Most popular websites for second-hand products in the U.S. 2021

In 2021, two-thirds of U.S. consumers surveyed said they had bought or sold used products on Amazon, making it the most popular online site for second-hand goods in the North American country. Online auction site eBay ranked second with 37 percent of respondents, followed by Facebook Marketplace with 25 percent.

Resale moves online

In 2021, clothing was the second-hand product most bought and sold online in the United States. The rise of e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic and increased environmental awareness have been behind the momentum of online fashion resale in the North American country. Of the approximately 53 million online apparel resellers in the U.S. in 2020, about 70 percent did so for the first time. Estimates indicate that this figure could further rise to nearly 120 million. With so much growth expected in a single product category, the total value of the U.S. online resale market is forecast to surpass the value of those offline by 2026.

eBay, hub of second-hand e-shopping

Founded in the United States in 1995, the online auction and shopping website eBay has grown to become one of the leading e-commerce platforms for second-hand buying and selling worldwide. In both the U.S. and the UK, the share of eBay users who purchased pre-owned goods in 2020 was around 80 percent. A few countries further afield, eBay topped the list of the best-known websites for second-hand items in Italy in 2021. In Germany, eBay and its classifieds portal, eBay Kleinanzeigen, were the most popular sites for online resale that year.