USell


uSell is a publicly traded recommerce company with headquarters in New York City. It operates as an online marketplace where people can sell used cell phones, tablets, video games, textbooks and gift cards to professional buyers.

History

The idea for uSell.com came in 2006 when Feirstein tried to sell items on eBay and found it extremely difficult with the peer-to-peer model marketplace. The Usell.com marketplace was launched in 2010.
In 2012, uSell.com acquired EcoSquid, Inc., a website co-founded and led by Benjamin Gordon that compared and displayed ranks and options for trading in or recycling old electronics. Prior to the acquisition, uSell.com had one buyer for each item being offered by the consumer. After the acquisition, each item being offered in the marketplace would receive more than four offers for the seller to choose from. As of September 2013, the company has facilitated the purchase of more than 200,000 devices and paid out more than $10 million to customers through the Usell.com marketplace.

Investors

uSell.com is traded publicly on the OTC market in the United States. Investors include billionaire Phillip Frost and several millionaires from his Frost Group. In 2013, Forbes reported that uSell.com had maintained an over 90% gross profit margin for six consecutive quarters.

Website overview

uSell.com users search on the website and enter the information about the item that they want to sell. The website then aggregates and displays bids from a list of more than 40 professional buyers, allowing users to select which buyer they want to sell to. Once the user selects a buyer, they are sent a prepaid envelope to ship the product with no fees being charged to the seller. Upon receipt of the item, a buyer pays the seller via PayPal or cash within five business days of receiving the item. uSell.com has been described as an intermediary to connect users with its network of buyers.