WHITESBORO, N.Y. — Almost two years after opening a Sunnking electronics recycling center at 272 Oriskany Boulevard, the company just cut the ribbon on its eCaboose electronics resale retail showroom sharing that space. Brockport–based Sunnking was looking to expand to the east, says company President Adam Shine. The Utica area has all the right demographics, […]
WHITESBORO, N.Y. — Almost two years after opening a Sunnking electronics recycling center at 272 Oriskany Boulevard, the company just cut the ribbon on its eCaboose electronics resale retail showroom sharing that space.
Brockport–based Sunnking was looking to expand to the east, says company President Adam Shine. The Utica area has all the right demographics, and can also serve both Syracuse and Albany as the business continues to grow.
The company leased the 20,000-square-foot building from Fred F. Collis & Sons, Inc. and opened the electronics recycling center in late 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When we got into the space ... it just kind of had this storefront appeal,” Shine says. The building previously housed numerous businesses including a Grossman’s Bargain Outlet and, more recently, an American Freight Furniture store.
With a wall to separate it from the electronics-recycling operations in the back, the front of the building now houses the eCaboose store, which is the retail arm of Sunnking. The location employs 16 people including five employees hired to staff eCaboose. The store formally opened on Sept. 7 — in a grand-opening event held with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce — offering new and refurbished electronics as well as device-repair services. Available products vary but typically include cell phones, televisions, laptop and desktop computers, monitors, gaming systems, and bluetooth speakers.
“I think people are realizing that new doesn’t always mean better,” Shine says. During the pandemic in particular, it wasn’t always possible to get new electronics like cell phones. That led to many people trying out refurbished electronics, he says, and realizing they are just as good as new devices at a fraction of the price.
Sunnking acquires the products sold in the eCaboose store. “Part of what we do is go out to businesses and collect their old electronics, much of which still has life to it,” Shine says. Businesses get rid of the items for a variety of reasons including the product no longer being covered by a manufacturer’s warranty or scheduled upgrades. Also, some items may have slight damage and some just aren’t salvageable, Shine says.
Most electronics waste is 100 percent recyclable, yet only 12.5 percent is actually recycled, according to Sunnking. About 70 percent of toxins in landfills come from the 9.4 million tons electronics thrown away annually, amounting to $52 billion in wasted resources due to the improper disposal of electronics.
Sunnking and eCaboose are working to change that by properly recycling items past their useful life and refurbishing the rest.
Sunnking sells refurbished products on eBay and first opened a retail store in Brockport in 2005. First called Sunnking Retail Center and Computers Etc., the store rebranded to eCaboose in 2016. It provides important services to businesses that are looking to offload old electronics as well as businesses looking to acquire necessary electronics at a savings, Shine says.
For firms needing a safe and environmentally responsible way to deal with old items, Sunnking makes things easy, he adds. The biggest question the company gets, he notes, is, “Hey, what happens to my data?” All data is securely destroyed, Shine assures. Sunnking provides chain-of-custody proof to clients, who even have the option of being on site to watch how their data is destroyed.
For businesses in need of electronic equipment, eCaboose can put together a package to fit their needs and budget, he says, and have it ready within two weeks on average.
To get the word out to area businesses about these services, eCaboose held a ribbon cutting with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce, printed flyers it will post around the community, and will meet with area businesses, Shine says. “We’re doing a lot with social media,” he says. The company is also looking to partner in some way with the Utica Comets professional, minor-league hockey team.
Duane Beckett founded Sunnking in 2000 as in electronic device reseller before expanding services to include electronics recycling. The company employs about 120 people and has increased recycling volumes to more than 25 million pounds annually.