SEATTLE: Buywander, an auction-based marketplace for returned and overstocked retail inventory, said it has raised $21 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to $28 million.

The round was led by Madrona Venture Group and Inspired Capital. Previous investors include Triple Impact Capital, Silence Ventures, Data Tech Fund and Animal Capital, along with a group of angel investors.

The company said it will use the funding to accelerate national expansion, invest in technology and grow its leadership team. Buywander currently operates eight locations, including recent launches in Denver and Chicago, with a Minneapolis opening planned.

“Retailers are sitting on billions of dollars in returned and overstocked inventory every year, and buyers are hungry for a better way to access it,” said Jordan Allen, co-founder and CEO of Buywander.

“This funding lets us bring that experience to more cities, faster, and introduce Buywander to more people who are excited to discover great products, compete for a win, and give returned goods a second life.”

Buywander said the new funding will help it build warehouse operations, reverse logistics and retailer relationships ahead of demand in new markets.

“Scaling this model market by market takes real infrastructure from warehouse operations to reverse logistics and retailer relationships,” said Brock Kowalchuk, co-founder of Buywander.

“This round lets us build that foundation ahead of demand, so every new market opens with the same reliability customers already expect from us in our existing markets.”

The company also announced several leadership hires: Laura Sasser as chief operating officer, Mani Sundaram as chief product officer, Daniel Kiepfer as vice president of data and AI, Abu Marcose as senior director of warehouse technology, and Roger Ling as director of marketing.

They join an executive team that includes Srinivas Paluri as chief technology officer, Brent Hendricks as vice president of strategic operations, Rett Clevenger as vice president of merchandising, and Ark Rozycki as chief architect.

Scott Jacobson, Alexa von Tobel and Greg Greeley have joined Buywander’s board of directors as part of the round, and Charlotte Ross has joined as a board observer.

“Buywander is solving a problem that’s only getting bigger. Retailers are drowning in returned and overstocked inventory, and there’s never been a good local solution for moving it,” said von Tobel, founder and managing partner at Inspired Capital.

“What stood out to us is how much traction the model has already found in every market it’s entered.”

Jacobson, managing director at Madrona, said the shift toward value-oriented shopping is not reversing.

“Jordan and Brock have built the first model that actually turns the trillion-dollar problem of retail returns into a scalable opportunity for value-oriented shoppers,” Jacobson said.

Buywander, founded in 2023 by Allen and Kowalchuk, connects buyers with returned and overstocked goods from retailers including Amazon, Target, Walmart and Home Depot.

Items start bidding at $1 in timed online auctions, and purchases are backed by a seven-day return policy and picked up in person at a local warehouse, eliminating shipping.