Good News for Secondhand Businesses

Now that we are well into the second quarter of 2025, I decided to take stock again of my Etsy vintage business looking at both the numbers and what was selling. No surprise that the numbers–visits, orders and revenue–are still down from 2024, but I did note that in both March and April more of my expensive items sold, including jewelry and artwork. (The lovely Chinese watercolor was a Goodwill find for $10 and it sold for $180, though I had to buy a shipping box for it ($8.74) which was so worth it! The vintage matchbooks were a fun $1 flea market find from years ago. These sold for $40.)

As I ruminated on that, it seemed to point to two things: 1) people who have more discretionary money are still spending and 2) they are spending it on both quality and unique things. That’s a good reminder when I’m out sourcing.

But I will say I am not sourcing like I used to. I know some sellers are using this slower sales time to stock up and I can see their logic. Q4 will be here before we know it. And I would possibly consider stocking up if I had more storage, but I’m close to capacity right now and really want to have less inventory to deal with. And here’s the hard truth, four of the items that sold in April had been in my Etsy store for three to five years. That’s a crazy long time to be storing things and I’m getting too old for that!

I do have one buying exception these days–I’ve been nabbing more vintage sterling silver charm bracelets. Six so far this year! Yes, I’ve been going overboard, but they are a passion of mine and charms do sell. The bracelet below was a particularly good find. I paid $55 (with shipping and tax) and one charm alone (a scarce mechanical squeeze box) sold for $68.

Of course now I have a zillion charms to research and list and not all of them are worth much.

Good News

I’ve been reading lots of news articles lately that suggest those of us who sell secondhand goods should expect an uptick in sales this year, particularly in the clothing sector.

“The secondhand market is expected to boom after the federal government announced new reciprocal tariffs earlier this month. More consumers are expected to turn to auction houses, thrift stores, consignment shops, and online platforms such as Etsy and ThredUp as they search for quality pre-owned items at a lower price.”

City Sun Times, 4/15/25

And it makes sense as fewer goods enter the U.S. and as items become scarce or more expensive folks will look to secondhand venues and sites. I don’t sell many clothes, but if people are looking for gifts, jewelry and quirky books I’ve got a wide range. So I am modestly hopeful for a bit of an uptick sometime this year.

Not-So-Good News

As more people feel the economic pinch, I think we’ll also see an uptick in the number of people selling secondhand goods, particularly online. It happened during the covid pandemic. Some of new sellers this time around will likely be retirees who are dealing with losses to their 401(k)s and other retirement funds. I’ve already seen older seniors buying stuff to resell and I do hope it works out for them. As many of us know, sales are not always immediate or lucrative and you have to factor in fees and cost of shipping supplies.

We’ll also see more regular folks out shopping at our all sourcing venues. My neighborhood thrift store is hopping these days and more people are buying stuff for themselves–trying on shoes and clothes, picking up glasses and plates.

So I expect to see more competition both on the selling and buying fronts this year and that’s okay. We all have to do what we need to keep body and soul together.

What’s Next

I haven’t been listing as much lately so am going to make an effort this week, particularly on charms. I’m also continuing to assess my languishing inventory items and setting aside some for a possible future garage sale and others for donation. It’s been a slow process as my motivation flags at times.

I’m also trying to spend more time outside as my front garden is awash with blossoms and it’s a great way to relieve stress.

Wishing you happy hunting,

Karen