Devices stacked for recycling.

Back Market’s service aims to recirculate the estimated 100 million devices sitting in drawers across the country. | andras csontos/Shutterstock

Online refurbished electronics marketplace Back Market has started a U.S. program that allows consumers to sell their devices directly to refurbishers.

Under the initiative, Back Market customers receive competitive bids for their used material.

“For customers, it’s a convenient and fast way to sell their used electronics. For our refurbishers, it’s access to another supply channel of used electronics to restore and sell,” Lauren Benton, Back Market general manager, said in a press release. “This keeps devices in circulation and out of landfills, while continuing to feed Back Market’s pipeline of high-quality renewed devices.”

Back Market estimates there are upwards of 100 million devices sitting in drawers across the country, and the company’s BuyBack program aims to get those items back in circulation.

The program starts with customers completing an assessment of their device, answering questions about the brand, model, storage capacity, functionality and condition of the screen and body. Then, Back Market’s refurbishers place bids and the customers choose which offer to take.

“While bids may fluctuate based on market demand, this unique structure gives the best opportunity for customers to receive competitive offers for their items,” the press release noted. “A customer receives cash in their bank account once they have mailed in their device and the refurbisher has confirmed that the device is as described in the assessment.”

Back Market began in 2014 and now operates in 16 countries, with 650 employees across its five offices in New York, Berlin, Paris, Bordeaux and Barcelona. The company has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to expand around the globe.

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