Home › Forums › Random Thoughts › Shopping Used for Christmas is “Trendy”
- This topic has 4 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 5 months ago by Jay.
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11/16/2019 at 9:56 pm #70710
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11/17/2019 at 8:22 am #70714
That article was painful to read. Giving gift cards to thrift stores in lieu of presents. Great. That’s part of the reason why prices are so high – too expensive for us to resell, but a bargain for those who would’ve bought new and are newly enchanted by the idea of buying used.
I would say a lot of thrift store pricing is on par or maybe even more expensive than going to a vintage shop for clothing at this point?
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11/17/2019 at 9:08 am #70716
I think many of us knew that this would happen. Thrifting is fun and there’s great stuff there.
Bigger questions:
–Will people keep donating large quantities of good items instead of selling themselves?
–Is shopping at thrift stores a trend that will ebb and flow?
–Will all these new scavengers starting online stores be here for the long term? Or will many of them fall away as they see its a tough business. If we’re having lower sales, they’ll be having lower sales. -
11/17/2019 at 9:32 pm #70748
“Resale has been growing rapidly across the U.S., with the second-hand market forecast to grow to $51 billion by 2023, according to an estimate by online thrift store ThredUp. Given that growth, resale businesses are prepping for what could be their biggest holiday season yet, especially as Americans rev up to spend more than they did last holiday season”
The sad thing is, this is a market ebay really should OWN….but , despite all the evidence, they didn’t see this coming. They should really be putting some marketing muscle behind this trend in Q4, and maybe they will, but it may be too little too late….I suspect the young people, who make up a large percentage of the market for used/vintage….are mostly shopping at B&Ms or on app sites like Poshmark and Mercari, or even Facebook.
Just this week a new consignment shop opened this week in my small town, in a storefront that has basically been empty for years. I don’t know how she’ll do, she has experience running a retail business, so that will help. I bought some stuff from her and later dropped off some consignments. When I did so, she told me she’s hoping to bring in some crafters and eventually plans to maybe sell some stuff online. I’ll be waiting to see whether “online” is eBay or Facebook or something else.
Within the last few years, I’ve definitely been seeing more “marketplaces” opening B&Ms, usually a mix of crafts, re-purposed, and vintage/antiques. If ebay had any sense they’d be beating down the doors of these places, trying to get them to put some of their stuff on eBay and maybe do in store pick up, and so forth.
Jay, Your questions: 1. I think places like Goodwill are probably seeing a drop off when it comes to donations, but its hard to say, since GW diverts some of the locally donated stuff to other stores and to their online presence. And its still more convenient for people to drop stuff off rather than research it and sell it themselves. I help with our Library Book Sales, and we’ve been getting more donations than ever. But I think that’s because 1. we have a lot of elderly around here, and parents die or move into smaller quarters, and kids just want to get rid of the stuff, especially books, which are heavy and often of zero interest to the kids. But I’ve also noticed at a thrift near me, which (oddly) takes donations and consignments, that many people will first try to consign the stuff, and donate only if they are told it isn’t worth consigning. So, if some people think they can get some money without much work, that’ll be their first choice.
2. I think shopping thrifts will continue to be popular, but if prices keep going up and selection decreases, that could change.
3. Some will stick with it, many won’t. Especially as sourcing becomes more challenging.
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11/18/2019 at 9:37 am #70757
We’ve all said it many times: I think eBay is dropping the ball not owning the “used market”. They keep trying to compete with Amazon on new items.
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