DENVER, Colo. — At a time when everything is getting more expensive, outdoor enthusiasts have a local place to buy or sell used clothing and gear to save or make money.
Out&Back Outdoor will offer you cash for your trade-ins, refurbish the items, and resell them at discount on the secondary market.
After working for companies like VF Corporation — the parent company of brands like The North Face — Barruch Ben-Zekry has found a way to make outdoor apparel and gear more affordable.
"Tons of people want to buy secondhand gear right now," Ben-Zekry said. "Demand is booming. It's really about whether or not you can get the supply."
The young Denver-based company is a re-commerce outlet, where sellers make money on the stuff they're not using or wearing anymore.
"Some of the fabrics might have changed, some of the insulation might have changed,Ben-Zekry said. "But by and large, the items are just as good as they were five, 10, whatever years ago."
Consumers can either register items through the Out&Back website and receive an instant offer or the company recently partnered with Dick's Sporting Goods for an in-store drop-off location.
"You bring your gear to us," Ben-Zekry said about the Dick's partnership. "You don't have to package it, you don't have to do anything like that. You'll get that payout right there while you're standing waiting for us to check in the items."
Meanwhile, for buyers, it breaks down the barrier of the cost of entry into outdoor recreation activities.
"If you're out there on the slopes for a day, you could easily be wearing on your feet, attached to your feet, your pants, jackets — $2,000 to $3,000 worth of gear," Ben-Zekry said.
Interested buyers can now shop for gear at huge discounts. And, Out&Back uses a refurbishing crew to make the used items look like new.
"To the buyer, I want them to be pumped on the product that they buy," Ben-Zekry said. "When they open up that package, I want them to look at it and say 'I cannot believe this thing is second hand.'"
The Dick's Sporting Goods location at 7313 W. Alaska Drive in Lakewood is now taking drop-offs through Out&Back. They take backpacks, tents, skis, and snowboards, in addition to clothing.
