Tradeyard
Internal docs

Tradeyard — Research & Strategy

Market research, go-to-market plan, marketing strategy, brand spec, and pitch deck — all in one place.

Market Research

The reclaimed materials trade is a fragmented, trust-starved market operating on handshakes and Craigslist posts. The infrastructure problem is real, the market is large, and the timing is structural — not incidental.

Key Highlights
1US construction & demolition waste: 600M tons/year, 90% from demolition (EPA). Less than 35% is currently reclaimed or recycled — the remainder goes to landfill or export.
2Reclaimed materials market: ~$71B globally by 2027, growing at 4–5% CAGR. Renovation/remodeling spending in the US alone: $485B in 2024 (Harvard JCHS). Materials account for 25–40% of project cost.
3Existing players — Habitat ReStore, Black Dog Salvage, Olde Good Things, Architectural Salvage Warehouse — are fragmented, regional, and NONE have standardized grading or a national marketplace. The trust gap is the product.
The Core Problem

Renovation contractors (5–50 employees) spend 4–7 hours per week sourcing materials. They pay a 25–40% materials share per project. The reclaimed market is attractive on price — but carries hidden costs: misrepresented grades, inaccurate quantities, no-shows, and zero accountability for sellers who disappear. The result: most contractors default to virgin materials even when reclaimed would serve the project and the budget.

Why Now

Three forces converging: (1) Timber price volatility post-2022 is making reclaimed cost-competitive against virgin lumber for the first time at scale. (2) Embodied carbon mandates are rolling out — NYC Local Law 97, CA SB 905, and incoming IRA-backed building standards create demand for documented material provenance. Insurance carriers including Travelers and FM Global are beginning to recognize reclaimed structural lumber in underwriting. (3) Gen Z and millennial homeowners are actively requesting 'story materials' — documented-provenance reclaimed wood commands 15–20% premium over anonymous reclaimed at the retail end of the renovation market.

Target User

Primary: Renovation contractors, 5–50 employees, operating in the US Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Average project bills $180K–$600K. Materials sourcing is a weekly time drain and a margin risk. They need sources that hold up under inspection — and sellers who are accountable when they don't. Secondary: Demolition companies and salvage yards with surplus inventory, currently underselling into local markets or accepting scrap prices.

Competitive Landscape

Habitat ReStore: national chain, donation-based, no grading system, low-trust. Black Dog Salvage: boutique Roanoke operation, high quality but no marketplace model. Olde Good Things: NYC-based luxury reclaimed, no contractor focus. Architectural Salvage Warehouse: regional, Vermont-based. Craigslist / Facebook Marketplace: dominant volume, zero trust infrastructure. No player has combined standardized grading + national reach + seller reputation scoring. That is Tradeyard's defensible position.