Matt Thorne, Co-Founder at reboxed: A Marketplace To Sell, Swap and Shop Used Gadgets

The idea for reboxed came out of the culmination of a few factors.

Whereas my co-founder Phil has always been happy to buy refurbished and second-hand tech, I’m more of a tech enthusiast and an avid annual phone trader. Over the last few years, I’ve become increasingly annoyed at getting locked into long contracts with networks and frustrated when the annual upgrade brings only an incremental improvement in the device.

Plus, I’ve always kept my tech in pristine condition so when it comes to the upgrade, I can resell at maximum value when it and claw back some of the costs I’m tied into – but it’s getting harder and harder to sell on platforms such as eBay and Gumtree as they’re littered with scams.

I genuinely believe that there can be a better way of doing things.

At our previous business, an agency that Phil and I ran together, we would buy refurbished tech and take out leasing plans for our equipment. For phones, however, it was more of a struggle. I got a refurbished phone for my mum and had a bad experience with that, so I was reluctant to take the leap. There was no brand or website I could truly trust.

As a result, we believe there is a significant opportunity to create a brand that can bring all these points together for the consumer, creating a more circular and trusted way to buy, sell and trade used tech.
 
 

 

What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?

 
The list is endless but my own biggest learning has been to always keep learning and surround yourself with smart people.

Early on in my journey, I would think we knew everything but now listening and taking other opinions on board is key.

Learning how to listen is an underrated skill and detaching your own ego and emotions allows you to see things from a different perspective. When you are open to seeing new things, you can move forward exponentially.
 

What can we hope to see from reboxed in the future?

 
Our mission is to rehome 100 million devices – by any means necessary.

You’ll see reboxed pioneer a new way to buy and sell tech. We hope to educate the consumer and move towards a more circular model of access over ownership. Ultimately, this means subscription – or rental, if you prefer that term – but without the contracts and shackles that the networks currently impose.

This way we can maximise the lifetime of every device by enabling it to stay in circulation for longer and out of peoples drawers collecting dust!