Is Buying Used as Easy as New?: Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool

On Supercool, a show about climate innovation, business, and how the future is being built, host Josh Dorfman talked with Commonplace founder and CEO Ari Kimmelfeld about making big secondhand purchases, from sofas to swim spas, feel as easy as buying new. Josh once sold used fitness equipment himself, so he knows how hard the big stuff is to move.

Listen to the episode: From Sofas to Swim Spas: Secondhand Goods Get the Buy-New Experience, Supercool with Josh Dorfman, aired October 21, 2026. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

The episode is also on the Supercool site player and Spotify.

Key takeaways

• Secondhand is not a real shopping channel yet. Buying big items used means handling logistics, payment, inspection, and installation yourself.
• Commonplace started as Trade My Spin, a two-button site to buy or sell a Peloton.
• It grew from fitness into wellness, appliances, furniture, golf carts, jet skis, and swim spas.
• Buyers get an inspection before pickup, delivery, and paying on delivery, plus card, financing, and HSA or FSA options on eligible items.
• Sellers can list a room from one photo and get paid before the item leaves.
• Drivers train for each category and are rated by buyers and sellers.
• Making used easy is how more good products stay in use.

Why secondhand is not a shopping channel yet

Buying a big item used still means doing every step yourself: finding a seller, inspecting it, moving it, paying a stranger, and installing it. A store handles all of that. Ari Kimmelfeld built Commonplace to add those layers back, so a used hot tub or Peloton can be bought the way you would buy one new.

It's kind of been in my DNA. And what I mean by that, I've always been buying and selling things on different marketplaces.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 05:21

And it wasn't really, and it still really isn't a shopping channel. The way that going to the store or ordering something online is now actually a shopping channel. But buying secondhand isn't and it's super fragmented.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 06:24

And especially when it comes to big things, there's a logistics component, there's a payments component, there's a safety component, there's a warranty component, there's a financing component, there's an installation component, there's an inspection component. There are so many of these layers that you really take for granted when you buy retail.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 06:41

And so the vision is really turning secondhand into a shoppable channel for everyone.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 07:37

Selling is no easier. Ari said a listing turns into a part-time job:

It's just so easy to send a message and, you know, take up your time. And if you're selling multiple things, I mean, it really turns into, like, a part-time job. And then on top of that, you have a stranger coming to your house.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 08:41

More in why buying big items secondhand is so hard.

Two buttons and a Peloton

Commonplace began with Pelotons. Many sat unused after gyms reopened, and buying one used in New York meant carrying it down stairs and into a cab. Ari's first site, Trade My Spin, had two buttons: buy a Peloton and sell a Peloton. Delivery, setup, and inspection at pickup were part of it from the start.

And these Pelotons, as I like to call them, just turned into glorified clothing racks.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 10:41

And at the time, I was in the market for a Peloton bike, and I live in New York City. So naturally, I didn't have a car... You've got to carry it down a bunch of flights of stairs, and you stuff it into a cab. And by the time it gets home, the resistance isn't working properly.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 11:04

But then I told my mom the story, and she's like, wow, that's a lot of effort to buy a Peloton bike. I would just order it new because then I get the warranty. I can finance it. I can pay it on a credit card. I get it installed.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 11:32

So it was two buttons. It's called Trade My Spin. That was the name of the website... And there were two buttons. It was buy a Peloton and sell a Peloton.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 12:16

The full story is in how Commonplace started. Shop used Pelotons, or sell your Peloton.

From fitness to swim spas

After Pelotons came gym equipment, then wellness items like saunas, hot tubs, and cold plunges, then appliances and furniture. Commonplace now also handles golf carts, jet skis, and swim spas. Each category needs its own know-how. Ari said some swim spas need a crane, and a jet ski needs an expert inspection.

Yeah, we started with fitness. So we expanded into gym equipment... And then we got into wellness. So saunas, hot tubs, cold plunges, things like that. Naturally after that, it was appliances and furniture.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 16:43

And then we expanded into some of the really big stuff. So like a swim spa, which sometimes requires a crane to go over somebody's house.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 18:01

We also do golf carts and we also do jet skis... And then jet skis, the inspection is really everything. So you want to have an expert look at it.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 18:14

Shop used swim spas or washers and dryers.

What buying a used hot tub looks like

Buying a used hot tub on your own means hiring a mover, guessing whether the heater and jets work, and arranging the setup. On Commonplace, a $1 hold reserves it, it gets a 30 to 50 point inspection before pickup that you approve, and it is delivered and set up. On orders under $8,000, you pay the rest on delivery.

Josh asked what Commonplace solves for a buyer. Ari walked through a hot tub bought the usual way:

You need to get it inspected, because if an average person, average consumer, is going to inspect a used hot tub, they have no idea what they're looking at. They don't know if the heating element works. They don't know if some of the jets need to be replaced.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 20:41

And then you gotta get everything set up and installed. So you need a plumber, you need an electrician, you're gonna need to set up the concrete. There's like a lot of moving parts that you need to DIY if you're buying it secondhand on Facebook Marketplace.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 21:07

And on Commonplace:

So commonplace, we can make secondhand buying actually like a real option... We'll get videos, photos, and everything running. We make sure everything is good. We pick it up. We deliver it to you. And you can pay on delivery. So it's $1 to reserve it.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 22:30

And it's actually savings that you don't have to do all of that work to achieve those savings.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 23:17

Before you buy one, read how to inspect a used hot tub, or browse used hot tubs for sale.

Paying for it the way you would for new

A stranger on Facebook Marketplace wants cash. On Commonplace you can pay by card, and eligible items from $500 to $20,000 can be financed at checkout for up to 48 months on approved credit. Fitness and wellness items like hot tubs can also be paid for with an HSA or FSA, after a Letter of Medical Necessity.

And on top of that, you can pay for it on a credit card. It's HSA FSA eligible. So if you have an HSA card, you can pay for it that way. You can finance it.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 23:41

You can't do any of that on Craigslist or Facebook. It's like, you either have the cash or you don't.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 24:00

See financing and buying with an HSA or FSA, and read can you finance a used hot tub.

How selling works

Sellers can photograph a whole room and get a list of the items worth selling, each with a suggested price. A Commonplace crew picks the item up, and nothing leaves until the seller is paid by Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, or bank transfer. Optional promotion puts a listing in front of buyers on Google, Facebook and Craigslist.

So listing on commonplace is super easy. If you're listing furniture or appliances, you could just take a picture of a living room, and it'll automatically find all the different furniture. And it'll give you prices.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 27:13

And it'll recognize the things that are fit for commonplace. So it won't pick your sink, for example, or your vanity. But it'll find the refrigerator and the range.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 27:51

Nothing leaves your property until you're paid for it. Payout method is super simple. It's either Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, or bank transfer.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 28:25

That is Sell Your Room. Read how to list on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist at once, or start on the furniture or hot tub sell page.

Store to Sell when you move

Moving into a smaller place often means leaving a few valuable things behind. With Store to Sell, Commonplace picks the item up, keeps it at its warehouse, and delivers it to the buyer the moment it sells, so you can move without waiting for a buyer. Ari suggests it for a few high-value items, not a whole house.

The second thing is sometimes when people are moving, let's say I'm living in Texas, I got a great job in New York City, I'm gonna pack up, I'm gonna move to New York City, but in Texas I have this big house, I'm moving into a studio in New York City, I gotta get rid of a lot of my furniture.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 32:38

So we have this thing called store to sell. And so it's basically what it sounds like... We pick it up. We put it into our warehouse. When it sells, you could be in New York. You don't have to deal with it.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 33:12

If there are a few products that are a good fit for commonplace, that are high value, and you want to get them sold, probably pick those things out.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 33:42

See Store to Sell, and read moving and can't take your furniture.

Drivers, training, and ratings

Ari calls logistics the foundation of Commonplace. Drivers take courses and quizzes to be approved for each category, so moving fitness equipment does not qualify someone for appliances or hot tubs. Buyers and sellers rate their drivers, and every item gets a 30 to 50 point inspection before pickup, with photos and videos sent to the buyer.

The logistics is really the foundation of the business. None of this works without it, and it's the most exciting part.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 34:16

And then we also have a training system where drivers can be trained up into a new category. So if you're just moving fitness equipment, you're not right away eligible to move appliances or a hot tub. Like these things are technical.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 34:50

And then once you're approved, we also have a rating system. So customers and sellers rate their drivers... And pretty much the business is as good as the drivers.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 35:30

So for the pickup, we have a 30 to 50 point inspection for every single product... And all of this gets sent to us, but it also gets sent to the customer. And this is before the pickup.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 35:56

More in how Commonplace delivery drivers are trained and what white-glove delivery includes.

Keeping good products in use

Josh asked how Ari thinks about sustainability. His answer: if a big item is not easy to buy secondhand, people buy it new. Making used as easy as new, with delivery, installation, a warranty, and financing, keeps well-built products in use longer instead of sitting unused in garages and kitchens.

The way I think about it is it's really wild that all of these products, if not purchased secondhand, are being purchased brand new.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 43:50

And if you don't enable that, if you don't make it possible, a lot of these people are going to continue to buy brand new. So I think to believe in sustainability and want people to shop sustainably, you need to enable it. You need to make it possible.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 44:51

More in is buying secondhand better for the environment.

Where secondhand goes next

Ari wants secondhand to be a channel people weigh every time they shop, the way they choose between a store and ordering online. Big and bulky items are the hardest part, because so much good supply sits in garages and kitchens, unlisted. Making those items easy to buy and sell is the work Commonplace does every day.

My vision is really secondhand shopping is an actual channel. The same way online shopping on Amazon is a channel where you kind of think, should I go to the store? Should I just order it on Amazon? Should I buy it new? Should I buy it used?

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 49:18

Like, there's so much fragmented supply in people's garages, kitchens, whatnot that is not on the market because people aren't on the platform, they're not listing, but it's also so hard to make the purchases. So being able to unlock that really opens up the secondhand market for big and bulky.

Ari Kimmelfeld on Supercool, at 50:08

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 free two-month parts warranty. Delivery is free within 100 miles, and Commonplace ships nationwide. 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.

• Hot tubs. Selling one: sell your hot tub.
• Swim spas. Selling one: sell a swim spa.
• Peloton. Selling one: sell your Peloton.

FAQ

What is Commonplace?

A marketplace for big secondhand items, like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or OfferUp, with inspection, pickup, delivery, and payment handled by Commonplace. Listing is free, a $1 hold reserves any item, and delivery is free within 100 miles.

Can you finance a used hot tub on Commonplace?

Yes, when the item is eligible. Financing is offered at checkout on items from $500 to $20,000, for up to 48 months on approved credit. Read more.

Why is buying big items secondhand so hard?

Ari said buying new and buying used are not apples to apples. A store handles delivery, payment, installation, and a warranty. A used sale usually leaves all of that to you. Read more.

Is buying secondhand better for the environment?

Ari's view: if people cannot buy a big item secondhand easily, they buy it new. Making used easy keeps well-built products in use longer. Read more.

Thank you to Josh Dorfman for having Ari on Supercool. Quotes are from the episode, lightly edited for reading. Listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts.

More from Ari's podcast interviews: questions Ari answered on podcasts and every show he has been on.

Have something big to sell?

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