Shelves full of books that are already read but still interesting. A closet full of clothes that aren’t worn any more but still chic. In the basement, boxes full of DVDs and CDs. Throwing them in the bin is out of the question, both for the environment and nostalgia. Maybe it’s possible to make a few euros by selling them?
Of course, the idea of reselling used things has been around forever; older generations were also familiar with flea markets and clothes exchanges. Yet today, there are more ways of getting rid of old things than ever – especially online. In Germany, in addition to eBay, there are online platforms such as Momox or Rebuy, which allow people to buy and sell books, CDs, clothing or mobile phones.
“There is almost nothing for which there is no resale market,” says Thomas Ahlmann, spokesman for the Fairwertung association, which represents nonprofits that collect used clothing.
“Second hand is absolutely on trend,” Ahlmann is convinced.
That’s something that has long been claimed in the media, but is it really true? At first glance, it would certainly seem so.
“Since the 1990s, second hand has become more and more successful under the term ‘vintage,’” says Daniela Kaminski, managing director of the Second Hand business association. “There’s a large number of young people who don’t want to look the same,” she says. “They use second-hand clothes to express their creativity,” Kaminski adds.
This is also reflected in the more innovative approaches that form part of the so-called shared economy. Some Germany-based examples include the start-up Kleiderei, which allows people to borrow fashionable women’s clothing, or costume rental agency Dresscoded.
Big companies like IKEA are also getting in on the second-hand scene. The furniture giant recently offered customers the opportunity to return furniture they no longer need in order to resell it there.
There’s also a lively second-hand market for seemingly outmoded media such as books, CDs or DVDs. The Berlin-based online platform Momox made a profit of around 4.4 million euros (5 million dollars) in 2016, an increase of almost 1 million euros over the previous year.
The company says around 60 per cent of its turnover comes from the resale of books. “We are growing at a double-digit rate, year on year, and we don’t see it letting up,” says Momox CEO Heiner Kroke.
For the individual consumer, however, selling old books or CDs on these kinds of online platforms is usually not very lucrative; the main advantage is that it allows them to clean out their spaces.
But looking at the market as a whole, the figures become complicated.
According to data from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, sales of other used goods in the retail trade in 2016 amounted to 617 million euros. This was significantly more than in the previous year, 567 million euros, but clearly less than in 2014 – 785 million euros.
Moreover, the figures are meaningful to a limited extent, as they only refer to the over-the-counter trade and not online platforms.
For trade expert Gerrit Heinemann of the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, it’s clear: “The only trend in second hand is talking about an alleged trend,” he says.
“There is clearly a growing and very high-turnover market for used cars, which has also increasingly shifted to the internet.” The trade in used smartphones is also going well. “But that’s it,” he says.
Heinemann doesn’t see the market in second-hand clothes as a “megatrend” at all. “This has always been a niche, and the trade in used clothing remains one.” He describes the IKEA campaign as a pure PR stunt. “Nobody is going to pack up their old wall unit after dismantling it and bring it back to the furniture store.”
So a niche market, but one that at least benefits the environment?
Even here there is scepticism. The oversupply of clothing in particular remains enormous. “Above all, too many poor-quality new goods are produced,” says Kaminiski of the Second Hand association.
It is still too expensive to prepare a cheaply produced T-shirt for resale. The only thing that can be really done is to create an awareness that also leads to a rethink among the big manufacturers. – dpa
