Buywander, Auction Marketplace for Returned Goods, Raises $21M in Series A Funding

Led by Madrona Venture Group and Inspired Capital, funding fuels nationwide expansion, and operational and leadership investment

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Buywander, the auction-based marketplace for returned and overstocked retail inventory, today announced its $21M Series A funding round, bringing the company's lifetime funding to $28M. The round was led by Madrona Venture Group and Inspired Capital. Previous investors include Triple Impact Capital, Silence Ventures, Data Tech Fund and Animal Capital, along with a group of angel investors.

"Retailers are sitting on billions of dollars in returned and overstocked inventory every year, and buyers are hungry for a better way to access it," said Jordan Allen, Co-Founder and CEO of Buywander. "We've seen that appetite play out in every market we've entered. This funding lets us bring that experience to more cities, faster, and introduce Buywander to more people who are excited to discover great products, compete for a win, and give returned goods a second life."

Buywander will use the funding to accelerate national expansion, invest in technology, and grow its leadership team, building on its eight locations including recent market launches in Denver, Chicago, and an upcoming opening in Minneapolis.

"Scaling this model market by market takes real infrastructure from warehouse operations to reverse logistics and retailer relationships," said Brock Kowalchuk, Co-Founder of Buywander. "This round lets us build that foundation ahead of demand, so every new market opens with the same reliability customers already expect from us in our existing markets."

Buywander also recently expanded its leadership team, strategically assembled to scale the company's commercial operations and market expansion. The new team includes: Laura Sasser, Chief Operating Officer; Mani Sundaram, Chief Product Officer; Daniel Kiepfer, VP of Data and AI; Abu Marcose, Senior Director of Warehouse Technology; and Roger Ling, Director of Marketing. They join an impressive executive team including Srinivas Paluri, Chief Technology Officer; Brent Hendricks, VP of Strategic Operations; Rett Clevenger, VP of Merchandising; and Ark Rozycki, Chief Architect. As part of the round, Scott Jacobson, Alexa von Tobel, and Greg Greeley have joined Buywander's board of directors, while Charlotte Ross has joined as a board observer.

"Buywander is solving a problem that's only getting bigger. Retailers are drowning in returned and overstocked inventory, and there's never been a good local solution for moving it," said Alexa von Tobel, Founder and Managing Partner at Inspired Capital. "What stood out to us is how much traction the model has already found in every market it's entered. Jordan and Brock have built something that works for buyers, works for retailers, and scales city by city without losing the local warehouse experience that makes the model work."

"We've watched affordability go from a discount-seeker habit to just how most people shop, and this shift isn't reversing anytime soon,” said Scott Jacobson, Managing Director at Madrona. “Jordan and Brock have built the first model that actually turns the trillion-dollar problem of retail returns into a scalable opportunity for value-oriented shoppers. Almost every major retailer is sitting on this same supply problem, and there are just as many shoppers on the other side hunting for exactly this kind of deal, which is what Buywander serves so effectively."

To learn more about Buywander, visit buywander.com.

About Buywander
Buywander is an auction-based marketplace connecting value-seeking buyers with returned and overstocked goods from vetted retailers, including Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Home Depot. Every item starts bidding at $1 in a timed online auction, and every purchase is backed by a 7-day return policy and picked up in person at a local warehouse, eliminating shipping entirely. Founded in 2023 by Jordan Allen and Brock Kowalchuk, Buywander operates warehouses across multiple markets, with new locations recently launched in Denver and Chicago. For more information, visit buywander.com.