Company: uSell
Website: www.usell.com
Year Founded: 2010
Founder: Doug Feirstein
Company Description (in 140 characters or less): “uSell.com is the leading cash commerce platform that easily and securely turns your electronics into cash.”
By Doug Feirstein, CEO and Co-Founder
Product Overview
uSell.com is the leading cash commerce platform that turns people’s cell phones and electronics into cash—and everybody needs extra cash.
uSell.com operates by purchasing unwanted, high-value items directly from consumers, providing them fast payment, erasing all personal data, and then either refurbishing or recycling the phone, depending on its condition. Convenient and secure, uSell helps consumers avoid the hassle and risk of peer-to-peer sales channels such as eBay and Craigslist.
uSell.com’s 100 percent happiness guarantee ensures our customers are deliriously happy or we’ll make it right.
uSell.com is a subsidiary of Upstream Worldwide, Inc., a publicly traded company headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. For more information please, visit www.UpstreamWorldWide.com.
Founder’s Story
The original idea was hatched when a friend and I tried to sell some old electronics that were sitting around on eBay and realized that the process was very cumbersome. We believed that there had to be a better way for people who wanted to dispose of their old electronics and keep them out of landfills and get some cash in the process.
Electronic waste is notoriously difficult to deal with as each item contains numerous different materials packed tightly together. In fact, according to the most recent data from the EPA, in 2007 Americans discarded over 140.3 million cell phones, a significant contribution to the 400 million units of electronic waste Americans discard yearly, making e-waste the fastest growing part of the U.S. municipal waste stream. And of those 140 million cell phones thrown away, only 14 million were recycled—a mere ten percent.
We started uSell with the goal of changing the way consumers dispose of their old technology and giving them cash to do so.
Marketing/Promotion Strategy
uSell.com uses a number of channels to let consumers know about our service. Our marketing strategy includes a mix of direct marketing outreach, advertising as well as earned media support.
How we differentiate from the competition
Compared with other retail players, we provide enhanced value for the consumer allowing them to transact with us from the comfort of their own home. Compared with other platforms (eBay, Craigslist) our process is much more user-friendly in that customers don’t have to manage an auction, deal with collecting payment from other consumers, or facilitate delivery of the item they sold.
We are the only company with the right combination of speed, convenience, value and security. We place customers at the center of our business, and create the ultimate customer experience with our 100% happiness guarantee to win and retain customers for a lifetime.
Business Model
We unlock the value of consumer’s unwanted items by providing them a fast, convenient, secure way to get the best price for their goods. It starts with consumers sending us their unwanted items. We buy the items and pay the consumers quickly, even before we’ve sold the items in the secondary market, taking the inventory risk on the items. We then sell the items in the liquidation market and then receive our payment from those partners.
Current Needs
uSell.com does not have any hiring or funding needs at this time. We are focused on creating the best experience possible for our customers and delivering on 100 percent happiness guarantee.
uSell – www.usell.com
