Colorado company and local stores embrace gear buyback programs

If it ain't broke, sell it.

• That's the new mantra in the sporting and outdoor industry, where used-gear sales are going mainstream.

Driving the news: Mega-retailer Dicks' Sporting Goods recently launched a gear-buyback program at stores locally in Lakewood and beyond in Pittsburgh.

• Dick's will purchase goods from tents to fleece jackets, offering cash on the spot, as part of a pilot program with Denver-based Out&Back Outdoors, an online platform for gear buying and selling.

Why it matters: The pre-owned gear market is expected to reach $75 billion by 2025, according to Outside Business Journal.

• The reuse is environmentally minded and lowers the price point for newcomers to often-expensive pursuits.

Of note: The Dick's program is just the latest for the local market.

• REI — with its flagship shop in Denver — offers gift cards for its members' trade-in gear through its Re/Supply initiative.
• Feral on Tennyson in the Sunnyside neighborhood also is taking pre-owned gear, offering cash and gift cards.

What they're saying: "It lowers the barrier to entry to getting outside, and we see our trade-in offering as a way [for customers] to stay engaged with REI," Ken Voeller, the retailer's director of circular commerce and new business development, told the Journal.