Recommerce Digest, one-stop links to press covering recommerce twice a month...
Notable items include impact on inflation on recommerce
Welcome to the second issue of Recommerce Digest. I follow recommerce news as the CEO of MaxSold, so I figured an easy-to-absorb one-stop digest published twice a month with recent news would be helpful to those following this category. (sign-up here to be notified of upcoming recommerce digests)
Inflation has been on everyone’s minds lately, and recommerce isn’t an exception but it could turn out that recommerce proves a powerful tool, remedying some of the ills caused by supply chain issues. Nonetheless, historically, scarcity drives value and that is obvious if you look to the art and antiques industry.
Ronati and The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers (LAPADA) announced the launch of its 2022 Guide to Online Marketplaces for Sellers of Art, Vintage and Antiques. The release indicated that global online sales of art and antiques have doubled in value from the previous year, reaching a record high of $13.5 billion in 2021.
I can’t say with certainty that Warhol’s ‘Marilyn’, which shattered the Auction Record this week for over $195 Million, had anything to do with inflation, but it certainly does speak to the fact that scarcity commands high prices (and the jury is still out on NFTs, if those can overtake the lucrative world of fine art.)
(NY Times Image)
In other Recommerce news, HOLR magazine (Penelope Lane) asked the question “How to Assess the Value of Old Furniture and Other Antique Items,” in an article that raises this perennial question about non-professional resellers. EBay is mentioned as an online auction platform, but one where sellers are not always trustworthy. I touched on that general consumer sentiment in the last edition of the recommerce digest.
Yahoo! Finance picked up Gabrielle Olya’s GO Banking article about the top “25 Things To Sell When You’re Ready to Retire,” including exercise equipment, cars, furniture, workwear, old computers and office equipment etc.” I enjoyed this article, as the items mentioned are typical of what can be found in most MaxSold auctions.
With more than 10,000 people turning 65 years each day, Addicted blog (Mark Munroe) covered “6 Ways to Make Money From the Things You No Longer Use,” including online sales like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. MaxSold should have been mentioned as the number one resource (no bias here), as a major use case for our service is to unlock asset values for things that are no longer used, and our approach makes the value recovery much easier, and as a result, a whole lot less goes to the landfill saving the environment.
Speaking of the environment, retail Touch Points featured an article on “How Ecommerce Tech Can Reduce the Environmental Damage it Caused in the First Place”. The article covers the all-important subject of retail returns, rate of sustainable purchasing among consumers, and research that suggests that 73% of returns can be remedied by retailers themselves.
On another note, if you are in Brimfield Antiques Flea Market, stop by and say hi at MaxSold’s booth. Thousands of dealers descend upon Brimfield, Massachusetts starting in May, with 100s of 1000s of shoppers from not only North America but from around the world. The show has been in continuous operation since 1959, and it’s on every antiquer's bucket list.