PayMore expanding its nationwide footprint

PayMore, a Massapequa, New York-based franchise retailer for buying, selling and trading electronics, plans to increase its presence across the United States this year, and will be able to recycle more used devices as a result.

Since fall 2022, the company, which combines an online e-commerce platform with brick-and-mortar stores, has increased its operating store total with 181 units awarded in 19 states, with more to come. Additionally, the company reports 43 percent of its franchisees already have agreed to upgrade their original territories.

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The sheer increase in PayMore locations has helped it recycle about 15,000 pounds of used devices, it says, with 8,000 pounds recycled from its Massapequa location alone. In 2024, the company believes it will be able to double its 2023 recycling output.

PayMore plans to have 13 new locations open by the end of January, and will have new sites opening in Arizona, New York, California, Texas and Michigan by the end of the year, and is venturing into international franchising.

“Technology is the No. 1 accessible commodity for most people on the planet, and the more it becomes available, the sooner millions of devices become outdated or completely unused by the public,” says Stephen Preuss, PayMore’s co-founder and CEO. “We are growing at a remarkable rate because tech itself will never be outdated and communities everywhere need someone they can trust to sell and properly recycle their old tech. We can even provide an opportunity for someone else to upgrade from even older tech to a newer model through us in an easier fashion than a sketchy online marketplace.”

According to Preuss and company co-founder and President Erik Helgesen, the secondhand industry has been stigmatized in the past, and their goal is to combine a family feel with electronics to change the secondhand industry’s perception. PayMore was recently featured in Franchise Dictionary Magazine’s Top 100 Game Changers, an award which recognizes brands that impact veterans, serve their community, create an opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs, fill a niche and are favored by the millennial audience.

“We have never had to close a location, and the number of devices we’ve bought, sold, traded and recycled have continued to speak for themselves, especially in 2023. It was a huge year for us in every aspect,” Helgesen says. “We plan on getting faster, more efficient and becoming the safest way to buy or sell unused tech in as many communities as we can, and we’re excited to grow to even more communities this year.”

Helgesen adds that PayMore stores serve as collection points where devices are accepted, and the company possesses all required licenses for collecting these devices. However, the company doesn’t dismantle them for recycling. “This approach is a significant advantage in minimizing the risk of chemical releases locally in the neighborhoods we live and operate in.”

PayMore stores devices temporarily until a fully licensed electronics recycler picks them up for processing. Helgesen says those recyclers can provide receipts to confirm proper recycling and data destruction. “In some states or counties, we report the recycling activity back to them for compliance.”