A trend that is easy to see and hard to size
Secondhand buying is not new. Charity shops, car boot sales, flea markets, pawnbrokers and classified ads have long existed. What has changed in many places is the ease of doing it: apps and websites let people list an item in minutes, reach buyers far away, and have payment and delivery handled by the platform. When reports say that resale markets are growing, they are describing a mix of older habits and newer infrastructure, and it is not always clear which part is growing.
How the size of resale is estimated
Market reports on secondhand goods often draw on a handful of sources.
- Platform data. Large resale platforms know how many listings and sales they host. This is detailed but covers only that platform, and companies decide what to publish.
- Retail and payment records. These can show spending at known secondhand outlets, but private sales between individuals, cash transactions and informal swaps may be missed.
- Consumer surveys. People are asked whether they bought or sold used items in a given period. This captures informal activity but relies on memory and on how the question defines “secondhand”.
- Industry estimates and forecasts. Consultancies and trade bodies combine the above with assumptions to put a value on the whole market.
Each source tends to catch a different slice, which is one reason published estimates can disagree. Differences in data collection methods matter here: an informal garage sale rarely appears in any dataset.
Current figures versus projections
Reading resale reports requires separating what has been counted from what is predicted. Forecasts are projections based on assumptions about future growth, and they can turn out too high or too low. A statement that a market “will grow” is a modelled expectation, not an observation. Past figures, in contrast, usually describe what was recorded, subject to the limits above.
Be alert too to growth rates versus levels. A fast percentage rise from a small starting point can still be a small amount of activity. A slower rise from a large base can involve far more transactions. A headline that gives one without the other can mislead.
Definitions shift the answer
“Secondhand” and “resale” cover a lot of ground. A report might include used cars, furniture, books, electronics, designer goods, children’s clothing, or all of them. It might count charity shop sales, peer-to-peer platforms and curated resale shops, or only one. It might measure the value of sales, the number of items, or the share of purchases. A figure for “secondhand fashion” and a figure for “secondhand goods” are not interchangeable, and neither is a count of sales value versus a count of people.
Values or prices?
The most interesting question is why resale seems to be growing, where it is. A common narrative is that consumers increasingly care about waste and want to extend the life of products, which fits with wider talk of sustainable living. That may be part of the story. But other explanations can fit the same pattern, and it is helpful to hold several in mind.
Price pressure. When household budgets are tight, used goods can be a way to spend less. Resale might then rise even if values stayed the same.
Easier access. Platforms reduce the effort of selling and searching. Activity that was possible before but inconvenient may have simply become easier, increasing volume without any change in attitude.
Changing supply. If more goods are produced and discarded quickly, more are available to resell. Fast-turnover items can feed resale.
Resale value as a purchase motive. Some buyers consider resale value when buying new, treating an item as something they can recoup money from. That is closer to an economic strategy than an environmental one.
Fashion and identity. Vintage and pre-owned items may be sought for style, uniqueness or status rather than thrift or sustainability.
Measurement change. Sometimes growth appears because more activity moved onto trackable platforms, not because there is more activity overall.
These are rival explanations, and the data usually cannot separate them neatly. Survey answers about motives help, but they can be affected by the tendency to give more virtuous reasons. Observed behaviour, such as how buying changes when prices change, is typically more informative about price effects, though it is harder to collect.
What reselling does and does not show about the environment
It is tempting to treat secondhand growth as automatically good for the environment. In principle, extending a product’s use can reduce demand for new production. In practice, the effect depends on whether a secondhand purchase actually replaces a new one. If a buyer uses the money saved to buy something else, or buys more items because they are cheaper, the net effect is less clear. Shipping and packaging can also add to impact. Researchers study this through assumptions about substitution, and results vary, so confident claims in either direction should be treated with caution.
Questions worth asking of a resale statistic
- What counts as secondhand in this report?
- Is the figure observed or projected?
- Which channels are included, and which are likely missing?
- Is growth shown as a rate, a level, or both?
- Does the claim jump from growth to motive without evidence?
- Who produced it, and would they benefit from a large number?
A measured conclusion
Evidence generally supports the idea that buying and selling used goods has become more visible and, in many categories, more organised. It supports less well any simple story about why. Changed values, changed prices and changed convenience may all contribute, in proportions that vary by place, product and group. Reading resale reports with that in mind keeps the trend in proportion.