About a year ago, now living in New Mexico and still a climbing enthusiast, Grubb and a couple of friends founded Rerouted Co-op: a marketplace for used gear, made simple. (Although the company currently operates as an LLC, they are planning to become an employee-owned cooperative.)
To sell gear, owners just send it to Rerouted, and the company handles the rest: storing it in their New Mexico warehouse; finding a buyer; shipping to customers; and pricing. “Nobody has to do anything but get us their gear. We do everything else — the sales, taking the pictures, writing the description, getting it on the website and making it happen,” Grubb says.
On top of making the process painless, owners have the satisfaction of choosing an environmental nonprofit, to which Rerouted will donate five percent of the sale. When owners decide to donate instead of selling, Grubb takes the opportunity to donate 50 percent to the selected partner organization. Grubb also has a Mobile Gear Unit (MGU) — or “Magoo” as he calls it — which he drives to events and trailheads around the western United States, taking donations and sales, and coordinating gear swaps alongside environmental NGOs and outdoor access groups. So far, he has about 20 nonprofit partners, and the list is growing.
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