
BuyWander moves HQ from Spokane to Seattle area as retail-returns startup grows team to 325 people
THE SO WHAT
A returns marketplace scaling to 325 people and relocating to the Seattle corridor shows how big the reverse-logistics problem has become. Retail and 3PL operators should treat returns as a separate optimization domain—data, partners, and tech stack—rather than a bolt-on to forward fulfillment.
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