Account-holders on the furniture resale platform Kaiyo are sharing complaints that they are unable to access their funds as the company prepares to fold.
In subway ads, the Manhattan-based company promises “secondhand furniture, first-rate experience.”
In late July, Sophia Harrison requested her $172.25 payout for the bed frame she sold through Kaiyo and was told the transaction would take seven to 10 business days to process. But when the deadline came and went, she reached out to customer service via email only to be told by a representative who identified herself only as Celeste: “At this time, we are experiencing delays with cashing out and do not currently have an ETA on when this will be resolved.”
On Friday, she learned she had been locked out of her Kaiyo account.
Harrison, who lives in Philadelphia, said she then submitted a complaint to the New York State Attorney General Office and the state Division of Consumer Protection.
Kaiyo, which is the operating name for a company called Furnishare, did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James confirmed the office received complaints and is reviewing them.
Harrison turned to Reddit to warn other customers of her situation, eliciting similar stories from a dozen-odd users from all over the country.
“I am FUMING,” wrote a customer on Reddit. “Beware kaiyo has owed me money since June and many others are experiencing the same,” wrote another.
Customers say they received a form email from the company that read:
“Currently, Furnishare DBA Kaiyo is in the initial phase of doing an orderly wind down of the Company. Due to the current situation, we are not able to complete your payout at this time.”
The email added: “In due course you will receive information on how to file a claim.”
Online and in its subway ads, the company bills itself as a sustainability-focused online marketplace for pre-owned furniture and home decor by popular brands like Pottery Barn and Article — with white-glove convenience for both buyers and sellers.
Those with furniture to sell make their offer to Kaiyo and, if the company accepts, it gets picked up for free and the customer receives a portion of the final sale price. The company expanded its operations to California in 2022, after securing $36 million in Series B funding, and this summer the company turned to physical retail with a pop-up store in Brooklyn.
In an interview with the New York Times in 2022, Kaiyo chief executive Alpay Koralturk said the company had kept more than 3.5 million pounds of furniture out of landfills since its founding in 2014. Koralturk left the company in April, according to his LinkedIn.
