Until the pandemic, a new car almost always lost value the moment it left the dealership. That truism of Economics 101 no longer holds up.
The buyer of a Volkswagen Golf in Ireland, for example, could sell that car for an average of 15% more today than it was purchased a year ago—and that’s with an extra 20,000 kilometers (12,427 miles) on the odometer. The market is in a “truly unique period,” according to Tom Gillespie, an economist who crunched the numbers for DoneDeal Ltd., Ireland’s largest classifieds marketplace.
Prices in Ireland are particularly high because Brexit disrupted the regular flow of used cars from the U.K., and there are few alternatives for right-hand vehicles in Europe. But the trend is playing out elsewhere as shoppers face shortages and delays for a lot of what’s new: The secondhand economy is going mainstream and it’s not just for the thrifty anymore.
The online retail market for pre-owned merchandise this year is expected to surpass $65 billion, an all-time high for the industry, according to a survey from Mercari Inc., an e-commerce site. Mercari’s report showed that three in four people surveyed said they were likely to buy at least one secondhand item this holiday season.
At Miss Pixie’s Furnishings and Whatnot in Washington, sales are up 30% in the past few weeks—an earlier-than-usual bump in Christmas demand at the vintage housewares shop.
“A lot of people are like ‘I don’t know if what I wanted to get somebody is going to get here in time,’” said Pixie Windsor, the shop’s owner for 25 years. She’s seeing the boost in business not just for smaller gifts like cocktail glasses, decanters and artwork, but also for tables and chairs people suddenly need to host holiday dinners.
Unlike purchases of new items that can be out of stock even in showrooms, Miss Pixie’s offers customers the chance to “walk in, see it, touch it here and we’ll deliver it in five days,’” she said.
In Germany, the number of people visiting the largest classifieds platform—used mainly to sell used furniture and electronics—was 20% higher in March than a year earlier, a spokesperson for eBay Kleinanzeigen GmbH said.
Mainstream retailers have joined the resale bonanza—like the Ikea program aimed at recycling some of the “millions of pieces of secondhand furniture” that go to waste each year, or fashion giant Zalando SE’s “Pre-Owned.”
The drive to sell more sustainable products is particularly helping companies in used clothing, according to U.S. e-commerce platform ThredUp Inc., which said in a report that it sees the segment reaching twice the size of the fast-fashion market by 2030.