Pay up to 60% less for your electrically assisted bicycle (VAE)? Yes, thanks to the “reconditioned”! This is what prompted Toussaint Wattinne and Stéphane Ficaja, two thirty-somethings, former Uber workers, to found Upway at the end of 2021. This French platform buys electric bikes, overhauls and repairs them, and resells them online from 30 to 60% cheaper than new. 20 minutes had met them a few weeks after their launch. While refurbished high-tech products are popular, but also as competition grows, with sites dedicated to used or refurbished electric bikes such as Rutile, ekstere, loewi, or Biked, is success there? YOU ? Toussaint Wattinne confirmed it to us.
How has your business grown over the past year?
In 2022, Upway’s first year of effective activity, we gave new life to more than 5,000 bikes! It exceeded our goals. We see a much stronger enthusiasm than we expected. From now on, our offer is 1,100 reconditioned bicycles, against 500 a year ago.
Who buys your bikes and what types of bikes are the most popular?
There is a very strong demand in cities, of course, but also in rural areas. We sell a lot more electric mountain bikes in the South, for example. And note that “all-road” bikes, with suspension and wide tires are the most sold. We also operate in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. This also makes it possible to offer bicycles that cannot be found new on the French market, such as those of the German brand Bulls, which are very popular.
Who are the buyers of reconditioned bicycles?
After more than a year of activity, there are two types of buyers on the site: people who do not have the means, and who will spend less than 1,000 euros. And people who could only afford a mid-brand new bike, but who, thanks to Upway, will be able to buy a top-of-the-range model. We have two workshops: in Gennevilliers, but also in Berlin, Germany.
We have several objectives for 2023: to grow our workshops, our teams and increase our operational capacity. But also start an activity in the United States. On site, a team is preparing for this launch.
Our absolute priority remains the quality of the product that leaves us. Purpose: that the only differences, such as small scratches, remind us that the bike purchased has had a first life.
What are the “returns” of your customers on the reconditioned bicycles purchased?
We have over 1,000 reviews on the Trust Pilot site. Overall, people are surprised by the quality of delivery, the sizes, the budgets, the brands. We have sold over 200 different brands since our launch.
Mustache Bikes is one of our bestsellers. It is very popular and in demand. We have also set up a system to be notified of the arrival of a model that we expect on our site and which is not yet available. German brands are also very popular. We also see that customers have high expectations for Bosch motors, renowned for their quality. The expectation in this sector is really very high.
I am a potential buyer, what can I find on your site in 2023?
The first price of a reconditioned eBike* starts at around 600 euros for an entry-level bike over 5 years old, which has already lived well. These are city bikes with relatively few technical capabilities.
We will also find bikes from very good brands: we have ninety-five Mustache Bikes on the site, more than one hundred Giant, 30% cheaper than the price of new. Our offer is evolving to include more technical bikes, such as very equipped mountain bikes or cargo bikes, with prices that can reach up to 6,000 or 7,000 euros, corresponding to savings of up to 3,000 euros compared to the price of the nine.
* Some of which are eligible, under certain conditions, for a State subsidy.