Startup streamlines process for selling pre-owned goods

Remoov is offering a one-stop upcycling service to make the process of disposing of unwanted items smoother

Spotted: San Francisco-based startup Remoov has a solution for the hassle of decluttering your living space. The startup helps to remove and sell unwanted items, and at the same time, reduces waste by increasing reuse and unlocking the value of pre-owned items.

Founder Luis Perez came up with the idea when noticing how his wife and her fellow students didn’t have time to dispose of their unwanted items, when graduating from Stanford business school. Perez realised the effort needed to upcycle unwanted items must be a major reason behind why so much ends up in landfill. 

Remoov streamlines the process by providing a one-stop-shop of disposal. Users text images of their items to the company (or schedule an in-home appointment), and then Remoov comes to pick up and sell the items. Users receive 50 per cent of the value of the items sold, and any items not sold are donated to charity or taken to a recycling centre.

Remoov told Springwise that they want to lessen the friction in the resale space, which comes from, “figuring out what to sell, how to sell it, through what channel, posting items, figuring out pricing, talking to potential buyers, meeting those buyers and haggling on a price and then moving the item.” They added that, “Remoov is building the tech to make all this easier and thus driving the move towards a more circular economy.”

While Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is still the mantra for those wanting to improve their personal efforts towards sustainability, tech is offering a host of new ways to follow through on that. From platforms allowing you to rent appliances instead of buying them, to tech turning upcycled plastic waste into new furniture, there have never been so many ways to avoid sending products to landfill. 

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