Rawlings Announces SidelineSwap as "Official Resale Partner" with Comprehensive Trade-in Program for Customers

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Jul 09, 2024, 11:00 ET

Rawlings will leverage SidelineSwap's recommerce technology and value guide to power a comprehensive trade-in program for its customers.
Rawlings' customers will be able to trade-in their used baseball and softball bats online at Rawlings.com, at Rawlings retail locations, and at its mobile HitLabs.
Customers who trade-in their bats will receive Rawlings gift cards that can be applied to next season's purchase, and the used bats will be resold on SidelineSwap.com.

ST. LOUIS and BOSTON, July 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SidelineSwap, the world's largest online marketplace for new and used sporting goods, and Rawlings®, a long-time leading manufacturer in diamond sports, are announcing a comprehensive resale partnership that will bring SidelineSwap's recommerce services to Rawlings, Easton, Miken, and Worth customers throughout the U.S.

SidelineSwap has been named the "Official Resale Partner of Rawlings" and will power trade-in programs for baseball and softball bats at all six Rawlings retail locations, as well as at select baseball and softball tournaments throughout the U.S. Athletes can bring in their used bats from any major brand and receive a Rawlings e-gift card on the spot for the trade-in value of their used bats. In addition to the added value to the customer, the program will provide sustainable benefits to the environment by reducing waste keeping products out of landfills.

"We are excited to announce this resale partnership with SidelineSwap. We know today's baseball and softball consumer not only demands the best performing technology, but they also care about maximizing their dollars when they shop," said Dylan Kavanagh, vice-president of omnichannel for Rawlings. "As the leader in sports resale, SidelineSwap has enabled Rawlings to accomplish multiple strategic goals: we lower the cost barrier for our customers by enabling them to trade-in and trade-up to our latest products, we keep the used sports gear out of landfills, and we enable the used gear to play on to another athlete. Our customers win, sports win, and the environment wins."

Rawlings is also planning a launch of SidelineSwap's proprietary online trade-in technology on the Rawlings family of websites later in the year where customers can get an instant bat trade-in quote on the site, print out a prepaid shipping label, and ship their used bats in to SidelineSwap's trade-in processing center where the bats will be processed, and a Rawlings e-gift card will be issued upon receipt and inspection.

Additionally, SidelineSwap and Rawlings will host dozens of trade-in events at select locations around the U.S. where Rawlings customers will be able to trade-in all types of used sports gear, in addition to bats, for a Rawlings e-gift card. At trade-in events, customers simply drop-off their gear where it will be evaluated by SidelineSwap buying experts, and customers will be paid the trade-in value in a Rawlings e-gift card that can be used towards a future purchase.

"We are excited to launch this partnership with Rawlings and honored to help them introduce resale options for their customers," said Brendan Candon, chief executive officer of SidelineSwap. "It's great to see the leading brands in baseball embrace resale to make it easier for their customers to get into the latest and greatest Rawlings products through trade-in."

For more information about SidelineSwap's trade-in events, and to find a location near you, please visit: https://sidelineswap.com/trade-in-events.

About SidelineSwap:
SidelineSwap - the world's largest online marketplace for sporting goods - makes it easy for athletes, fans and sports families to safely buy and sell their gear. Founded in 2015, SidelineSwap has enabled athletes to earn more than $250,000,000 to date by reselling the extra gear they have at home. Buyers can expect to find great value on a wide range of inventory across all sports, and sellers can quickly & easily turn their used sporting goods into cash or shopping credit. SidelineSwap was one of the fastest growing marketplaces on Andreessen Horowitz's A16z Top 100 marketplace list for the 3rd year in a row, and is the recommerce partner of choice for leading sports & outdoor brands.

About Rawlings:
Established in 1887, Rawlings is an innovative leading global brand and manufacturer of premium baseball and softball equipment, including gloves, balls, and protective headwear. Rawlings' unparalleled quality, innovative engineering and expert craftsmanship are the fundamental reasons why more professional athletes, national governing bodies and sports leagues choose Rawlings. Rawlings is the official baseball, glove, helmet, face guard and base of Major League Baseball®, the official baseball of Minor League Baseball® and the official baseball and softball of the NCAA® and the NAIA®.

Rawlings acquired Easton Diamond Sports®, the official equipment supplier of Little League® Baseball and Softball, Team USA Softball®, and USSSA® Softball, in 2020. The company is headquartered in St. Louis. For more information, please visit www.Rawlings.com.

SOURCE Rawlings