musicMagpie to launch on Back Market

Stockport-headquartered re-commerce business, musicMagpie, has announced a new contract to sell refurbished consumer electronics on online marketplace, Back Market.

The platform will begin hosting musicMagpie products in the UK by the end of April, before the group launches on Back Market US in mid-May 2022. musicMagpie’s agreement with the marketplace site covers mobile phones as well as games consoles, tables, wearable tech and MacBooks, adding a further sales channel for the group alongside its own website and existing Amazon and eBay partnerships.

Back Market is an online marketplace, first established in France and now operating in 16 countries, that connects buyers of refurbished tech with trusted third-party sellers. Prospective sellers must go through a rigorous screening process before they are allowed to list on the marketplace, which does not purchase, hold stock, or carry out refurbishment itself. New re-sellers on the site must demonstrate that their operations and quality procedures meet Back Market’s high professional standard, ‘Back Label’.

In contrast to the Back Market model, customers sell items to musicMagpie via musicMagpie’s websites, smartphone app, corporate recycling programme or a self-service kiosk in an Asda store. musicMagpie then repairs and refurbishes these products at its state-of-the-art logistics hub in Hazel Grove, including using specialist software to perform up to 90 diagnostic checks and ensuring the safe removal of all personal data.

musicMagpie will make available high-quality refurbished consumer electronic products on the Back Market marketplace which, in turn, will provide an additional sales channel for musicMagpie, leveraging Back Market’s significant investment in the market. In addition to having complementary business models, both musicMagpie and Back Market have sustainability at their heart. Every device recycled saves approximately 65kg of CO2, making the pre-owned consumer technology market essential in the move to circular, low-carbon economies.

Steve Oliver, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of musicMagpie, said:

“I am delighted that musicMagpie’s wide range of high-quality refurbished consumer technology products will be available on Back Market’s fast-growing marketplace. musicMagpie enjoys immense brand trust, developed over 15 years of recommerce activity, which will further encourage Back Market’s users to choose a refurbished device. 

“musicMagpie and Back Market operate complementary models and have a shared mission to challenge consumers to rethink their tech product consumption, make restored devices mainstream, and tackle the growing problem of e-waste. This is therefore an exciting partnership that will help musicMagpie’s products reach a wider audience and give Back Market users a greater breadth of choice. We look forward to working with Back Market in what we are confident will be a long and fruitful relationship.”

Thibaud Hug de Larauze, co-founder and CEO of Back Market, said:

“Back Market is committed to working with the best resellers and refurbishers to ensure that buying renewed is easier, cheaper and more appealing for everyone. We’re delighted to join forces with musicMagpie, the pioneers of the refurbished tech industry in the UK, and this partnership represents an opportunity to further expand the refurbished tech market in the UK. The milestone partnership for Back Market will give even more people access to refurbished tech that they can trust, and more choice when it comes to helping to tackle the global e-waste crisis.”