Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

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TopHatFox
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Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by TopHatFox »

Things on eBay used to be like 1/3 the price used, now they’re near the new price, and sometimes it’s cheaper to buy the thing new. Even cars are much more expensive used than they used to be. Many thrift stores may as well be a Ross or TJ Maxx in price at this point. What caused this phenomenon: is it professional re-sellers, less stuff being produced, or something else?
Last edited by TopHatFox on Tue May 30, 2023 8:14 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Lemur
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Re: Have used things become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by Lemur »

Inflation prices some consumers out of new items, so the demand for used goods increases.

TopHatFox
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Re: Have used things become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by TopHatFox »

And thereby raising the price of used goods. Interesting

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Re: Have used things become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by jacob »

Supply and demand. Thrifting became popular and many people saw this previously "unknown" market as a business opportunity to scalp the warez. For example, buying up the good stuff at the local store and then reselling it on eBay. Eventually many thrift stores caught up to this and started increasing prices and doing their own sorting. In short, the used goods market became more efficient and used goods are now priced closer to their actual value which is often not much less than when new.

TopHatFox
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Re: Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by TopHatFox »

I see, so what now: do we just buy less stuff, since used price may as well be new price? Obviously with cars or furniture it's different, since the price differential is still huge, but with tools or other home goods, the price difference doesn't seem to be worth it. I suppose this affects ppl that don't have all their stuff yet, like if you're building a tool collection or furnishing a house, rather than already having the bulk of those items and just needing a replacement item here or there.
Last edited by TopHatFox on Tue May 30, 2023 8:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

OutOfTheBlue
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Re: Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by OutOfTheBlue »

Yes. Less stuff.

Scott 2
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Re: Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by Scott 2 »

You compete by adding liquidity. Use a bot to monitor for items, know the value and drop everything to make a deal. It's a race against the flippers.

I won't bother considering items offered by someone with more than a couple dozen transactions. I know they'll be min maxing, especially lying about item condition. It's too annoying.

Western Red Cedar
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Re: Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by Western Red Cedar »

I'd add that thrifting and buying on the secondhand market is also a skill you can develop. One that benefits from time, flexibility, and patience. DW is a much better thrifter than I am, partially because she enjoys the process and is happy to spend 3-4 hours perusing a few different thrift stores or online market places. She regularly finds clothes, shoes or other items that she could sell at 4x the price on poshmark or thredup. I'd rather do without and take a walk, play guitar, or read a book.

It seems to me the used marketplace also varies quite a bit by geography. We went to a couple thrift stores in Vancouver, BC a few months ago and they were ridiculously overpriced. Perhaps there were other decent options in the suburbs? In our local market, a few thrift stores are much more reasonably priced, and seem focused on moving product.

Probably also worth keeping in mind that a lot of new consumer goods have become quite a bit cheaper over the last 10-20 years. Televisions are a great example of this.

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Ego
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Re: Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by Ego »

Back before ebay began charging sales tax it was common to list and sell used items for the same price as new. Every so often I would sell an item that was rarely listed on ebay for more than retail price. Infrequent seller had funds piling up in their Paypal accounts and were willing to pay more to use these funds rather than buy something new with a credit card. That ended when everyone began taking Paypal and Paypal began reporting sales on 1099. It became more like a credit card. Ebay switched everyone over to their payment processing a few years ago and just recently began allowing sellers to accumulate funds in their accounts again, so this phenomenon has returned somewhat.
TopHatFox wrote:
Tue May 30, 2023 8:24 am
I see, so what now: do we just buy less stuff, since used price may as well be new price? Obviously with cars or furniture it's different, since the price differential is still huge, but with tools or other home goods, the price difference doesn't seem to be worth it. I suppose this affects ppl that don't have all their stuff yet, like if you're building a tool collection or furnishing a house, rather than already having the bulk of those items and just needing a replacement item here or there.
On Sunday morning one of the regular sellers showed up at the swap meet near the border with a complete 1960s workshop full of incredible woodworking and metalworking tools. All made in the US, high quality stuff. I asked about a bin full of files. He told me if I bought the entire bin I could have them for $1 a piece. I would have purchased it but there were fifty files and I could not carry it alone. Another friend bought six hand saws for a few dollars each. The seller just wanted to get rid of the heavy stuff. Another friend who buys gold and silver purchased a jewelry box from him for $200. She took the box directly to the precious metals buyer at a different swap meet and he gave her $4600 cash.

This particular seller is very popular because he is one of the many who loves the bidding frenzy when buying abandoned storage lockers but does not enjoy sorting and selling the things he purchased. He just wants to get rid of the stuff so he can get his next adrenaline fix.

My point? 10-15 years ago thrift stores were dirty places with funky smells full of people who couldn't afford to shop elsewhere. Today they are almost indistinguishable from boutiques. The cool kids shop there now. The cool kids have also invaded the nicer swap meets. If you want to find good stuff, start going to places the cool kids wouldn't be caught dead.

That said, this past week ebay unveiled their AI listing platform where you snap a photo of an item and it auto populates the title and details. That dumb/lazy seller may soon get a bit smarter.

TopHatFox
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Re: Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by TopHatFox »

Woah, that’s awesome — I hate manually making a post for each individual used item I’m trying to get rid of. Fine for a used phone, tedious as all heck if, say, it’s 10 individual used books or video games

Salathor
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Re: Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by Salathor »

This is definitely the case. Noticeable since I've moved 3 times in 4 years now. 2 years ago we furnished a used house with used stuff. This year when we moved, we looked to do the same and several things were literally beaten up versions of Target/Walmart products that were literally listed as $5 more than they are, right now, in perfect condition, at the store--and I'd have to go drive over to some weird house to get them.

Fortunately there are still decent "free/giveaway" groups where we have gotten most of the things we've needed, or been patient to occasionally find a real seller (the desk I'm sitting at now cost $5).

Kriegsspiel
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Re: Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Something that I've noticed popping up everywhere are self-storage units. I'd assume that people storing stuff that they would have sold on the second-hand market in an earlier era puts a significant dent in the supply of used goods.

TopHatFox
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Re: Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by TopHatFox »

@kriegsspiel, that's a good point. Those storage places have taken off over the past decade, and you suddenly don't need to unload an entire apartment's or home's worth of stuff to the used market to move for a job, join the military, move to college, get divorced, die, etc.

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Jean
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Re: Have used items become more expensive over the past 10-15 years?

Post by Jean »

At work, when we empty a house, we throw away ten of thousand $ worth of old tools and books, because it's too much work to find a buyer for them. And to avoid cluttering, i only take home things I've been needing recently.

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