The world where only wealthy people could afford high-end designer labels has been greatly altered in recent years. Before, you may have had the one in a million chance of finding a vintage Chanel at your local thrift shop, but today, you can find more Chanel than a girl could ever want (if that’s even possible) right from the comfort of your computer.
Shopping online used to be reserved for big retailers, but now you can find tons of second hand online shops that are completely built on the ever-growing concept of the sharing economy. That is, that we as a group of people are reusing and reselling our old clothes, shoes and accessories that aren’t in use anymore to someone else instead of just simply throwing them away. It is a win-win situation, as the seller gets back some of the cost of the original purchase, and the buyer gets a high-end item for sometimes over half the price.
There are a few different kinds of second hand online shopping models. The first is peer to peer. The most well known of these is Ebay, but there has been a recent development of fashion focused sites such as Tradesy, where you an list your item from anywhere and once it has been sold they send you a shipping label.
Another option would be sites that become the middleman between buyer and seller. The seller sends their items to the company, where they price and check for authenticity and then list the items on their website. There are many sites with this model emerging, as it seems to be the most convenient, especially for the seller. For the buyer, it provides a greater amount of security, as the items are inspected to ensure that they are not bootleg. For example, on rebelle.com you can buy louis vuitton second hand. If they did not ensure authenticity, the buyer may be hesitant to spend a large amount of money on an item, such as can happen with the peer-to-peer model.
The last option of second hand online shopping would be a site like Vinted.com, where you can swap, buy or sell second hand. This is a great way to clean out your closet, while not having to spend anything on new items!
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With collaborative consumption and the idea of the sharing economy becoming more popular everyday, it isn’t surprising that new shops and platforms for buying and selling second hand are popping up everywhere. Not only does buying and selling second hand save you money, but it also helps to reduce the amount of resources such as water, energy and material required to produce new clothes. It’s a great way to be fashionable, sustainable and keep some extra money in the bank!
All Photos by Igor Cvoro for DESIGN SCENE
