Indian reselling industry transforms access to high-end products

A quick online search will show that an Apple iPhone 12 Pro a relatively older but still soughtafter model is available for anything from Rs 80000 to over Rs 1 lakh But what if we told you that you could have one for Rs 52000And before you think of the overused ldquoKurla mein Aslam bhai ki dukaanrdquo joke you should know that Apple has a full fledged division where refurbished phones are sold for lower pricesWelcome to the world of Indian reselling where buying and selling of used and refurbished products has gone from being a niche activity to a fullfledged industry in India What began as ldquothriftingrdquomdash selling off your used clothes in thrift sales or garage salesmdashhas now become a trend that is seen in furniture crockery cutlery and electronic gadgetsLonavala based architect Viraj Kapadia loves his shoes and buys branded shoes from reselling platforms after a lot of checks to ensure hersquos getting the real thingIn the smartphone space alone India witnessed a 19 per cent growth in the refurbished smartphone market with Apple being the most bought brand followed by Samsung The trend was noted in a report compiled by Counterpoint Technology Market Research which focused on nine countries around the world and named India as the world leader in this regardldquoThe business potential of dealing in refurbished smartphones remains high but the limited supply is affecting most emerging marketshellipWe are looking at a transition where most markets are growing their own repair and refurbishment ecosystems domesticallyrdquo senior analyst Glen Cardoza observed in the reportGlobally too the concept of resale is being welcomed with open arms A report by WGSN a New York based trend forecasting company estimated that with brands themselves turning to resale platforms secondhand sales are expected to double between 2022 and 2027 The report also stated that 47000 metric tonnes of waste was avoided due to reselling in 2021 and this quantity went up to 73000 metric tonnes in 2022Siddhi Ganatra and Punit AnandThe evolution of the refurbished goods market is also aided by the everexpanding worldwide web with dedicated websites and online discussion forums serving as marketplaces Be it computers parts speakers earphones watches and vacuum cleaners these online markets have it all And this is not just limited to websites The last few years have also seen the emergence of platforms that let you turn into a reseller procuring a product from one party and selling it to anotherPunit Anand founder of LuxuryPop a marketplace for preowned luxury items like bags highend sunglasses and the occasional designer piece says that she started with selling her own bags nearly eight years ago ldquoI started with gently used Michael Kors Gucci and Louis Vuitton products handbags that people gave us as they were no longer using themrdquo she recallsMost resellers like Anand started out as buyers themselves Siddhi Ganatra who founded her platform Dobaara a year back says that the idea to start reselling came from her own notions of sustainable living ldquoItrsquos been almost six years since I stopped buying fastfashion clothing If you look up the statistics of where these clothes land up and the amount of clothing waste in landfills it makes you rethink what and how you buyrdquoShe admits that there was initially a hesitation among buyers who didnrsquot want to look like they couldnrsquot afford anything other than secondhand but this isdissipating fastWhen it comes to furniture preowned items hold a special significance because of their history ldquoOld furniture is aesthetically designed and more beautiful than modern furniturerdquo says Sushma Desai who is based in Bengaluru ldquoThe wood used back then was either teak rosewood or ebony I have a table that was originally a cradle painted with scenes of the Mahabharatardquo Desairsquos other treasures include mirror frames a swing set that doubles up as a bench sofas and tepoysThere are of course concerns about counterfeits but the trick says Lonalava based architect Viraj Kapadia lies in the authentication He has detailed conversations with the resellers asks for pictures and checks the code numbers or barcodes on the brandrsquos website before payingKapadia owns a number of resold items ranging from tshirts to watches and used to buy items like refrigerators from platforms such as OLX when he was a bachelor But his passion lies in collecting branded shoes ldquoA pair of Nike or Puma shoes may go for anything like Rs 13000 to Rs 15000 in their original form but the prices are as low as Rs 5000rdquo he explains