanced brands — we’ll help you reset your approach to wholesale and take concrete steps forward to change your results. Sign up here.
More Free Wholesale Marketplace Resources For Indie Brands:
How to Compare and Choose The Right Wholesale Marketplace For You
Creoate Wholesale Marketplace: Brand Tips + How It Compares To Faire
*At Wholesale In a Box we do not receive any commissions or compensation of any kind from Abound or any other marketplace. All of our educational content is meant to support makers and small brands in making the right choices for them.