New York, NY, December 03, 2019 - Back Market, the largest marketplace exclusively dedicated to refurbished electronic products, has released holiday gift guides and an online gift generator to help eco-conscious shoppers purchase crowd-pleasing electronics without adding to the growing electronic waste crisis (and without putting a huge dent in their budgets).
Back Market offers the best deals on certified refurbished electronics, and an eco-conscious way to enjoy the electronics we love. Producing a single new smartphone takes more than 44 kg of raw material, and creates more than 55kg of CO2 (the same amount of emissions from powering a house for two days). E-waste is the most toxic waste we produce. It comprises 70% of toxic waste in our landfills, inevitably contaminating groundwater - slowly poisoning the ecosystems that support life. It is also the fastest-growing source of waste, expected to hit 120 million tons by 2050* (the same amount as 800 Statues of Liberty). Purchasing a refurbished electronic device allows us to make the most out of the resources we have already used for its initial production, while also reducing the overall impact of e-waste on the planet by keeping it from the landfill for as long as possible. Earlier this month, Back Market was recognized by the Mobile Breakthrough Awards under their Social Impact category, further highlighting the importance of this issue.
“I think many more people are feeling the call to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle this year, but it can be hard to hold back during the holidays,” said Vianney Vaute, CCO and Co-Founder at Back Market. “A bargain is hard to resist, and of course gift-giving is fun. At Back Market, we’re proud to help people shop consciously while still getting their loved ones what they want, and at decent prices. Being a conscientious shopper doesn’t need to be difficult, and we make it as easy as we can through our special buy-box method which helps you find the best deal in the category you’re shopping for.”
The Back Market gift guides illustrate the wide range of electronics available on the site which range from smartphones, laptops, and smartwatches to drones, coffee machines, electric scooters and cameras. All items on the site come with a one-year warranty, a 30-day money back guarantee, and are discounted 10%-75% depending on esthetic condition. Back Market uses esthetic grades to make it easy for customers to identify the amount of wear a particular refurbished device might show on its exterior. Functionally speaking, all devices on the site work perfectly and are good-as-new. Sellers agree to do a 24-point quality inspection on every device they sell on the website.
This holiday season and beyond, Back Market has a strong and urgent message for consumers : Screw New! Offering a wide range of high-quality refurbished electronics with a ‘like new’ buying experience, a minimum one-year warranty, money-back guarantees, and transparent seller ratings, Back Market is making buying refurbished electronics a much less risky and more mainstream endeavor. Its model provides a critically-needed solution to an environmental crisis that has seen e-waste levels reach 48.5 million tons globally in 2019. In addition, as the platform grows in popularity, it provides refurbishers of all sizes with an attractive venue for selling.
Formed in 2014 by Thibaud Hug de Larauze, Quentin Le Brouster, and Vianney Vaute, Back Market is the first marketplace focused on bringing thousands of refurbished electronic devices and appliances from certified professionals to consumers. The company currently operates in five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Belgium) and launched in the United States at the beginning of 2018. It employs a team of about 200 employees across its three offices located in Paris, Bordeaux, and New York.
###
*A previous version of this release cited the year as 2021, this has been updated to 2050 per a Jan 2019 report from the UN.
