Old Merchants

What Old Merchants does

Old Merchants is a privately held used car export company headquartered in Johnston, Rhode Island, USA, founded in 2013. The company sources hand-picked used vehicles from the US market and sells them directly to international buyers and dealers, with stated shipping coverage spanning Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Oceania, South America, and Europe. Its product line is organized by body style (SUVs, sedans, trucks, vans, hatchbacks, minivans, coupes, wagons) and price tier (Under $3K, Under $5K, Under $7K), with individual unit prices ranging from roughly $2,395 to $17,995 across brands such as Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Ford, Hyundai, Chevrolet, and Lexus. A $500 'Request a Car' add-on service allows customers to commission sourcing of specific vehicles not held in current inventory.

The core technology is a Wix-hosted e-commerce site providing product pages, an inventory catalog, and WhatsApp/phone-based sales contact. The company supplements transactional channels with a blog and organic social presence on Facebook and Instagram, including market-specific content aimed at international dealers (e.g., guides on profitable vehicles for Nigerian dealers). Operational scope spans export documentation handling and worldwide shipping coordination, with destination-country compliance treated as a primary service function rather than a productized module.

The business model is transactional one-time sales of used vehicles, with no subscription, recurring, or platform-fee revenue streams. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the website plus high-touch direct messaging, targeting two primary segments: international individual buyers importing vehicles for personal use and international car dealers (notably in Nigeria) sourcing inventory for resale. The company is privately held, discloses no parent, institutional investors, subsidiaries, or management team in available sources, and operates with a micro headcount of 1–10 employees. No funding rounds, M&A activity, patents, awards, or third-party logistics partnerships are recorded.

Name

Old Merchants

Legal name

Old Merchants

Website

https://old-merchants.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Johnston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Used Vehicle Sales: The company generates revenue through one-time sales of used vehicles sourced from the USA to international buyers. Vehicles are sold at listed prices with no recurring subscription component.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Old Merchants is a used car export company that sells hand-picked used vehicles sourced from the USA to international buyers and ships them worldwide. The offering is bundled with export documentation handling to meet destination-country requirements and shipping coordination. A separate Vehicle Sourcing Service (Request a Car) is provided for buyers seeking specific makes or models not in current inventory.

Product overview

Old Merchants operates as a used car export company offering a unified service for international vehicle purchases. The core offering is the sale and export of hand-picked used cars from the USA, supplemented by vehicle sourcing services (custom requests for $500), export documentation handling, and worldwide shipping coordination. The company connects buyers and dealers across international markets, offering inventory across brands including Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Hyundai, Honda, Chevrolet, and Lexus, with vehicles categorized by body style (SUVs, Sedans, Trucks, Vans, etc.) and price ranges (Under $3K, Under $5K, Under $7K).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Used Car Sales & Export Sale and international export of hand-picked used cars sourced from the USA, connecting buyers and dealers across international markets with vehicles. Inventory spans Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Hyundai, Honda, Chevrolet, and Lexus, organized by body style (SUVs, Sedans, Trucks, Vans) and price tiers (Under $3K, Under $5K, Under $7K).
• Vehicle Sourcing Service (Request a Car) Custom vehicle sourcing service allowing customers to request specific vehicles not currently in inventory, priced at $500 per request with a stated 3-hour sourcing window for any vehicle marketed in the USA.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• SBT Japan: Used car exporter based in Japan selling to international dealers and individuals, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. Operates a similar online catalog plus shipping/logistics model and targets overlapping customer segments.
• Be Forward: Japan-headquartered used vehicle exporter serving customers across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and other emerging markets. Highly comparable business model — online inventory, sourced used cars, international shipping coordination, and dealer-customer segments.

Broad incumbents

• Copart: Global online auto auction platform that sells salvage and used vehicles to international buyers including dealers and exporters. Copart is the upstream source for many vehicles Old Merchants-style exporters rely on, and increasingly competes downstream with integrated shipping and export services.
• CarGurus: Large US-based online automotive marketplace connecting buyers and dealers. While not an exporter itself, it functions as the upstream discovery platform from which buyers may source vehicles — both a competitor for online demand and a potential sourcing channel.
• Carvana: Tech-enabled US used vehicle retailer with home delivery and a national logistics footprint. Represents a scaled, well-capitalized benchmark for online used car retailing that could expand into export services.
• Manheim: Cox Automotive's wholesale used vehicle auction platform, the dominant US dealer-to-dealer marketplace. Serves as the primary upstream inventory source for exporters like Old Merchants and a potential disintermediation threat if it expands buyer-direct export services.
• IAA (Insurance Auto Auctions): Major salvage and used vehicle auction operator (owned by Ritchie Bros.). Competes for cross-border vehicle demand by offering international buyers direct access to US inventory and logistics support, overlapping with Old Merchants' sourcing-and-export model.
• AutoTrader: Leading US online automotive marketplace used by both consumers and dealers to find used vehicles. Represents both a competitive listing destination for Old Merchants' inventory and a sourcing channel for buyers.

Emerging players

• Autostar USA Export: Specialized US used vehicle exporter shipping to international buyers and dealers. Operates a similar inventory-plus-sourcing-plus-shipping model aimed at African and Caribbean markets.
• Galaxy Auto International: US-based used vehicle exporter focused on the African market, particularly West Africa. Directly comparable niche exporter targeting individual buyers and dealers in similar geographies to Old Merchants.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/old.merchants.car
• Instagraminstagram.com/old_merchants
• Xx.com/oldmerchants_us

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Old Merchants