Once considered a no-no, Canadians are turning to second-hand Christmas shopping amid inflation and high prices

Several surveys released this holiday season indicate shoppers are willing to gift second-hand items.recep-bg/iStockPhoto / Getty Images

At a mug swap in Guelph, Ont., in early December, plenty of people came out to hunt down the right used mug for those on their Christmas list: One mother and daughter took home 10 to give as presents.

Those who attended were looking for gifts that didn’t stress their bank accounts, says organizer Steph Clarke of the Guelph Tool Library, which held the event. Ms. Clarke believes most people have no qualms about gifting things that were previously used.

“It’s becoming more about the intent or the spirit of the gift,” she said. “If you find something that’s perfect for your loved one, it doesn’t matter as much if it’s second hand.”

With soaring inflation and higher interest rates depleting household budgets this holiday season, there are signs that Canadians are increasingly turning to second-hand items as gifts. A practice once deemed uncouth is becoming more accepted, thanks in part to the environmental benefit of reusing items and the prevalence of online marketplaces such as Poshmark or eBay, which make it easier for shoppers to find excellent second-hand gifts.

Several surveys released this holiday season indicate shoppers are willing to gift second-hand. Nearly one-third of 1,000 Canadians surveyed in September by Rakuten, a shopping rewards program, said they planned to purchase a holiday gift second-hand.

“Shoppers are poised to make more budget-friendly buying choices this holiday season, with an eye toward the best deals and the lowest prices driven by ongoing concerns about the economy,” states the 2022 Canada Holiday Trend Report from second-hand marketplace Poshmark. “That means secondhand has a great opportunity to make some serious inroads into holiday wish lists.”

EBay Canada, long a popular source of second-hand gifts, says it saw more than 100-per-cent growth in sales of refurbished cellphones during this year’s Cyber Monday week compared with the same week last year. While it’s impossible to say whether those phones were all purchased as gifts, the company also conducted research last year that found 40 per cent of respondents would be willing to give a “like-new” refurbished product as a gift.

“I can get an iPhone 9 or 10 for half the price of a brand new iPhone,” says eBay Canada general manager Robert Bigler, who is based in Toronto. He says the electronics category is extremely popular on the site at this time of year. Other popular items within the company’s refurbished category, which it backs with seller verification and in some cases a warranty, include computers, tablets, audio equipment, game consoles and small kitchen appliances. The savings, he says, run at about 30 to 50 per cent off a new item.

Mr. Bigler says people’s attitudes about giving used items are evolving, especially when it means they can afford an item or brand that might otherwise be out of their price range, or when they’re looking for a hard-to-find collectible that benefits from eBay’s broad reach. “All those little quirky things you can find on eBay are meaningful, aren’t expensive and aren’t filling up landfills.”

Finding ways to save money at Christmas can go a long way toward dictating someone’s financial health for the rest of the year, says Taz Rajan, community engagement partner at Bromwich and Smith Licensed Insolvency Trustees in Calgary.

“Around November, people are like, ‘OK, let’s work on our finances. By the time Black Friday comes, it’s like, ‘Let’s bury our head in the sand,’ ” she says. “Then in January comes Blue Monday and all the credit-card bills start to come in.”

Many shoppers don’t realize that if they can’t pay off their credit card bill right away, high interest rates can make a purchase that seemed like a deal add up to multiple times its price, she adds.

“There’s still a lot of shame and stigma about keeping up with the Joneses,” she said. “Let’s enjoy Christmas but let’s also give ourselves the best gift, which is a January without debt.”

If second-hand gifts are starting to sound appealing, Poshmark seller Kesley Dech, 30, of Vancouver offers the following shopping advice: Come with a list, or at least loose ideas of what type of items you’re looking for; and decide on a budget beforehand, as it can be easy to buy more things than you planned when each individual purchase feels cheap.

If you’re going to shop online, Ms. Dech – who does much of her holiday shopping on Poshmark – suggests checking daily for new listings, as certain items get snapped up quickly, and setting a time limit, lest you look at the clock and realize you spent an hour of your workday scrolling through not-quite-right items.

She says she often finds second-hand items online that are brand new, or were used once or twice before the previous owner decided the product wasn’t for them.

“I have saved more than 50 per cent off a retail price,” she said. “It’s safe to say, no matter where you are, I think everyone’s feeling the inflation that’s going on these days.”

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