Five years ago Sam McCarthy was buying and selling e-scooters from his London flat.
He bought his first one in 2018 and the idea came to him when he was constantly getting stopped by Londoners asking what model he was riding.
Fast-forward to now and Sam’s side-hussle sales project has blossomed into one of the UK’s top retailers of refurbished e-scooters and e-bikes. Otherwise known as Moose.
Moose is an online platform for approved second-hand micromobility products which offers business-to-business (B2B) and direct-to-consumer (D2C) services as well as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) bike marketplace.
“Everyone talks about how micromobility is super sustainable,” Moose CEO Sam McCarthy tells Zag Daily. “But if you’re throwing away a load of lithium ion batteries into landfill, how sustainable really is that?”
According to Sam, micromobility can be a win-win-win – or “all three sides of a triangle” – which saves the rider’s time, money, and protects the environment. A product that offers all three of those things is a rare find, says Sam, and Moose doubles down on that to make micromobility an even more attractive offering.
Buyer and seller protection
Sam believes there’s too much focus on the ‘new’ side of the micromobility market. Just as the car industry sees an equally large used market – with renowned second-hand services like We Buy Any Car – the micromobility market should have a similar market.
Moose’s online marketplace lets customers directly buy a second-hand bike from other customers with the protection of going through a verified retailer.
Sam and his co-founder saw the struggles people face when trying to sell their bikes independently, from their invested time, the possibility of scams, and the awkwardness of having buyers visit their homes.
“It felt that there was a problem there,” Sam says. “The absolute sweet spot for a customer is to buy directly from another customer because the chances are you get the best price.
“But the downside is you usually don’t get the reassurance like warranties or the return policies that come with buying a product new. So we thought: can we create a C2C bike marketplace that has the same elements of buying like new directly from a business?”
Similar to second-hand clothing marketplace Vinted, Moose offers that reassurance by acting as an intermediary between the buyer and seller to take the risk away from both parties. The seller lists their bike for a desired price, at no cost to them, and once the buyer purchases the item, the money is held in an escrow account with Moose. The seller then receives the money once the buyer confirms the bike is to the standard described. If not, then the bike returns to the seller and the buyer gets their money back.
If the seller’s item is still listed after two weeks, Moose encourages them to adjust their RRP and also tells the buyer the price that Moose would purchase the product for.
“This gives the customer the option of instant money if they need it, or they can wait longer if they want to sell for a higher price.”
Moose is also responsible for all of the shipping arrangements which means sellers can benefit from a UK-wide customer base, rather than targeting buyers in, say, a 50 mile radius.
“What we currently offer is the ability to protect both the buyer and seller through the escrow account, but also to seamlessly move bikes around the country and give buyers and sellers access to a much larger product pool.”
A soon-to-launch warranty
Buyer and seller protection, arranged UK-wide shipping, returns – it seems there’s only one thing left to truly emulate the experience of buying a brand new bike.
Warranty.
Moose is soon to launch a three-month warranty option which sellers can opt for when they list their bike. Though the warranty will cost the seller, their bike will be listed with the warranty meaning they can sell it for a higher price, and it’s also likely to speed up the sale.
Once a bike with warranty sells, it will firstly get sent to Moose who checks the product and ensures it’s of high quality before sending it to the buyer. If an issue arises with the product, the warranty is then held with Moose who will rectify the problem.
If a product is listed without a warranty, the buyer also has the option of adding that warranty onto the product in the checkout process. “The buyer gets the same experience as if they’re buying new, but they’ll benefit from that cheaper RRP,” Sam says.
Speaking of RRP, Moose is also currently developing its automatic RRP guide which will take into account various features of the bike to estimate a listing price for the seller. These considerations include the year of the model, its mileage, the season they’re selling in, component damage, and more.
“We need to look at micromobility not as this super expensive three to five thousand pound product. The focus should be on how we can save people time, money and benefit the environment by getting them onto bikes at a price they can afford.
“That’s why this marketplace is really exciting because it lets people access these products in a safe manner. They can reap the benefits of micromobility at an affordable price while enjoying those protections.”
