Back Market operates what it describes as the world's largest pure-play marketplace for refurbished technology. Founded in 2014 by three friends in Paris, the company connects consumers with vetted, professional refurbishers who restore electronics to premium quality. Its marketplace is intended to make refurbished devices a mainstream purchase rather than a niche one. To date, more than 30 million devices have been sold through the platform.
The business spans 17 countries and sits at the intersection of several industries: e-commerce and marketplaces, consumer electronics, e-waste and recycling, and the circular economy. Its technical work covers the marketplace platform itself, quality assurance for electronics refurbishment, and the operational machinery of a two-sided market in which trust in the seller is central. Back Market estimates that its activities have prevented roughly 1.6 million tons of carbon emissions.
The company's stated purpose is to counter the e-waste crisis and the culture of overproduction and overconsumption in consumer technology, advocating a model in which devices are reused rather than discarded. It is a Certified B Corp, and frames its value proposition as combining savings for the buyer with reduced environmental impact.
