Editor’s note: Policy for batteries and electronics is among the sessions at the 2026 E-Scrap Conference, Oct. 26-28 in New Orleans.
Kyle Wainwright didn’t know much about three-second auctions and hours-long live streams a year ago, but 12 months in he wonders what his business might be like if he’d never tried them.
The CEO of Refreshed Tech launched a Whatnot channel in September 2025 to move some extra inventory. The Indiana-based ITAD company, which opened in 2022, had seen modest growth since opening, doing solid business out of its 7,000-square-foot facility.
Then Wainwright pressed the “go live” button for the first time.
“We did about $20,000 (in sales) that first show,” he said. “We knew right then it would be a part of our business.”
After topping $1 million in sales during a 71-hour Black Friday live-stream event last Thanksgiving, Wainwright knew live selling was the way to success. The company recently opened a 103,000-square-foot facility to accommodate the subsequent growth, while also doubling its workforce to 160.
The company now moves about 3,500 units a day via live streams on Whatnot and TikTok, with 800,000 followers and more than 2 million daily views. Wainwright said about 95% of the company’s total sales are now made via live streaming.
“We run nine shows a day. We have five during the day, then four run at night,” he said. “A couple go until 3 a.m. They draw West Coast traffic. It’s nothing for us to have a show at 3 a.m. with 3,000 people watching.”
Reaching new audiences
The industry is taking notice of what live-stream sales can do. Whatnot and eBay took part in the Mobile Disrupt conference earlier this summer in Miami; they were joined at last month’s ITAD Summit in Las Vegas by TikTok, hosting live events and showing sellers how to get the most out of those platforms.
Darrell Fleming-Kendall, executive director of the Global ITAD Alliance, told the Masters of ITAD podcast that US sellers still have a ways to go to catch up to their counterparts in China, where the $900 billion live-commerce market roughly matches the entire US e-commerce market. But more experimentation with live selling and other digital commerce means can only benefit the industry, moving more inventory while creating more demand among Gen Z consumers.
“If ever there was a way to push the secondary marketplace, it’s by meeting the younger buyers where they are,” he said.
Wainwright said he’s recruited younger staffers, mainly in their 20s, to host streams and interact with younger audiences who sometimes watch for hours simply because they’re so engaged. Building up an audience was a challenge, he said, but he credits his hosts (who generally also hold other jobs within the company) with creating niches within the company’s streaming channels, which he said usually top 1,000 viewers within minutes of a show’s start.
“You really need to ramp the following up,” he said. “Our employees step up and want to try new things. It’s a different way of life.”
Fleming-Kendall said live selling lends itself to items with medium-range value, which may get lost amid transactions involving larger items at traditional ITAD companies. Selling devices this way helps develop trust in the second-hand marketplace, which may still carry a stigma with older buyers.
“For mine and certainly my parents’ generation, refurbished and refinished have a connotation that the item was once busted,” he said. “For the next generation, there’s going to be a lot of embracing of the secondary marketplace. Getting those devices in front of them where they’re buying anyway is very important.”
Other digital outlets
Live selling may be making waves in the e-commerce space, but it’s far from the only way to creatively redistribute products. RGX was created in 2019 to offer an online marketplace platform for device sellers and buyers. It’s connected with more than 330 service providers nationally who resell or recycle items.
The goal was to give users closer options for recycling and reselling, allowing them to increase sustainability efforts while cutting costs.
“With the way our platform is designed, we start with that first mile. Let’s get that equipment to the closest place that can process,” co-founder and COO Paul Lodgson said. “We hope to turn it into a means of closing the circularity gap. Our platform is a two-way market. If we can close it, we really help everyone.”
The platform can be customized to a customer’s needs; one example Lodgson cited saw a client connect with buyers to sell 30 old generators. AI enhancements can also help customers figure out the best path for their items, and staff can be hired to complete the process if customers wish.
“We’re not a competitor,” co-founder and CEO Sean Miles said. “We’re here to promote them. We are a tool.”
Another tool for companies looking to fill product gaps could be in the works. Reid Campbell created the Ordovee inventory software platform as a way to improve operations at his computer hardware parts business, Part Haven. The platform catalogs parts accumulated during rebuilds and their compatibility with various other parts, creating a central place from which to draw information.
Ordovee has helped Part Haven put more parts back into use, reducing costs and overstock situations. The software remains an in-house offering, but Campbell said he might some day expand it for use for appliance, industrial equipment and other ITAD companies that could benefit from having better access to parts; for now, he’s focused on making sure the software is optimally compatible with Part Haven’s operations.
“Anything that doesn’t get turned into materials recovery is a huge bonus,” said Campbell, who noted computers and other devices often get removed from circulation due to one bad part.
“There is a lot of DIY with repairing everything, people looking up how on YouTube. That’s growing a market that’s willing to take on repairs like this. The parts market has exploded, but manufacturers don’t put them out. What I’ve built could be an interchange.”
The path forward
Wainwright considers that moment a year ago when he dove into the live-selling waters to be the interchange for his business. There’s room in the digital sales space in general, and specifically streaming — TikTik Shop doubled its livestream shopping sales in the US in the first half of 2026, seeing total broadcast hours in that time climb 80%.
While the estimated $20 billion in total US live-shopping sales this year pales in comparison to the $1.1 trillion expected across China, these numbers do reflect the trend is growing domestically and needs to be considered in ITAD and all other businesses.
Wainwright is preparing for more growth. He said Refreshed Tech looks to buy 90,000-110,000 devices per month, with 130 of his employees processing around 70,000 of those each month to sell on streams; most of those products come from US sources, but he does obtain some from foreign sellers. Products that aren’t sellable are generally recycled; Wainwright said he sends a semi’s worth of items each month for recycling.
The company is building out 20 live studios within its new space to accommodate the sales surge, with 15 of its new hires there solely to ship products; Wainwright said a second shift may be added for the processing/shipping department.
Wainwright knows competition will come, with an established Amazon Live and an announced Meta-based live-selling marketplace creating more platforms for more potential sellers.
Innovation will be key to staying in front of the trend, he said. Refreshed Tech can pay more for product because the company gets higher prices for them, he said, and it’s also working with brands to acquire more overstock.
Refreshed Tech has expanded to sell on behalf of other ITAD companies, Wainwright said, taking a share of the profits in exchange. The company also launched a “Misfit Channel” for items at a lower quality, creating a less-expensive pathway for buyers. A dedicated lower-tier channel combined with accurate descriptions have kept returns low.
“We push like no other. It will be hard to catch up for some of our competitors,” he said. “The goal is to keep items out of landfills.”
