Boycott iPhone, with an iPhone?
This powerful site allows you to stay digital, save the planet and boycott billionaires all at the same time!
Do you ever wish we could go back to those gloriously slow analog days? I know they weren’t perfect but sometimes it’s nice to reminisce about those less connected days and wonder if we could bring them back.
Yeah … that’s not going to happen. We are too connected and far too used to the convenience that connection (regardless of its cost) brings us. Besides, without our relentless thumb exercises how would our capitalist-extremist, oligarchical overlords know what to sell us next?
Speaking of those overlords, have you ever wondered if you could stay digital but stop giving them money? I know I have and while I haven’t found a way to completely sever our financial umbilical cord to those billionaire babies I have found one solution. The black market! Er, I mean BackMarket!
What is BackMarket?
BackMarket is a marketplace that matches customers to refurbished electronic devices at a fraction of the cost and impact of new ones. I have been using this certified B-Corp for several years now buying everything from smartphones and smartwatches to earbuds and headphones. This site is awesome!
If you are worried about the prospects of buying used devices let me briefly describe my worst experience on BackMarket. My daughter wanted an Apple Watch for Christmas so I went looking for one that fit her “needs” without breaking the bank. Checked BackMarket first and boom, there it was: an Apple Watch 5 (if I recall correctly) for $100 less than a new one! A few clicks later and it is on the way.
Fast forward a few days and I am smuggling a package in from the mailbox. Beyond her spying eyes, I open it up, and … it has a big scratch across the face! I was pissed! But I went to the website and reported the problem and within a few minutes my refund was set up and another watch (this one sans scratch) was on its way. A few days later it was under the tree (with a wrapping job that left more than a little to be desired).
That’s it. That’s the worst (and only less than excellent) experience I’ve had on the site. If you need an electronic device check ‘em out.
Why BackMarket is so Important
Buying a device on BackMarket is fantastic, but I want to wrap up with another reason I love the concept.
Ours is a throwaway society. Devices that are treasured extensions of our hands that we can’t live without one day are the next day piled in heaps and burned in West Africa.
The problem is that the technological marvels in our pockets are chocked full of valuable materials and harmful poisons. We need more BackMarkets if we are to have any prayer for a sustainable future. And for the love of god, we have to stop pretending that a landfill or a burn pit is an acceptable finish line for anything.
Finally and, not surprisingly, e-waste is yet another example of boycotting billionaires and saving the planet going hand in hand. So, if you want to save the world and screw over a billionaire at the same time, check out BackMarket for your next e-purchase.
The Thank You
Thank you for reading my Substack! If you’d like to subscribe I think there’s like 8 different ways to do that on the app/website. If you’d like to take the Boycott Billionaires message into the analog world with a t-shirt (stickers to come) feel free to drop by my Etsy Shop for a minute. Either way, thank you so much for reading my work and more importantly for fighting the good fight!