This week, New Balance enters the burgeoning resale market with the launch of Reconsidered, a bespoke online marketplace dedicated to the buying and selling of pre-loved* New Balance sports shoes.
(* Second hand, as they used to call it before the age of marketing euphemisms.)
Through a dedicated section of the New Balance website, customers can view and shop for pre-owned shoes, including consumer returns and cosmetically imperfect footwear that cannot be sold as new, that have, you’ll be glad to hear, been thoroughly cleaned up.
Customers can also trade in their good-quality worn New Balance shoes using the service, via mail or in-store drop-off. There are a few exceptions to what will be accepted, including sneakers with heavy creasing, excessive scuffing, heavy tread wear, notable insole wear, significant staining, shoes with rips, tears, or holes, and damaged labels.
In your shoes are deemed OK to re-sell, you’ll receive vouchers – up to 25% of the shoe's original retail price – to use towards other New Balance products, old or new, which for the moment can only be spent at newbalance.com. The value of the vouchers will be based on the seasonality and the condition of the product being traded.
If the shoes are declined, they won’t be returned to you but will instead be donated to the non-profit organization Soles4Souls.
For shoppers, sneakers are available at discounted prices in three different condition tiers: ‘like new’ (no major issues), ‘excellent’ (may have faint signs of wear) and ‘good’ (minor signs of wear).
The online service is currently only available on the company’s US site, but presumable will be rolled out globally if it’s a success. In addition to offering Reconsidered online, New Balance will be piloting an in-store trade-in program at eight retail locations in the States.
All of which is great for your wallet, and great for the environment too.
“We know the footwear industry has a significant environmental impact, including too many products ending up in a landfill,” said John Stokes, director of sustainability at New Balance. “There are many things that have to shift. Launching Reconsidered is one piece of the puzzle with a program objective to help extend product life for some of our product and get the most from what is already made.”
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