How Do I Buy Used Safely?: Ari Kimmelfeld on Office Hours
A big used purchase is safer when an expert inspects it first and you pay only after it is delivered. Ari Kimmelfeld on Office Hours with David Meltzer.
Listen to the episode: #910 Building a Better Future: Climate Solutions, Founder Mindset and the Wellness Economy, Office Hours with David Meltzer with David Meltzer, aired July 23, 2026. Listen on Castro.
On episode 910 of Office Hours with David Meltzer, aired July 23, 2026, David and co-hosts Blaine Bartlett and Rhett Power talked with Commonplace founder Ari Kimmelfeld about building a marketplace for things that are expensive, heavy, and hard to judge secondhand. David set the tone: "I'm a great acquirer of pre-loved things, and it's a lot less expensive when they're pre-loved." The same conversation re-aired on August 12, 2026 as Office Hours: Turning Purpose Into Sustainable Growth. The founding story with Naomi is in how Commonplace started.
Key takeaways
- Commonplace started with Pelotons that sat unused after COVID, then grew into hot tubs, saunas, golf carts, home gyms, and appliances.
- The business is high touch on purpose: delivery, payments, and making sure the item actually works.
- Every item comes with a free two-month warranty.
- Ari learned the hard way: the first broken treadmill got taken apart until the team understood it.
- Most buyers do not know what they are looking at. Commonplace does, and will tell you to skip a lemon.
- Buyers reserve with $1 and pay the rest on delivery.
From Pelotons to hot tubs
Commonplace started with Pelotons that sat unused after COVID, inspected and delivered with the accessories and a warranty. It then moved into things that are just as awkward: hot tubs, saunas, golf carts, home gyms, and appliances. The job is the same. Make a complicated used purchase feel like a normal one.
Commonplace basically evolved from first just doing Pelotons, when people bought a bunch of Pelotons during COVID, and there was a lot of supply out there, and people didn't know what to do with them after they went back to the gym... We would inspect them, make sure everything was working, and then offer a warranty and all of the accessories with it.
Ari Kimmelfeld on Office Hours #910, at 21:43
And then with Commonplace, we're expanding that across the country and getting into some other categories like wellness, so hot tubs, golf carts, sauna, home gyms, appliances, things that are complicated, that are high value... a big swim spa that needs a crane to be lifted over your house and delivered. So we're doing all of that end to end, from pickup inspection to final delivery, and then the warranty after that. So making complex transactions easy is basically what Commonplace is about.
Ari Kimmelfeld on Office Hours #910, at 22:30
The full story is in how Commonplace started.
High touch on purpose
Big used items fail when software stops at the message thread. Someone has to move the item, check that it works, and stand behind it. Commonplace stays high touch on purpose: delivery, payments, and a two-month warranty. That is the product, not a concierge add-on for a listing site.
One of the hosts pointed out how high touch the business is. Ari agreed.
Extremely high touch. We do everything from the delivery to the payments... And we offer a two-month warranty. So we stand behind it. We need to make sure that it's working.
Ari Kimmelfeld on Office Hours #910, at 23:26
Learning one transaction at a time
The first broken treadmill was not just refunded. The team took it apart until they understood how it failed. That is how category knowledge gets built, one real delivery at a time, instead of a generic checklist. The next buyer of that kind of machine gets the benefit of the machine that went wrong.
Asked what made him and Naomi start without the skills built in, Ari said:
If you think about the greatest businesses ever built, Jeff Bezos never built a marketplace before he built Amazon... I've never done this before. I'm doing this now. And I think you just have to go in and do it one transaction at a time.
Ari Kimmelfeld on Office Hours #910, at 24:11
The first treadmill that we delivered that was broken, instead of just refunding the buyer, we actually took apart that treadmill and basically understood everything about this treadmill and how it works.
Ari Kimmelfeld on Office Hours #910, at 24:33
Your eyes and ears on the ground
Most people buy a few cars, or a couple of hot tubs, in a lifetime. They do not know what a lemon looks like. Commonplace has seen the same models over and over, and will say so before you pay. Skipping a bad unit is free. That is the inspection, not a pitch after the money is sent.
If you're buying something for the first time, let's say a hot tub or a sauna, even if you found a great deal on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and you go there, you don't know what you're looking at. We've seen it a thousand times before. We know exactly what it is. And we're the first ones to tell you, hey, this is a lemon, you should probably skip this one. And that's free of charge.
Ari Kimmelfeld on Office Hours #910, at 24:53
More in how to avoid buying a lemon secondhand.
Showing up where people shop
Buyers do not start their search on a site they have never heard of. They search a brand and a model. Commonplace has to be where that search already happens, with the specific item in stock, or the careful process never gets a chance. Distribution is part of making the hard purchase easy.
When people are looking for a hot tub or home gym equipment or a sauna, they're starting their search usually on Google Shopping or on Facebook Marketplace if they're looking for something used. And so we want to make sure that we're showing up where people are looking.
Ari Kimmelfeld on Office Hours #910, at 25:30
We have the free warranty. You don't have to deal with strangers in terms of payments and pickup and all that hassle... And you can pay upon delivery. Some people are like, I'm not going to buy something until I see it, especially if it's secondhand. So all you need is just a $1 deposit to buy something, and then you see it, you test it out, and then you pay upon delivery.
Ari Kimmelfeld on Office Hours #910, at 26:05
What the panel took away
The panel's thread was purpose, incentives, and action. Ari's piece of it was practical: complicated secondhand purchases get easy when inspection, delivery, and payment are handled by people who know the product. The incentive for the buyer is a lower price without the usual risk. The action is a crew, not another message.
One of the hosts said Ari hit every pain point: "I've got a piece of gym equipment I need, and you hit every pain point of why I haven't got that piece of equipment yet." Rhett Power's takeaway of the day: "I love people who see a problem, see an absolute potential in a market, and just attack it, and don't care about their experience, don't care about the odds... They take apart treadmills."
Commonplace is the Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and OfferUp alternative for big items. Listing is free, and Commonplace handles pickup, inspection, delivery, secure payments, and a two-month parts and labor warranty. See how it works.
Categories in this episode
These are the two or three categories this conversation covers. Shop the used listings, or open the sell page when you are ready to let one go.
- Peloton. Selling one: sell your Peloton.
- Hot tubs. Selling one: sell your hot tub.
- Golf carts. Selling one: sell a golf cart.
FAQ
What does Commonplace do?
Commonplace makes complex secondhand purchases easy. It handles hot tubs, saunas, golf carts, home gyms, appliances, and other high-value items end to end: pickup, inspection, delivery, payment, and a warranty after delivery.
How did Commonplace start?
With Pelotons. Many were bought during COVID and sat unused once people went back to the gym. Commonplace inspected and delivered them with accessories and a warranty, then expanded into other big, complicated categories.
How do I avoid buying a lemon secondhand?
Have someone who knows the item look at it first. Ari said most buyers do not know what they are looking at with a used hot tub or sauna. Commonplace inspects each item before pickup and will tell you to skip a lemon, free of charge.
Do I have to pay for something used before I see it?
Not on Commonplace. A $1 deposit reserves the item, and you pay the rest on delivery, after you see it and test it out.
Thank you to David Meltzer for having Ari on Office Hours with David Meltzer. Quotes are from the episode, lightly edited for reading. Listen to the full conversation on Castro.
More from Ari's podcast interviews: questions Ari answered on podcasts and every show he has been on.
Have something big to sell?
List it free on the hot tub, sauna, golf cart, Peloton, or home gym sell page. We inspect it, pick it up, and pay you at pickup.