Carousell

Carousell (旋轉拍賣) is a Singaporean e-commerce company, providing consumer to consumer sales servies via a mobile application. It is headquartered in Singapore. Carousell operates within countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, and the United States of America. It is currently available as a mobile app for both Apple and Android devices.

History
Carousell was founded in Singapore on May 1, 2012, by co-founders Quek Siu Rui, Lucas Ngoo, and Marcus Tan. The first item sold on Carousell was an Amazon Kindle e-reader for S$75.

In November 2013, Rakuten, with follow-on investments by Golden Gate Ventures, 500 Startups, and a few other investors invested $1 million in Carousell. Subsequently in November 2014, Carousell announced that it received US$6 million in investment from Sequoia India.

According to Vulcan Post, a Singapore electronic review website, over 2 million items has been transacted on Carousell to date.

Growth
In a similar review by Vulcan Post, statistics showed that Carousell users created over 8 million listings of new items for sale in categories ranging from fashion to furniture and baby products.

To date, Carousell has expanded regionally to three countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan. However, Carousell's expansion into Taiwan faces competition against headstart companies like Yahoo! and Ruten, which are already settled in the e-commerce market.

Partnerships and Collaborations
In January 2013, Singapore Press Holdings' ST Classfieds announced its collaboration with Carousell.

According to a Yahoo Finance article in August 2013, Carousell announced its partnership with Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Magazines, a subsidiary of SPH, to create a mobile app called SheShops Marketplace, selling fashion and beauty items.

Items
Carousell is an online mobile platform for consumers to buy or sell items. It lists and sells a variety of products. Items are prohibited for sale on Carousell if it is illegal and violates the marketplace's community guidelines.

Controversy and Criticism
In a Yahoo Tumblr page, images of users posting photos or screenshots of their bad experiences they encounter on Carousell relating to scam, fraud and harassment have circulated on social media platforms like Facebook and Tumblr. Users of Carousell have also complained about cases of scams by fake sellers.