In the context of increasing environmental awareness and resource scarcity, trade-in and remanufacturing have emerged as important strategies for sustainable product management. This study constructs decision-making models for a monopolistic manufacturer operating in a two-period market. The manufacturer produces new products in Period 1, recycles used products via trade-in for remanufacturing, and sells both new and remanufactured products in Period 2. Depending on whether the remanufactured product price is pre-committed, two models (no price commitment and price commitment) are established. The model optimization reveals that, regardless of the price commitment, four recycling and remanufacturing strategies emerge when the manufacturer engages in remanufacturing. The choice of strategy is jointly influenced by the unit residual value of the used product ($s$) and the unit cost of the remanufactured one ($c_r$). The theoretical findings for a special case ($c_r=s=0$) demonstrate that pre-committing the price of remanufactured products compels the manufacturer to simultaneously lower the price of new products and reduce trade-in subsidy while elevating the remanufactured product price. This pricing realignment reduces combined sales volumes across both periods, ultimately diminishing the total profit over two periods. Moreover, price commitment does not boost the remanufacturing rate. This study provides theoretical guidance and managerial insights for manufacturers in terms of pricing strategies and the reuse of used products.

Near-expired food has received increasing attention in recent years as an important way to reduce food waste and promote sustainable consumption. However, although consumers recognize its economic value and environmental significance, they still have concerns about its quality and potential risks. Drawing on social cognitive theory and social exchange theory, this study adopts a benefit–risk trade-off perspective to examine how personal and environmental factors influence purchase intention toward near-expired food through perceived benefits and perceived risks. Based on 547 valid questionnaires collected from Chinese consumers, this study employs PLS-SEM, multi-group analysis (MGA), and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) for empirical testing. The results show that personal norm and price discount significantly increase perceived benefits, whereas social image concern and product uncertainty significantly increase perceived risks. Perceived benefits have a significant positive effect on purchase intention, whereas perceived risks have a significant negative effect. The MGA results further show that purchase experience and income level lead to significant differences in consumers’ decision paths. The fsQCA results indicate that both high and non-high purchase intention can be formed through multiple distinct but equivalent paths. High purchase intention mainly follows two patterns, benefit-driven and cognitive trade-off. Non-high purchase intention is mainly characterized by benefit deficiency and risk interference. The findings provide implications for the marketing and risk management of near-expired food.