As the second-hand market continues to grow, many players are fighting to make a place for themselves in this market. A few prominent channels are emerging in this market and fall into two categories: online or in-store.

Online Channels

C2C generalist marketplaces

The first online channel is the general C2C marketplaces. These are online platforms where individual sellers can directly sell or rent their products to end customers. This service may be free for individuals, or the marketplace may choose to charge a small fee. Leboncoin, eBay, and Vinted are examples of such players. General marketplaces are gradually equipping themselves to offer additional services such as secure payment and parcel delivery.

Specialized C2C marketplaces

Then there are specialized C2C marketplaces, which differ from generalist platforms by their customer journey adapted to the sector in which they are positioned. This allows customers to access a more relevant offer and filter products based on specific criteria. Specialized marketplaces are an opportunity to meet up with sports or music enthusiasts, for example. In general, there are more expensive properties and more demanding users.

Social media marketplaces

Finally, there are marketplaces directly on some social networks, such as Facebook Marketplace. This sales channel connects buyers and sellers, while allowing users to filter products by category or location. Often, no transactional tool is offered, to the detriment of users who are left to their own devices to carry out the transaction. This leaves room for fraud of all kinds, and a lot of dissatisfaction.

In stores

Consignment stores

Consignment stores are brick-and-mortar stores where professional salespeople stock items such as clothing, furniture, and electronics, which they acquire from individuals for the purpose of reselling. They therefore act as intermediaries and operate on the basis of a commission-based payment system. The reseller is compensated through a commission, but only when the item has been sold.

Purchase and resale stores

Unlike consignment stores, buy-and-resell stores have a much more direct approach. Buying and reselling professionals immediately buy goods from individuals before reselling them. There's a clear focus on faster turnover, making it a go-to choice for sellers who want fast transactions and payments.

Antique dealers

Antique dealers also play an important role in the second-hand market. These are professionals whose work consists mainly of acquiring, restoring and reselling valuable or quality objects. Whether it's antique furniture, works of art or knick-knacks, these professionals acquire and resell with the aim of making a margin.

Second-hand dealers and flea markets

Like antique shops, there are second-hand shops and flea markets are physical spaces where second-hand items, mainly furniture, are sold.

However, the essential difference lies in the fact that these professionals only guarantee the sale of the object in its original condition and are not required to authenticate or date the objects acquired.

Actors of the social and solidarity economy

Finally, the actors of the social and solidarity economy are charities such as Emmaus, major players in the second-hand market, through the sale of used products in their shops or via their website. The obvious difference between these organizations and other institutions is that the revenue generated is often earmarked for social initiatives.

Competition is intensifying and new players are entering the second-hand market

As the second-hand market grows in popularity, specialized online players are gaining ground on generalist platforms.

With an almost exhaustive offer, generalist platforms reach much wider audiences than specialised marketplaces, and logically generate more sales.

Older and more established, they have already managed to capture customers and build a brand image that is recognizable by the general public. In this sense, the French leader Leboncoin, with 29 million unique visitors per month in 2022, is the 2nd most visited e-commerce site in the country. In addition, it is the 6th most visited website behind global giants Google, YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, and Amazon. In 2020, Leboncoin hosted transactions worth €25 billion, representing 1% of the country's GDP. However, specialized second-hand platforms are starting to seriously compete with generalist platforms.

These specialized second-hand platforms are distinguished by better ergonomics than generalist platforms, which can sometimes look like "catch-all" marketplaces. In addition, they have more intuitive product search and filtering options, which certainly works in their favor. In short, they offer a smoother and less tedious shopping experience than generalist platforms.

This has pushed generalist players to react to the meteoric rise of specialized platforms. For example, in 2018, Leboncoin acquired the second-hand fashion platform Vide-dressing, which allows Leboncoin to partner with a player specializing in fashion that enjoys a more premium image. Another advantage of this acquisition is that Videdressing supports additional services such as online payment, verification of the conformity of items, delivery and money-back guarantee. All this in exchange for a commission charged to the buyer. Such an acquisition therefore allows the generalist player to better position itself in one of the fastest-growing segments of the second-hand market.

Matrix of the main European players in the second-hand market

Below you will find the top C2C used goods companies in Europe, categorized by type of business model (C2C or C2B2C) and by the segment in which they are positioned. This ranges from generalist to fashion/beauty to service delivery.

To learn more about how to improve performance in the second-hand market, be sure to check out our new European Market Study 2024, which details the trends and expectations of this booming market.

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