Sellers of Used Goods on eBay Help Sustainable Commerce

eBay is out with a report on the “circular economy” that shows sellers of used goods on eBay help sustainable commerce.

A survey of European sellers found 52% of their eBay sales were from second-hand goods, eBay said in a new report published today. “eBay and the Circular Economy: A continued look at advancing sustainability through Recommerce” touts the role individuals and small businesses play in what it defines as the process of selling (or re-selling) pre-owned goods.

eBay also reported that 78% of the EU sellers surveyed said they sold non-new items. It surveyed nearly 4,000 B2C (business-to-consumer) sellers in June and July in the European Union who had at least $5,000 in annual sales on eBay.

According to eBay marketplace data from Germany, the number of search queries for “sustainable” and “environmentally friendly” offers increased by almost 100 percent from 2018 to 2019.

And between 2016 and 2020, consumer-to-consumer sale of pre-owned electronics and apparel on eBay’s platforms in the US, Canada, and UK alone avoided a total of 3.1 million metric tons of new product carbon emissions by putting existing goods in the hands of consumers that want to use them.

“Whether through individuals selling items online they had around the house that were no longer wanted or needed, or small businesses facilitating online access to spare parts for repair, or refurbished devices that have years of useful service left, eBay is at the forefront of recommerce and a key player in the circular economy,” eBay said.

The “eBay and the Circular Economy” report focused on how eBay sellers help expand “circular consumption” through product reuse, refurbishment, repair, and related strategies to extend the useful life of consumer goods.

Used goods on eBay, including second-hand, refurbished, and repurposed items, is a vibrant and important part of the seller ecosystem in the EU, eBay said. You can find a link to download the report on this page of the eBay Main Street website. And eBay’s Certified Refurbished program is explained in the following video on YouTube.

Ina Steiner

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.