Back Market

What is Back Market?

Back Market is the first marketplace exclusively dedicated to refurbished devices.

Business and value proposition

Back Market is connecting worldwide refurbishers to consumers. They aim at focusing on various types of devices. As of today, they mainly sell refurbished smartphones but the mix is evolving quickly.

They don’t refurbish themselves and leverage refurbishers' market access for device sourcing, have then no stock and don’t deal with the after-sales service. They want to become the standard for refurbished products and make their consumption cool and mainstream.

They position themselves as a trusted third party and have also put the buy-back option in place to close the loop of the marketplace.

Why we invested?

The refurbishment market has long been characterised by strong inefficiencies and low trust levels among end consumers.

Refurbishers have traditionally struggled to source products and sell them efficiently, and the dominant online platforms Ebay and Amazon have failed to sell quality secured, refurbished electronic products via a trusted transaction for customers. Customers making the bet, have brought home products with high defection rates, leading to mistrust in the industry. The wave of consumption is changing, to more conscious consumption around ecology, circular economy and pricing.

Then came Back Market.

The outstanding founding team is tackling these exact issues, by connecting quality secured refurbishers and customers via a marketplace streamlining market relationships and increasing trust. The service enables refurbishers to do what they do best, instead of wasting time on selling off stock. It also improves refurbishers sourcing capabilities.

This, simultaneously as the the company facilitates the process of making sustainable purchasing decisions for customers by making use of existing electronics, without compromising on quality. We love Back Market, as they represent the perfect bridge in offering the best products to customers without encouraging mass consumption.

The story behind Back Market