rumie

What rumie does

Rumie (legal entity: Rumie App LLC) is a mobile peer-to-peer marketplace application built exclusively for verified college students. Founded in 2021 by Tanner McCraney and Patrick Phillips and headquartered in Oxford, Mississippi, the platform enables students to buy, sell, and rent secondhand items within and between U.S. university campuses, plus purchase student-priced sports tickets and discover campus events. The product is delivered as native iOS and Android apps backed by AWS, Firebase, and Google Analytics, with .edu email authentication serving as the gating verification layer. Differentiation is anchored on (1) campus-local matching enabling walking-distance exchanges, (2) the first student-only ticket marketplace with buyer protection, (3) a peer-to-peer rental service with damage guarantee, and (4) automated integration with university event calendars. A separate B2B offering, the University Marketplace Platform, packages the same infrastructure as an individually branded marketplace for university administrators, with HECVAT Lite (90% accessibility score) and WCAG 2.2 compliance to satisfy higher-education procurement standards.

The business model is transaction/marketplace fees charged to sellers, with specific fee amounts not publicly disclosed. Distribution is product-led through the Apple App Store and Google Play, augmented by organic social channels (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, LinkedIn) and direct university partnerships. The company claims 1,078 partner universities, 320,000+ users in its network, 25,000+ active listings, and 1,000+ new student sign-ups daily. It operates only in the United States, with international shipping unavailable. The company is bootstrapped with two disclosed funding rounds totaling approximately $615,000 ($115,000 in September 2022 and $500,000 in June 2023), and has a lean team of 1-10 employees.

Name

rumie

Legal name

Rumie App LLC

Website

https://rumieapp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rumie is a mobile peer-to-peer marketplace app exclusively for verified U.S. college students, enabling them to buy, sell, and rent secondhand items within and between campus communities. It serves 320,000+ users across 1,078 universities and monetizes via seller transaction fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Transaction/Marketplace Fees: Rumie charges sellers fees associated with listing and selling items on the platform. The company facilitates payments between buyers and sellers, processing all transactions through the app. Specific fee amounts are detailed within the app and not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

rumie operates a college-only peer-to-peer marketplace mobile application where verified students can buy, sell, and rent secondhand items and student-priced event tickets within and across U.S. university campuses. The platform enforces .edu authentication for safety, integrates campus event calendars, and offers buyer protection and rental guarantees. The company additionally provides a white-label University Marketplace Platform built individually for each campus partner as a B2B offering.

Product overview

Rumie is a college-only peer-to-peer marketplace platform built as native mobile applications for iOS and Android, supplemented by institutional B2B offerings for university partners. The core Rumie Mobile App serves as a unified marketplace where students can buy, sell, and rent secondhand items with .edu verification and buyer protection. Two key add-on modules extend the core platform: the Student Ticket Marketplace (for purchasing and selling student-priced event tickets on campus) and the Campus Event Calendar Integration (which automates discovery of and sign-up for campus events within the platform). Additionally, the Rumie Rental Service enables peer-to-peer renting of items directly between students. For university administrators, Rumie offers a separately branded University Marketplace Platform built individually for each campus partner, providing campus-specific infrastructure with integrated student verification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rumie Mobile App

Quantifiable outcome

• Post first listing in under a minute
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Vinted: Vinted is a peer-to-peer marketplace for secondhand fashion and lifestyle items with a mobile-first platform serving European users. Direct peer due to identical P2P marketplace model, mobile-first design, secondhand item focus, and commission-based monetization — though rumie adds a .edu-verified, campus-restricted trust layer that Vinted lacks.
• Poshmark: Poshmark is a social commerce marketplace for buying and selling fashion, accessories, and home goods in North America. Direct peer with similar P2P marketplace model, mobile-first platform, and take-rate monetization on sellers — though Poshmark focuses on fashion broadly rather than the college-restricted general-items marketplace rumie operates.
• Depop: Depop is a peer-to-peer marketplace for fashion and lifestyle items, particularly popular with Gen Z and college-aged users. Direct peer due to P2P marketplace model, mobile-first design, and Gen Z demographic overlap with college students — making it one of the closest substitutes for rumie's target audience.
• OfferUp: OfferUp is a peer-to-peer local marketplace for buying and selling used goods across categories in North America. Direct peer with similar P2P marketplace model, local in-person exchange focus, and mobile-first platform — though OfferUp serves a general consumer base rather than college-restricted users.
• Mercari: Mercari is a peer-to-peer marketplace for selling a wide range of items in the US with a mobile-first app. Direct peer due to P2P marketplace model, mobile-first approach, and similar take-rate structure on sellers — though Mercari is a publicly-traded general consumer marketplace rather than college-restricted.
• Tradesy: Tradesy is a peer-to-peer marketplace for buying and selling pre-owned luxury fashion and accessories. Direct peer due to P2P marketplace model, secondhand item focus, and mobile-first platform — though Tradesy focuses on luxury fashion rather than the general college-items marketplace that rumie operates.
• ThredUp: ThredUp is an online consignment and thrift marketplace for secondhand clothing and accessories. Direct peer due to secondhand item focus and marketplace model, though ThredUp is more consignment-oriented (ThredUp handles logistics) while rumie is purely P2P with direct student-to-student transactions.

Broad incumbents

• Facebook Marketplace: Facebook Marketplace is a general P2P marketplace integrated into Facebook's social platform serving billions of users globally. Broad incumbent because it competes directly with rumie for student P2P transactions — the rumie website explicitly names Facebook Marketplace as the alternative it replaces — but operates at vastly larger scale with a much broader category scope.
• eBay: eBay is a general online marketplace connecting buyers and sellers globally across all categories. Broad incumbent with overlapping P2P marketplace capabilities and similar auction/buy-it-now transaction formats — though eBay is much larger in scale, broader in scope, and serves global consumers rather than college-restricted users.

Emerging players

• SidelineSwap: SidelineSwap is a peer-to-peer marketplace for buying and selling new and used sports equipment and apparel. Emerging player with similar P2P marketplace model and mobile-first platform, but focused specifically on sports equipment — a vertical that overlaps with rumie's sports ticket marketplace but not its broader general-items marketplace.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AppRumie
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rumieapp
• Instagraminstagram.com/rumieapp
• TikToktiktok.com/@rumieapp
• Facebookfacebook.com/rumieapp

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about rumie