I was sick of Vinted ghosters & Facebook time-wasters – so I built a rival app for parents and plan to be my own boss

A SAVVY mum was so fed up of Vinted bargain hunters ghosting her that she created her own online marketplace for parents. Karolina Gudes, 34, was surrounded by bags and boxes of clothes, toys and equipment after her daughter Sofia quickly outgrew them. Karolina became overwhelmed by outgrown belongings when Sofia was a baby Credit: Karolina Gudes/Kidora Karolina Gudes and Martin Kvasnica with their children, Sofia and Kai. But when she tried to clear the clutter through Facebook Marketplace, Vinted and eBay, she found selling it was often more trouble than it was worth. Buyers would haggle over agreed prices, stop replying or simply fail to turn up. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! She launched Kidora, a marketplace dedicated to baby and children’s items, last year. Karolina, who lives in Flintshire, North Wales, with her partner Martin Kvasnica, 40, a senior software quality assurance engineer, and their children Sofia, three, and Kai, two, said: “The hardest part was the amount of time it wasted, especially as a mum with a baby and a young child. “Someone would ask if an item was available, we would agree a price, I would take it off the market and arrange a collection. “Then they would stop replying, cancel at the last minute, try to haggle again or simply not turn up.” Bags of clutter Karolina wanted to create a marketplace solely for children’s products Credit: Karolina Gudes/Kidora Karolina, who moved to the UK from Poland in 2012, first became overwhelmed by outgrown belongings when Sofia was a baby. She said: “Children move through sizes so quickly. Before I knew it, we had bags and boxes of clothes, toys, books, baby essentials and equipment building up.” Most read in Money Initially, Karolina took several large bags to charity shops, but some were already inundated with donations and could not accept everything. Many of Sofia’s clothes were brand new or had been worn only once or twice, so she tried selling them online. She listed items for as little as £2 and said her aim was not to make a fortune, but to reclaim space while helping another family. However, products could sit unsold on eBay for months, while children’s items quickly became lost among millions of Vinted listings. Facebook Marketplace brought different problems. Karolina said: “Sometimes I would keep an item back for someone and turn down other interest because I thought it had sold. “When the person didn’t arrive, I had to start all over again. “It wasn’t just about the money. It was the effort of washing, sorting, photographing and listing everything while looking after young children.” ‘I should try and build one myself’ The first version of Kidora launched in May 2025 Credit: Karolina Gudes/Kidora The repeated no-shows convinced Karolina there had to be a better way. Her idea was cemented when she discovered The Octopus Club, a UK marketplace dedicated to preloved baby and children’s goods, had closed. She said: “That really stayed with me. I remember thinking, ‘If there are so few focused options for UK parents, maybe I should try to build one myself.’” Karolina told Martin, who is originally from the Czech Republic, that she wanted to create a marketplace solely for children’s products. She said: “At first, I think it sounded like a huge thing to take on, especially with two young children and work. “But he understood why I cared because he had seen how frustrating selling had been.” The couple and Martin’s close friend, John Prydderch, invested around £4,000 of their savings to get the first version of Kidora launched in May 2025. The money went towards WordPress plugins and software, servers and hosting, branding, marketing, registering and running the business, trademark costs, Information Commissioner’s Office registration and other legal, administrative and platform expenses. They didn’t use outside investment, business loans or grants. Martin and John, who is also a senior software quality assurance engineer, developed the technology themselves, meaning the team avoided the cost of hiring an external agency. The original platform was built using WordPress with a webview-style app, but the team later decided to rebuild it from scratch. Martin and John spent just over 12 months developing and testing new native iPhone and Android apps and a Laravel-based website outside their full-time jobs, often working late at night and at weekends. Karolina focused on the original idea and the platform’s overall direction. The trio have now invested around £7,000 of their own money in Kidora, including the initial launch costs and further spending on infrastructure, servers, services, marketing and operating the platform during the rebuild. ‘Built around family life’ Karolina started Kidora with support from her partner Karolina has continued working in full-time in retail at Waitrose while building Kidora. She said: “Kidora has been built around family life, work, evenings, late nights and weekends. “The bigger sacrifice has been time. I’m raising two very young children, still working and trying to build something useful for parents. “A lot of Kidora has been built in the small gaps around normal family life.” Parents can use the platform to buy and sell items for babies and children up to the age of 17. Products include clothes, shoes, toys, books, prams, nursery furniture and feeding and care equipment. Items can also be offered free for local collection. Like Vinted, Kidora does not charge sellers a listing fee or take a commission from the item’s sale price. Instead, buyers pay a Kidora Fee of 5% of the price, plus 70p per item. Paid orders must be processed through its PayPal-integrated checkout, while cash purchases are prohibited. Part of the Kidora Fee, which includes Buyer Protection, covers PayPal’s transaction charge, with the remainder helping Kidora operate and improve its services. A growing platform More than 2,000 people have registered with Kidora, with around 500 parents listing products. Clothes, books, toys, shoes and small bundles are among the most popular products, while more valuable listings include prams, nursery furniture and larger pieces of baby equipment. Around 637 individual products have been sold through Kidora so far, with approximately 95% of orders placed in the past two months. Karolina has personally listed more than 300 of her family’s outgrown items on the platform, many of which have sold. Like other sellers, she keeps the full sale price from those transactions. Kidora’s business revenue comes from the Kidora Fee paid by buyers, and currently brings in around £135 a month but it varies month-to-month. Its core monthly running costs are just over £200, with any additional money amde spent on advertising, development, testing and improvements. Karolina does not take a wage, as all income is reinvested in running, marketing, developing and growing the platform. Keeping customers safe Kidora’s Parent Hub contains 88 pages of family guides Credit: Karolina Gudes/Kidora Karolina said members can report listings, sellers, reviews and messages, as well as block other users. Its messaging system checks for suspicious links and words or phrases commonly associated with scams. Kidora also says listings are checked against the European Commission’s Safety Gate recall database, with possible matches flagged for review. Recalled or unsafe products, counterfeit goods, illegal items, adult clothes and unrelated household products are prohibited. Karolina said: “Children’s items are a sensitive category, so we wanted extra checks rather than treating them in the same way as ordinary second-hand fashion.” Kidora has also expanded beyond buying and selling. Its Parent Hub contains 88 pages of family guides, covering topics such as saving money, school uniforms, packed lunches, recycling and starting school. Its Family Places service also lets parents search more than 6,500 family-friendly attractions and activities across the UK. ‘Reduce waste, save money and feel supported’ Karolina hopes Kidora will become one of Britain’s most useful parenting apps. She said: “My dream is for it to become a trusted place where parents can buy and sell baby and children’s items, find practical family information and discover places to go. “It’s not just about second-hand selling. It’s about helping families make children’s items go further, reduce waste, save money and feel supported.” And she has a few words of wisdom for parents surrounded by mountains of outgrown clothes. She said: “Start small. Pick one bag, sort it by size and condition, take clear photos, be honest and price things realistically. “Even if something only sells for a few pounds, it clears space, gives the item a second life and may help another family. “And if you don’t want to sell something, passing it on for free can still make a real difference.” How to sell baby clothes online Choose the right platformTry Vinted or Depop for easy clothing sales, eBay for branded or special-occasion outfits, and Facebook Marketplace or local parenting groups for bundles and collection-only sales. Prepare the clothesWash and neatly fold each item, then check for stains, damage, loose decorations or faulty fastenings. Group everyday clothes into bundles by size or season. Create an appealing listingTake clear photographs in natural light, showing labels and any signs of wear. Include the brand, size, condition, material and what is included in the description. Set a realistic priceCompare similar listings before choosing a price. Branded items may sell individually, while lower-value basics often sell more quickly as a bundle. Arrange payment and deliveryUse the platform’s secure payment system wherever possible. Weigh and measure parcels in advance, state postage costs clearly and package clothes securely. Safety tip: Never sell recalled or unsafe items, and be honest about wear, damage and missing parts. Comment now