Second Hand Trade
Global Yard Sale
Trade in used products has an image problem, despite a largely honorable history. Most of us imagine shady characters passing off shoddy goods. But recessions have a way of changing things. Just look at the growth of thrift shops in the United States, growing at five percent a year for the past three years to more than 25,000 stores.
The second hand trade is big business around the world. Back in the 1970s and before, there was money made in shipping used clothing from North America and Europe to the poorer countries in Africa. Some of this was done by charities, but much of it was by companies peddling used shirts, cast-off pants or even moving seconds and overstocks (that now go to outlet malls). Later on, shipments of used factory equipment from the United States to Latin America grabbed the headlines. Sale or lease of second-hand aircraft around the world is common. Many of the warships found in developing countries are in their second or third lives after being decommissioned by more developed fleets.
Opposition to the used good trade is widespread. Many countries seem insulted that they should buy used products, though it can make wonderful sense when financing is scarce. Some routinely ban used clothing as a perceived health risk, as others ban used cars. Often, restrictions on used goods reflect local pride more than real problems.
It shouldn’t surprise us that the recession has generated more demand for used goods in international trade, nor that the Internet has spurred the trade. The South China Morning Post (subscription required) reports a surge in buyers searching for used goods on Alibaba.com, the China-based business-to-business portal. Alibaba.com says that searches by U.S. buyers looking for used goods rose by 113% between November 2008 and November 2009. U.S. companies were looking for things as diverse as used sailboats, second-hand cars from Korea or Japan, used clothing, laptops, golf carts and car parts. (I’m not sure I’d put used car parts on my car, but that’s just me.) One Shanghai-based purveyor of used vehicles and construction machinery reports that inquiries via Alibaba.com have risen 20-30% in the past year. Alibaba boasts more than two million used products on its site.
