ReUse Centers

What ReUse Centers does

ReUse Centers is a non-profit organization that operates as a hybrid environmental reuse retailer and workforce development program. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the organization accepts donated building materials — including kitchen and bathroom cabinets, doors, windows, sinks, lumber, tubs, light fixtures, carpet, appliances, and tools — from partner suppliers providing overstocked building grade products, closeouts, returned merchandise, and mis-measured windows, as well as from local companies and private individuals across the Cincinnati and Lexington markets. The organization also runs an in-house paint blending operation that converts donated surplus paint into sellable product.

The business operates through two physical retail storefronts — at 1530 Tremont St in Cincinnati, OH and 657 E. 7th Street in Lexington, KY — with regular weekday and Saturday hours. ReUse Centers charges a low cost-recovery handling fee, typically half or less of retail prices, intended to cover freight, rent, labor, and processing rather than generate profit. A searchable inventory of approximately 1,000 windows supports customer discovery. Marketing relies on the organizational website, Facebook page, Google Reviews, and community word-of-mouth rather than paid acquisition.

Beyond retail, ReUse Centers operates the Youth Fair Chance Program, a 3-6 month initiative for at-risk youth aged 18-25 from Hamilton County who are not enrolled in higher education. The program combines paid work experience with classroom time on life skills (attitude, attendance, budgeting, relationships, life goals) and basic warehouse/retail skills, culminating in outside job placement assistance. The organization is independently operated with 11-50 employees, no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, and no institutional investors, and serves customers primarily across residential construction and remodeling segments including homeowners, DIY remodelers, contractors, and low-income individuals.

Name

ReUse Centers

Legal name

ReUse Centers

Website

https://reusecenters.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ReUse Centers is a Cincinnati-based non-profit that sells donated and overstocked building materials at low handling fees through two retail stores in Cincinnati, OH and Lexington, KY, while running the Youth Fair Chance Program to provide job training for at-risk Hamilton County youth aged 18-25.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reclaimed Building Materials Retail

NAICS

Used Merchandise Retailers (459510), Building Material and Supplies Dealers (4441), Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers (444)

SIC

Retail-Lumber & Other Building Materials Dealers (5211), Retail-Home Furniture, Furnishings & Equipment Stores (5700)

akta.pro primary industry

Reuse & Resale / Recommerce Operations (EUAIANAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Returns & Salvage (Customer Returns) Retail (CRAEAFAC), Closeout Home, Furniture & Decor Retail (CRAEAFAI)

Keywords

• Reclaimed building materials
• Non-profit retail
• Donated construction supplies
• Affordable home renovation
• Building material reuse

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Material Sales (Handling Fee): ReUse Centers charges a low handling fee to recover costs of freight, rent, labor, and processing for donated building materials. The fee is typically half or less of retail prices, making materials affordable while sustaining operations. As a non-profit, revenue is used to support the organization's mission and youth training programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ReUse Centers operates two non-profit retail storefronts that sell donated, overstocked, and reclaimed building materials — including cabinets, doors, windows, sinks, lumber, tubs, light fixtures, carpet, appliances, tools, and paint blended in-house from donated surplus — at a low handling fee typically half or less of retail prices. The organization sources inventory at no cost from partner suppliers (overstocks, closeouts, returned merchandise, mis-measured windows), companies, and private individuals across Cincinnati and Lexington, and reinvests revenue into its operations and the Youth Fair Chance Program that trains at-risk youth aged 18-25 in Hamilton County.

Product overview

ReUse Centers operates as a non-profit organization offering a single unified product: reclaimed and overstocked building materials at discounted prices. Their inventory includes new and used items such as cabinets, doors, windows, sinks, lumber, siding, trim, tubs, light fixtures, carpet, appliances, furnaces, drywall, vinyl flooring, and tools. They blend their own paint from donated surplus paint. The organization charges a low cost-recovery handling fee, typically half or less of retail prices, and provides materials through two physical store locations in Cincinnati, OH and Lexington, KY.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Partner Suppliers (Building Grade Product Donors)coreOthersOverstocked building grade products donated by partner suppliers. These suppliers provide excess inventory, closeouts, returned merchandise, and mis-measured windows to ReUse Centers at no cost, which are then sold at discounted prices to consumers.
• Companies and Private Individuals (Local Donors)minorOthersLocal companies and private individuals across Cincinnati and Lexington donate used items from remodeling projects, surplus materials, and other building supplies to support the organization's mission.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The ReUse People: Non-profit that deconstructs buildings and resells salvaged materials through retail operations in California and other states. Directly comparable for the architectural salvage and deconstruction-resale model that supplies reclaimed doors, windows, and cabinetry.
• Big Reuse: New York City non-profit operating a large donated building materials retail warehouse. Directly comparable in selling reclaimed doors, windows, lumber, fixtures, and architectural salvage at low prices with a circular-economy mission.
• Habitat for Humanity ReStores: National non-profit chain of donated and discounted home furnishings, building materials, and appliances retail stores. The closest direct peer to ReUse Centers, operating the same donated-materials retail model with a social mission (housing) rather than youth training. Operates hundreds of locations with established donor and volunteer pipelines.
• Community Forklift: Non-profit reuse center in the Washington DC area selling discounted building materials, appliances, and home goods donated from renovations and overstock. Same hybrid model of retail sales plus social mission, making it a directly comparable operational peer.
• The Loading Dock: Baltimore-based non-profit that distributes donated and surplus building materials to other non-profits and the public for affordable reuse. Directly comparable in mission (keeping materials out of landfill) and in the core product categories of doors, windows, cabinets, and lumber.
• EcoBuilding Bargains: Non-profit reuse retailer in western Massachusetts operating a large retail storefront selling donated and salvaged building materials. Closely comparable to ReUse Centers in mission (landfill diversion) and product mix (cabinets, doors, windows, lumber). A direct regional peer with a more mature single-store scale.
• Second Use Building Materials: Seattle-area retailer of used and surplus building materials including doors, windows, cabinetry, and architectural salvage. Closely comparable in product mix and target customer (DIY remodelers and contractors) although it operates as a for-profit business.

Regional players

• Habitat ReStore of Greater Cincinnati: Local Habitat for Humanity ReStore serving the same Cincinnati metro as ReUse Centers. Direct regional competitor operating the same donated-materials retail model, making it the most immediately comparable location-level peer.

Broad incumbents

• Home Depot: Largest US home improvement retailer selling building materials, cabinets, doors, windows, and paint at full retail prices. A broad incumbent in the same product categories ReUse sells, but at the opposite end of the price/value spectrum and without the reuse or social mission.
• Lowe's: National home improvement retailer competing in the same building materials, cabinetry, and paint categories as ReUse Centers. Broad incumbent that defines the "retail price" benchmark against which ReUse's half-off positioning is measured.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cincinnati-reuse-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ReUse Centers