Purchasing the latest tech device is always a thrilling endeavor. But it can be stressful, too, since the splurge is often a major investment, especially in light of today’s blustery economic climate. A major reason why consumers experience apprehension at the time of a tech purchase is because retailers rarely give us sufficient time to toy with our prospective gizmos before we lay out the cash for them. While warranties safeguard our products in the event of an accident or mechanical failure, there is no compensation in the event that we just aren’t satisfied with our new device. Only a handful of companies offer a flexible, “no questions asked” return policy.

Enter YBUY:

Courtesy of $1 million funding by Google chair Eric Schmidt, this Los Angeles startup founded about a year ago allows shoppers to subscribe to a tech device service for around 30 bucks, permitting them to try out tech toys before making a purchase. YBUY is not the first subscription-based startup to be born. Others like Wittlebee, Dollar Shave Club, MeUndies, Warby Parker, and Trunk Club offer the same try-before-you-buy opportunity (however, YBUY differs from these companies by requiring subscribers to return a product sample after a month’s time if they choose not to buy it).

In a recent article on Venturebeat.com, YBUY CEO Stehen Svajian states, “It’s clear that people love finding out about cool new products, and they’ve shown they need to try those products before they commit to them financially. From the start, our developmental strategy has been, ‘nail it, then scale it.’ We’ve nailed it. Now, these additional funds will help us test assumptions around scaling the business.”

Here are a few reasons why YBUY  is such an intelligent retail strategy:

• For under thirty dollars, consumers are permitted ample time to decide whether or not a product is right for them or not – a rare, golden opportunity in today’s competitive tech market.

• The subscription membership fee is applied to the eventual price of the product purchase, so consumers won’t feel duped or a victim of yet another “hidden fee” that we have all grown so accustomed to – and frustrated by – these days.

• Provided YBUY offers a high-quality inventory that spawns high demand, the return rate is projected to be pretty low.

•  YBUY allows shoppers to try out all of the greatest in gadgetry including top-sellers like the iPad, Xbox, iPhone and even home appliances like espresso machines and more – without shipping fees!

• YBUY may be the first to pose an actual threat to online retail giants like Amazon and eBay whose product sampling goes only as far as providing product reviews, which pale in comparison to performing a hands-in assessment of an item before making the decision to buy it.

While YBUY bills its customers on a monthly basis, Svajian hesitates to compartmentalize the company as strictly “subscription e-commerce”, primarily due to the fact that the startup is already planning on introducing a twist to its strategy:

Svajian reports, “ We felt it would be useful to have a subscription early on to drive engagement and be able to run experiments to track against different months…[but in the near future, customers] will be able to choose whether to bill monthly or just get billed when they receive a product. We’re big believers in one, single experience for customers and our customer interviews have told us they want this model, but we’d like to see the data before we commit to just one option”. You can read more about this in an article on techcrunch.com.

Take a look at the typical – and quite exhausting – train of thought that goes into purchasing a tech gadget nowadays (click on the image to enlarge):

 

 

…now imagine redirecting the energy that goes into deciding whether or not to purchase a certain gizmo into actually enjoying your new investment!

In the relatively short amount of time since its inception, YBUY has had an overwhelming response, resulting in a waiting list of over 50,000. Although the company has not yet revealed its total number of customers as of yet, it does report a growing rate of about 25% month-on-month, including a typical daily account creation of about 2,000.

Now that you can try before you buy, chances are you’re gonna be doing a whole lot more buying. Consumer Priority Service offers comprehensive warranties to protect all of your gadgets – so be sure to check out all of our warranty options to protect your investment from unexpected accidents or damage.