Press Release: The Pro’s Closet and REI Team Up To Launch New Bike BuyBack Program

Lots of cities have recycle-a-bicycle program, from Bikes Not Bombs in Boston to Free Ride in Pittsburgh, from Chainbreaker Collective in Santa Fe to Bike Works in Seattle. These are places you can go to learn about bikes and bike maintenance, and to work towards owning your own bike through volunteer hours and work put into assembling your new whip. They’re also places where those of us more bicycle-rich can drop off used frames, parts, or complete bikes to donate to our communities. But what if there isn’t an independent nonprofit program near you? The Pro’s Closet has partnered with REI to create the REI Bike BuyBack Program.

“We’re psyched to announce the initial rollout of our partnership with REI on their Bike BuyBack program in the Denver metro area. With REI and The Pro’s Closet, it’s quick and easy to turn your used bike into a new bike, or anything else REI offers.” said TPC founder Nick Martin. “REI is an ideal partner for us as we roll this out because we share identical values regarding the circular economy and its direct impact on sustainability.”

In the simplified trade-in process, bike owners will upload their bike’s condition into an online form for review by The Pro’s Closet. A custom email quote with the bike’s determined fair trade-in value will be sent within 24 hours. Once a trade-in value is agreed upon, the customer will receive an REI gift card in that amount when they exchange the bike at the Denver REI flagship store. REI will then ship the trade-in bikes to The Pro’s Closet for a pro tune service by a professional mechanic and resold for new adventures. With a large emphasis on recycling and repurposing gear, REI was an obvious, like-minded business for TPC to partner with.

During the pilot period of the REI Bike BuyBack program, trade-in bikes will only be accepted at the Denver REI flagship location. Quality bikes of all types, ages and brands can be submitted for value review by The Pro’s Closet, including mountain, gravel and road bikes. Tandems, recumbent bikes and e-bikes are currently not being accepted at this time.

In addition to accepting trade-ins for The Pro’s Closet, REI is an aligned member of The Pro’s Closet’s commercial trade-in program made up of 5,000 bike shops via QBP, the largest bike parts distributor in America. The company’s focus on repurposing and finding value in pre-owned bikes and cycling gear has spawned partnerships with some of the biking industry’s biggest manufacturers including Santa Cruz, Orbea, Niner, Zipp, Cannondale, and many others. The strategic alliances help liquidate overstock and demo fleet bikes, and provide a trusted platform for a healthy secondary market to support the primary cycling sales market. In 2019, 50 percent of all TPC purchased inventory came from those industry manufacturing sources.

2018 proved to be one heck of a year for the fast-growing company and they are already on track to have a dramatically bigger 2019 — with triple-digit growth they’re on the hunt for quality employees to be a part of their exciting and disruptive development. .

For more information on the REI Bike BuyBack program visit: https://www.rei.com/h/bike-buy-back

ABOUT THE PRO’S CLOSET

The Pro’s Closet Inc. (TPC) is the world’s largest retailer of previously-owned bikes and cycling gear. We purchase bikes and components from manufacturers, retailers, and individuals and work alongside bike shops to help customers trade in their old bikes for a new one. What sets us apart from our competition is the care we put into our bikes before sale. Our team of professional mechanics clean, inspect, and tune dozens of bikes every day, ensuring our customers have the best experience when buying a bike from us.