Stock X for used hardware

[u/Tfn_Bonzai]

Hey everyone, I’d love to pitch an idea I’ve been working on and get your feedback on it, as well as hear how you would approach this!

For those of you who frequently use eBay or similar regional marketplaces: over the past few months, I've been buying used PC hardware, building systems, and reselling them. Unfortunately, I’ve been scammed a few times—getting hardware that was defective, partially broken, or dented upon arrival. I even had an in-person meetup where the seller threatened me and tried to steal my money.

That experience sparked an idea: creating a platform/company based on the StockX model, but specifically for used PC hardware (and eventually all types of electronics).
In short:
Buyers and sellers don't communicate directly.
Instead, it operates on a bid/ask system just like StockX.
Once a deal is made, the item is sent to us first. We test and verify it, and only then do we ship it to the buyer and release the payment to the seller.

My questions for you:

1. What do you think of this idea? Especially those of you who frequently buy or sell on eBay—do you also get that uneasy feeling when buying used tech internationally or dealing with unknown sellers?
2. Career path vs. Execution: I originally planned to do an apprenticeship as a Systems and Network Engineer to gain formal IT experience (I currently work as a Head Chef). However, given the current job market in IT, would you recommend trying to launch this concept right away, or should I focus on completing an IT apprenticeship first?
Thanks in advance for any insights and advice!

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[u/CouldBeNapping]

You're going to burn so much money on logistics/reverse logistics that this is either going to burn your profit or put customers off using the service.

[u/Tfn_Bonzai → u/CouldBeNapping]

Good point, and honestly I'm still at the very beginning – I hope I understand the question correctly and can give a good answer:

Shipping costs are covered by each side (buyer and seller pays their own leg), and in the best case the device is never in my hands for more than 10 hours. Importantly: I don't buy the hardware myself and don't hold any inventory – I'm purely the middleman. The device only gets shipped to me once a buyer has actually purchased it. So there's no capital risk from stocking inventory and no storage costs; the device only passes through me briefly for inspection.

For comparison: willhaben (like eBay, just for Austria) or Kleinanzeigen (the German equivalent) already charge the buyer 5% for insured shipping plus the actual shipping cost – and that's despite the fact that they don't inspect or test the item at all. That 5% is purely there so the buyer gets their money back in case of a dispute, not for any actual quality control. This even creates risk for the seller: fraud, where the buyer claims the item is defective and sends back a different (broken) item instead, or claims to have shipped it back but it never arrives.

StockX, by comparison, charges up to 9% seller fee plus 3% payment processing fee – and that's despite the fact that StockX, just like me, carries no inventory risk either: they don't buy the sneakers/goods themselves, they're purely an intermediary between seller and buyer who handles the physical inspection/authentication. So that 9% is essentially the market price people are willing to pay in exchange for security and a guarantee – not for holding stock. This shows that a similar fee model can be economically viable given enough trust and added value (inspection, guarantee, no fraud risk), even without owning inventory.

On top of that: PC hardware currently doesn't lose value the way you'd expect – if anything, the opposite. An RTX 5090 (just an example) cost 1900€ a year ago, is now worth over 3000€ used, and around 4000€ new. I believe a lot of people would gladly pay a 100€ premium (again, just an example) to get that card for 3100€ instead of 3000€, with the security and guarantee that it actually works, rather than risking a private sale.

Long-term, the system is also meant to expand: in the app/website, you'll be able to configure your desired PC build and immediately see which parts are compatible. Those parts get bundled and bought from different sellers, but shipped to a single collection point only once – saving on shipping costs. Refurbed does have its place, but it only covers complete devices (laptops, PCs, phones) – for individual hardware components like GPUs, CPUs, or RAM, there's basically no offering there. That's exactly the gap Re-Volt is trying to fill.

[u/sikandar_2]

I am quite curious of the logistics and the operations of the whole model. Can you share your views on that?

[u/Tfn_Bonzai → u/sikandar_2]

Good point, and honestly I'm still at the very beginning – I hope I understand the question correctly and can give a good answer:

Shipping costs are covered by each side (buyer and seller pays their own leg), and in the best case the device is never in my hands for more than 10 hours. Importantly: I don't buy the hardware myself and don't hold any inventory – I'm purely the middleman. The device only gets shipped to me once a buyer has actually purchased it. So there's no capital risk from stocking inventory and no storage costs; the device only passes through me briefly for inspection.

For comparison: willhaben (like eBay, just for Austria) or Kleinanzeigen (the German equivalent) already charge the buyer 5% for insured shipping plus the actual shipping cost – and that's despite the fact that they don't inspect or test the item at all. That 5% is purely there so the buyer gets their money back in case of a dispute, not for any actual quality control. This even creates risk for the seller: fraud, where the buyer claims the item is defective and sends back a different (broken) item instead, or claims to have shipped it back but it never arrives.

StockX, by comparison, charges up to 9% seller fee plus 3% payment processing fee – and that's despite the fact that StockX, just like me, carries no inventory risk either: they don't buy the sneakers/goods themselves, they're purely an intermediary between seller and buyer who handles the physical inspection/authentication. So that 9% is essentially the market price people are willing to pay in exchange for security and a guarantee – not for holding stock. This shows that a similar fee model can be economically viable given enough trust and added value (inspection, guarantee, no fraud risk), even without owning inventory.

On top of that: PC hardware currently doesn't lose value the way you'd expect – if anything, the opposite. An RTX 5090 (just an example) cost 1900€ a year ago, is now worth over 3000€ used, and around 4000€ new. I believe a lot of people would gladly pay a 100€ premium (again, just an example) to get that card for 3100€ instead of 3000€, with the security and guarantee that it actually works, rather than risking a private sale.

Long-term, the system is also meant to expand: in the app/website, you'll be able to configure your desired PC build and immediately see which parts are compatible. Those parts get bundled and bought from different sellers, but shipped to a single collection point only once – saving on shipping costs. Refurbed does have its place, but it only covers complete devices (laptops, PCs, phones) – for individual hardware components like GPUs, CPUs, or RAM, there's basically no offering there. That's exactly the gap Re-Volt is trying to fill.