It’s a big day in the DMV – today, Rheaply officially launches our free-to-join Washington DC Reuse Marketplace, sponsored by Visa. Born from a collaboration between Rheaply and Visa announced in October, the DC Reuse Marketplace offers local businesses and nonprofits a place to buy, sell, or donate furniture, fixtures, building materials, and other workplace items to fulfill any project.
Finally, reuse at scale is possible in our nation’s capital and surrounding areas!
Now, businesses in the DC metro area can keep valuable products and material in use, reduce costs and landfill waste, and contribute to the city’s ambitious zero waste goals together. Visa’s sponsorship of the DC Reuse Marketplace opens pathways to recommerce for small businesses and enables businesses of all sizes to give back to local nonprofits in a meaningful way.
Want to get involved? There are 3 ways you can put the DC Reuse Marketplace to work for your business or organization right away.
1. Create your account
Any employee of any business, government entity, or nonprofit can gain access to the DC Reuse Marketplace for free. Sign up to create your account, and once you’re verified and approved, you’ll be able to access all of the available listings on the marketplace, and post listings of your own.
For DC businesses with surplus inventory
Have extra workplace assets you no longer need? You’re in good company. Roughly 75% of the organizations using the DC Reuse Marketplace today are large businesses (15%), small businesses (50%), or government agencies (10%).
The DC Reuse Marketplace offers two avenues for redistributing surplus or otherwise unneeded workplace items. You can post your items for sale to recover the value and open a new revenue stream for your business, or you can post the items for free to make meaningful donations to local nonprofits in need.
When you create your listings, you’re also in control of how you’d like to fulfill your exchanges. Designate local pickup only if you’d like your buyer or donation recipients to retrieve items onsite, or choose your preferred shipping or delivery method.
Leverage Rheaply’s in-app messaging features to communicate with interested buyers or donation recipients, answering any questions they might have about your items, coordinating pickup schedules, and more.
For more tips on creating engaging listings on the DC Reuse Marketplace, check out these articles:
For DC nonprofits seeking donations
When you don’t have to spend valuable dollars on workplace assets like furniture, fixtures, and IT equipment, it means you have more to invest in your mission. The DC Reuse Marketplace is a fabulous place to find high quality free furniture (desk chairs, lobby or other office furnishings, shelving, lighting fixtures, etc.), IT equipment (computers, monitors, accessories, printers, etc.), and other workplace items that can make a difference for your employees and clients.
About a quarter of the organizations using the DC Reuse Marketplace today are nonprofits (21%) and schools (4%) like you.
Companies are posting new listings every day, so check back often for the items you need. If you find a company or storefront that has similar items to what you’re looking for, you can use Rheaply’s in-app messaging to share more about your specific donation needs.
2. Browse what’s available on the DC Reuse Marketplace
We might be biased, but there are some seriously cool and incredibly useful items on the Rheaply platform in the DMV (see for yourself). Let’s take a look at a few specific storefronts and their listings.
Storefront Spotlight: Community Forklift
DC metro area reuse superheroes Community Forklift have building materials, shelving, and lighting fixtures galore ready to supercharge your next remodel or build out on their DC Reuse Marketplace storefront.
Storefront Spotlight: 21st Century Expo Group
Located in Capital Heights, MD, 21st Century Expo Group has a little something for everyone on the DC Reuse Marketplace. Check out their sports equipment and office furniture listings, all posted for free.
Storefront Spotlight: Revolution
Growth investor and longtime Rheaply backer Revolution is offering high-end office furniture for sale on the DC Reuse Marketplace. Check out their Knoll executive chair or DWR Geiger chair.
3. Tell your business connections about the DC Reuse Marketplace
The DC Reuse Marketplace is as strong as the organizations that participate, and the more people using the platform, the more powerful it becomes.
The best way to supercharge the circular economy in the DMV is to invite your colleagues and business partners to join the marketplace, too.
Check out this article for tips on how to create and optimize your business’s storefront so that it’s ready for you to share far and wide.
Bookmark the DC Reuse Marketplace signup page so you can easily share it with your colleagues!
Made it all the way to the end of this post and you still haven’t signed up to join the DC Reuse Marketplace? What are you waiting for? Join us today!
Located outside of DC but want to get in on the reuse fun and impact? Sign up for a Rheaply Reuse Marketplace in your area.
