BuyWander relocated to Kent, Wash., near Amazon's HQ, and hired four executives including two ex-Amazon staffers. The startup runs an auction marketplace for returned goods from retailers like Home Depot, Target and Walmart.
BuyWander, the startup that runs an auction marketplace for returned and overstocked merchandise, moved its headquarters from Spokane to the Seattle area and now employs 325 people. The company said Tuesday it added four executives, including two former Amazon employees, as it opens warehouses in Denver and Chicago.
The company is based in Kent, Wash., where 45 employees work. BuyWander relocated its corporate headquarters this month to put its leadership team closer to the region's retail and e-commerce ecosystem. Jordan Allen, who co-founded BuyWander in 2023 with Brock Kowalchuk, said in a statement that "auction commerce is having a real moment."
BuyWander's marketplace sells goods returned to retailers including Amazon, Target, Walmart and Home Depot. Products start at a $1 opening bid in seven-day online auctions. Buyers pick up purchases at local BuyWander warehouses instead of having them shipped. The model is meant to keep returned merchandise out of landfills and give it a second route to consumers.
The company's technology scans, sorts and identifies inventory before putting it up for auction. The sector includes rivals such as Mac.bid, B-Stock, Liquidation.com and ReturnPro. ReturnPro focuses more on solutions for retailers. BuyWander said it runs eight warehouses, with Denver and Chicago among the newest, and plans to keep expanding nationally over the next year. Most of its employees work in stocking, intake and customer service.
Returned-goods marketplaces are drawing more attention as e-commerce return rates stay high. Retailers like Home Depot (HD) supply inventory to these platforms, which can reduce the cost of processing returns and cut waste. BuyWander's growth – from 22 employees in April 2025 to 325 now – signals that the auction model is gaining traction beyond niche buyers. The move to Seattle puts the company near Amazon's headquarters and a deep pool of logistics talent.
Allen previously founded Stay Alfred, a Spokane-based short-term rental company that shut down in 2020 during the pandemic. The new hires include a former Amazon executive who worked on capacity planning and AI systems for fulfillment, and another who worked on Amazon's e-commerce operation and DoorDash's consumer marketplace. A third executive, focused on market expansion, said her priority is "building the operational backbone that lets it scale across every new market we enter."
BuyWander is backed by Triple Impact Capital, Animal Capital, Data Tech Fund, Vinay Menda, Quiet Capital, Maria Routimine, Eric Klein, James Dorman and Tom Simpson. The company raised $2 million in seed funding in early 2025.
The startup's eight warehouses now span multiple states. It plans to add more locations in the next 12 months, the company said.
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