Costify India is rewriting how households buy second-hand refrigerators and washing machines in a country where these appliances can make or break daily routines, but the market has long been a messy, no-paperwork bazaar. Costify, a bootstrapped Delhi startup founded in 2022 by siblings Sachit Bansal and Ashlin Bansal, is trying to turn that experience into something predictable: inspected inventory, documented repairs, warranties, and someone who picks up the phone when things go wrong.
Costify India: What they actually do?
Costify sources company-seconds, open-box, and cosmetically damaged large appliances, think refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners and restores them to reliable use. The company says each unit goes through standardized diagnostics, multiple rounds of performance testing, and repairs with genuine parts. Buyers see detailed photos (including scuffs or dents), get a written warranty of six to twelve months, and, within Delhi-NCR, can opt for same-day delivery with after-sales support baked in.
The process edge?
Unlike the typical “quick fix” approach that dominates much of the unorganized market, Costify has leaned into process and repeatability. The team has trained fresh ITI graduates on a documented workflow and uses an in-house AI system to guide troubleshooting, flag errors, and enforce repair standards. The result is less “jugaad,” more consistency, useful when you’re promising that a second-life machine should behave like a first-life one.
Penetration of large appliances remains uneven across Indian households, and price sensitivity is high. A reliable refurbished option, backed by testing, warranty, and service, can expand access without pushing families into debt or into risky, undocumented purchases. Costify’s pitch is simple: if structured resale can work for cars and smartphones, it can work for white goods too.
The startup says it has served more than 8,000 customers since inception, including over 5,000 in 2024 alone, and has sold upwards of 10,000 units. Customer profiles range from first-time homebuyers and students to cloud kitchens and restaurants. Public ratings cited by the company show a mid-4s score based on 300+ reviews. With its e-commerce stack in place, Costify positions itself as ready to ship pan-India, while keeping same-day fulfillment for NCR.
Culture as a lever
A recent internal note from the company underscores how much of its model depends on culture rather than one-off heroics. Costify frames its mission around three non-negotiables: delivering high-quality refurbished appliances, ensuring affordability without cutting corners, and building a team that leads with trust and innovation. The emphasis on “conversation-style” problem-solving, regular sessions to refine processes and share learnings, mirrors the way its repair playbooks and QA loops were built in the first place.
Refurbishment is also an e-waste story. Costify argues that re-using large appliances at scale reduces landfill pressure and avoids new-manufacturing emissions; the founders cite industry estimates that refurbishing one million units can prevent tens of thousands of tonnes of e-waste. It’s not a silver bullet for sustainability, but as more households climb the appliance ladder, second-life hardware, with real warranties, becomes a pragmatic bridge.
What to watch?
The business has been bootstrapped so far, the founders pooled about ₹1 crore to get started and now indicates openness to outside capital as it looks to expand reach and throughput. Execution, as always, will rest on inventory quality, turnaround times, and post-sale responsiveness. But if Costify continues to make the second-hand experience feel as structured as buying new, it could help formalize a market that’s long been treated as an afterthought.
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