Paying a premium for second-hand goods is becoming a structural phenomenon in China's consumer market. In the first half of 2024, on Douyin E-commerce, the "retro style" and "CCD" selling points in the digital camera/DSLR camera category each exceeded 1 million yuan in sales, up 170% year-on-year; over the same period, domestic second-hand bag and luggage transactions accounted for 84% of total second-hand high-end consumer goods transactions. From CCD compact cameras that were phased out more than a decade ago to second-hand luxury bags, old goods no longer mean low-price clearance; instead, they command significant premiums due to scarcity and emotional value, and the underlying logic of consumer behavior is shifting from "looking for cheap deals" to "paying for individuality and experience."

Key Points

  • In the first half of 2024, on Douyin E-commerce, the "retro style" and "CCD" camera selling points each exceeded 1 million yuan in sales, up 170% year-on-year.
  • A report by the China Luxury Research Center shows that in 2024, second-hand bags accounted for 84% of domestic second-hand high-end consumer goods transactions.
  • Statista research indicates that the clothing resale industry, represented by vintage clothing, is expected to grow 11 times faster than the apparel retail industry, and the global market size will reach 218 billion yuan in 2026.

1. Forgotten CCD Cameras Have Become "Electronic Moutai"

Zhang Yang (pseudonym), who runs a second-hand camera buying, selling, and repair business in Beijing's Hongqiao Market, has noticed over the past year that young people often crowd into his shop of less than 10 square meters for consultations. What they ask about is not the latest mirrorless cameras, but CCD compact cameras that the industry deemed "electronic waste" more than a decade ago. This type of digital camera, which uses charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors, was popular in the early 21st century and later fell out of the mainstream with the rise of CMOS sensors. Zhang Yang recalls that at the worst point, CCD cameras dropped to 10 yuan each, were wholesaled by the jin at a few dozen yuan, and his shop had almost stopped buying them back in recent years.

It was the influence of internet celebrities and stars that reversed the market. At present, including accessories such as memory cards, a complete CCD camera set costs at least close to 500 yuan, and the premium is now unavoidable; people in the circle call it "electronic Moutai." Xiao He, a junior photography major, once bought a CCD camera set for 200 yuan. Because it was the same model used by a member of a Korean girl group, its price rose to four times the original within a month, and one buy-and-sell cycle yielded a net gain of 300%. Beyond hot models, the price curves of ordinary models also fluctuate sharply, and precisely buying the dip and selling at the peak have become a kind of "financial management" for some young people, making the buy-and-sell cycle the norm in the second-hand camera market.

2. Vintage Shops: Star-Driven Demand and Stumbling in Livestreaming

The pursuit of retro trends is not limited to the camera circle. Su Su, who got into vintage clothing after Japanese actor Masaki Suda said that "vintage clothing frees fashion from the constraints of time," has now opened a vintage shop in Shanghai. Vintage clothing is usually decades old, yet its styles have not become disconnected from changing times. This "old but not outdated" quality is seen as a rebellion against fast fashion. Research by Statista, a global business data statistics website, indicates that the overall growth rate of the clothing resale industry, represented by vintage clothing, is 11 times faster than that of the apparel retail industry, and the global market will reach 218 billion yuan by 2026; Baidu search TGI index shows that users interested in vintage culture have an average age below 29.

Su Su's shop initially focused on offline retail, using customer groups to regularly release new arrivals and discounts for private-domain operations, which earned it a strong reputation and repurchase rate, but the proportion of new customers was far lower than that of returning customers. To break out of her niche, she tried online livestreaming. However, with fierce low-price competition and the difficulty of conveying texture online, she chose to shut down the livestreaming business after a few months, admitting that "the waters of livestreaming in this industry are too deep." In her view, some livestream rooms mix in fast-fashion products such as Uniqlo to cater to lower-tier markets, which instead undermines the cultural value on which vintage clothing depends.

3. Light Luxury Retreats, Second-Hand Bags Rise

In contrast to vintage clothing being invaded by fast fashion, light luxury bags are being reckoned with by consumers, while second-hand luxury bags are rising in both volume and price. Financial reports from Coach's parent group show that in the first three quarters of 2024, both revenue and net profit declined year-on-year, and the brand had already closed two stores located in Beijing's China World Trade Center and Galeries Lafayette. A series of contractions has spread the idea that "first-hand light luxury is inferior to second-hand top luxury" among middle-class consumers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen as well as consumers in third- and fourth-tier cities.

Wang Jie, who lives in a small third-tier city, initially felt ashamed about buying and selling second-hand goods, and her husband also thought that "we're not so poor as to need this." But after a second-hand luxury store manager visited to explain, she learned that foreign stars such as Kim Kardashian and domestic internet celebrities are also keen on second-hand bag transactions, and her attitude gradually softened. A report by the China Luxury Research Center shows that in 2024, domestic second-hand high-end consumer goods transaction volume steadily concentrated and expanded, with second-hand bags accounting for 84%. Wang Jie believes that even if some second-hand luxury prices are higher than first-hand ones, it saves the extra spending caused by the unwritten rule of bundling purchases at top luxury brands. "There's no need to spend so much money for nothing." After learning that second-hand luxury transactions account for 20%–30% of the total high-end consumer goods market in developed countries but only 5% in China, she even began to consider opening her own second-hand luxury store.

Second-hand rental has also appeared on internet platforms. On an Alipay mini-program with more than 500,000 users, 17.82 yuan allows one to experience an entry-level Hermès bag for a day, and 38.7 yuan can rent a Bulgari necklace priced at tens of thousands of yuan. From paying a premium to buying to renting instead of buying, the criteria by which Chinese consumers make choices have already changed: they can buy expensive things, but they cannot buy them expensively. When emotional value and experience replace simple cost-effectiveness as the core competitiveness of second-hand transactions, the implications of this consumer shift for the old clothing and second-hand circulation industry are clear—source scarcity, style recognition, and platform service capability are replacing low prices as the new barriers to competition.

Source: Is paying a premium for second-hand the real trend? · Originally published on 2024-12-19