TipTop, the startup that offers instant cash for electronics, is launching TipTop Shop: a way for users to purchase and trade in devices. TipTop Shop builds on the success of TipTop Cash, which was released late last year. It lets people get instant payouts for electronic devices like smartphones, iPads, cameras, game systems and more.
Many people sell old devices in order to purchase new ones, and sometimes they don’t always want the latest and most expensive model. Traditionally, consumers turn to selling platforms or use trade-in programs that often give gift cards that can be put toward a new purchase.
TipTop wants to remove the hassle by combining both sides of the equation. People can buy new, open-box and refurbished devices through cash and trade-ins. “You have this unified trade-in cart, which allows you to trade in anything that you have,” the startup’s founder, Bastian Lehmann, told TechCrunch. Lehmann formerly founded Postmates.
“It doesn’t have to be from the same brand, it doesn’t even have to be a related product,” he said. “And then we do what we have done over the last year, we instantly recognize the value of the item that you no longer need, and you can then purchase things with a discount because we are taking your trade in value into account.”
Customers can trade in an old Samsung Galaxy for a discount on an iPad, an Apple HomePod mini for a Nintendo Switch, or an iPhone for a Nothing phone. Customers can also make a purchase without a trade-in.
TipTop processes the payments through Stripe and handles the deliveries. Unlike on platforms like eBay and Facebook Marketplace, consumers aren’t buying products on TipTop from other consumers, as the devices are owned by the startup itself.
Lehmann teased that next month, the startup will be launching a new product that will give merchants the ability to run instant trading programs.
To date, TipTop has raised $23 million in Series A funding from investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (Marc Andreessen is on the board), plus OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant, and Pinterest, Coinbase, and DoorDash board member Gokul Rajaram.
techcrunch.com
