John Atcheson: Stuffstr

Stuffstr is a universal Consumer Buy-Back Programme offering retail customers instant buy-back of every item purchased when they’re done using it.

THE PROBLEM

Worldwide, consumers purchase approximately 100 billion household items per year, then use 80% of them less than once per month, and ultimately send nearly 70% to landfill. Stuffstr partners with retailers to capture every item at end of use through a universal buy-back programme.Items are then resold on leading resale marketplaces with unprecedented trust, because every item is tied to its original purchase and product information. Items that can’t be resold are either refurbished or responsibly recycled.

THE INNOVATION

Stuffstr partners with retailers to capture the purchase details (customer, date, price, quantity) and product specifications (EAN, brand, make, model number, title, description, size, color, etc.) of every item sold. Using this data, Stuffstr then provides customers with an instant buy-back price for every item at all times. The instant buy-back price is calculated continuously using a sophisticated and proprietary algorithm.

Stuffstr is able to auto-generate listings across multiple resale marketplaces for each item as soon as the item is received through the buy-back programme, minimising the time between uses. A second set of algorithms works to optimize the marketplaces and prices employed to resell the items. Items that are not immediately resellable may, if economics warrant, be repaired or refurbished. Items that cannot be resold are passed to both established recyclers and emerging innovators who can make the best use of the materials available. Nothing is sent to landfill.

THE VISION

Stuffstr’s vision is “No Unused Stuff,” and we want to empower people to maximize the value of everything they buy.  We envision a world in which every item purchased is used fully, then repurposed and used again.