Upway ebikes opens in US, gives deep reductions on premium refurb bikes

Upway is a Gennevilliers, France-based startup ebike Slot reseller with a brilliant fascinating gross sales mannequin. The corporate takes overstock new ebikes from producers, final 12 months’s or flooring fashions from bike shops, and even buys ebikes on-line (maybe yours!) to refurbish and promote at a 20-60% low cost with a one-year guarantee. It not too long ago opened a US location in Brooklyn so as to add to its Paris and Berlin warehouse places and invited us by for a go to…

A few 12 months in the past, Upway landed a $25 million Collection A funding spherical led by Exor Seeds and Sequoia Capital. A few of that cash went into beginning its Brooklyn location and opening the US market.

Upway at the moment operates out of warehouses exterior of Paris and Berlin and, apart from Germany and France, additionally serves Belgium and the Netherlands. The workforce took the learnings from the European distribution factors and constructed a terrifically organized warehouse in a nondescript wholesaler space of Brooklyn. I’m instructed it’s scouting for a second US location alongside the West Coast exterior of LA.

The Upway US HQ/warehouse is situated at 143 Morgan Avenue 11237, Brooklyn, NY. I went there final week, and wow, is it spectacular.

From the time the bikes roll in by way of supply vehicles/vans, they get tagged and bagged with the complete background of the bike in addition to equipment/chargers. Every bike, regardless of whether it is new or used, goes by means of a 20-step inspection and restore course of to convey it as much as “bike store”-level tuning.

As soon as inspected and licensed by professional bike mechanics, they shortly get photographed in a formidable 360-degree automated digicam room for posting on the web.

Bikes that arrive within the morning are sometimes on the market and generally offered later that very same day. Right here’s a small sampling of Upway’s present stock (it solely does ebikes, no acoustic).

Virtually the entire ebikes listed here are top-shelf “bike retailer” degree ebikes, together with Riese and Mueller, Specialised, Cannondale, Yuba, Big, and many others.

Curiously, due to New York’s new legal guidelines about ebike batteries, Upway will quickly solely be capable to promote bikes which are UL-listed or have UL-listed batteries. That could be for the higher.

Upway additionally buys high-quality ebikes off of Fb Market and different on-line gross sales platforms if it thinks it could make a good margin on fixing and reselling. Cargo bikes and mountain bikes are significantly in excessive demand within the US proper now so these are the sorts of bikes Upway is scouting for.

Curiously, whereas within the warehouse, I noticed my pal’s Sondors Mad Mod arrive and undergo the consumption process. Unbeknownst to me, he was on the lookout for one thing lighter and ran by means of the simple three-step trade-in course of the earlier week. Hours later, it was on the site, ready for sale.

As soon as bought, Upway containers and sends out bikes absolutely assembled and calibrated like a motorbike store would and places a brand new one-year guarantee on the bike. The one factor the shopper has to do is tighten the handlebars and screw on the pedals. This implies Upway’s containers are slightly taller, and naturally, they are going to be labeled “HDTVs,” a trick Van Moof invented in order that the handlers are slightly gentler on the containers.

Containers arrive by way of FedEx or XPO, relying on geography, and could be anticipated to reach in 2-5 enterprise days from buy, once more relying on the gap from Brooklyn.

Electrek’s take:

I really love this idea, especially because second-hand ebikes are blowing up after the pandemic – but the execution seems like it could be a tough slog. I’ve got my eye on this red Specialized Turbo Vado for commuters listed for about half the retail price. There’s additionally a brand new Giant Roam E+STA in new condition for $1848 ($1000 off). Checking the new and sale items has already develop into a pastime for me, and I’ve even bookmarked the pages.

Even for those who aren’t shopping for an Upway bike, the bike finder app lets you determine which bike manufacturers/fashions meet your particular desires, and I’ve really helpful the finder to individuals who ask me what sort of ebike they need to get.

At first blush, it looks like a win-win-win state of affairs. Customers get high-quality bikes in new or nearly new situation with a one-year guarantee. Bike producers and retailers have a simple solution to offload bikes that they didn’t promote. And there’s a thriving market for used ebikes.

You may in all probability take into consideration Upway as an ebike Outlet Mall or maybe the TJ Maxx/Marshalls/Ross of ebikes.

Nevertheless, the satan is within the particulars. A motorcycle shipped to and from Brooklyn goes to value rather a lot lower than one shipped to Seattle, for example. So Upway’s easy free transport pricing goes to be a loss chief in some instances. Cargo bikes are much more costly to ship, and the bucket/baby carriers are required to be placed on pallets. These logistics costs all eat closely into margins so placing the fitting offers with shippers is essential.

I had a Trek occasion after my go to to Upway, and an worker stated it was working by itself model of this second-hand market. If different retailers get into the sport, Upway shall be at a major drawback. In reality, some have already got. That Sondors Mad Mod I discussed earlier than is $2199 shipped from Upway, however Sondors itself has Open Field pricing beginning at $1799. However who is aware of how a lot transport will add, will it have a 1 12 months guarantee and can or not it’s “bike store tuned”?

Nonetheless, although, I believe Upway is onto one thing right here if my utilization of its web site is any indication. What do you assume? Is that this an effective way to save lots of some huge cash on a licensed bike with a one-year guarantee?