You Are the Main Player in the $350 Billion Market
By 2028, the global online secondhand market is expected to reach approximately $350 billion (about 480 trillion KRW). The main players in this vast market are not giant corporations, but ordinary people like us.
Here are Sujin, an office worker living in Seoul, and her friend Minjun. Sujin’s treasure trove is her wardrobe. Meanwhile, Minjun’s treasures lie dormant in his bookshelf. His precious collection includes hard-to-find limited edition K-POP albums, retro game consoles, and figurines filled with childhood memories.
Though they have completely different tastes, these two will soon share a surprisingly similar experience: the magical moment when an item sleeping in a corner of their room becomes someone else’s cherished “treasure” on the other side of the world. Their stories offer one of the most fascinating journeys illustrating the dazzling evolution and global spread of Korea’s secondhand trading today.
The Evolution of Secondhand Trading: From 4 Trillion to 43 Trillion KRW
Before their experiences, Korea’s secondhand market underwent remarkable changes in a short time. The domestic secondhand market, valued at about 4 trillion KRW in 2008, is expected to explode to 43 trillion KRW by 2025. Let’s revisit this journey through Minjun’s memories.
Stage 1: The Adventurous Era of ‘Online Cafes’
Early secondhand trading was mostly “non-face-to-face parcel trading” centered around online communities. Buyers had to send money first based on the seller’s ID and a few posts, and stories of scams like “a brick inside the box” were common. It was a trade more akin to an adventure than trust.
Stage 2: The Era of Trust Built Through ‘Local Face-to-Face Trading’
To ease these anxieties, “local direct trading” emerged. Using smartphone GPS, people met nearby neighbors to check items and trade in person, injecting the market with values of “trust” and “community.” Karrot, with over 19 million monthly users, grew based on this model and made secondhand trading a daily culture for the entire nation.
Stage 3: The Evolution of Safer and Smarter ‘Non-Face-to-Face Trading’
With trust established through face-to-face trading, the market turned back to non-face-to-face trading—but completely transformed. The introduction of an escrow system, where money is only released to the seller after the buyer confirms receipt, and systematic parcel services opened an era where safe transactions can happen nationwide without meeting in person.
Connection: K-Culture as a New Currency Crossing Borders
The results were astonishing. A few days later, Sujin’s bag reached Chloe, a Hallyu fan in Paris, and Minjun’s photocard found its way to a young fan in the U.S.
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This is not just a personal story but a massive trend proven by data. In fact, the leading Korean fashion secondhand platform Bunjang’s overseas transaction volume in the first half of 2024 surged by 386% compared to the same period last year. Remarkably, 92% of these transactions were K-POP related products. The most traded artists were Stray Kids, NCT, and ATEEZ, showing how K-POP fandoms have become powerful major players in the global secondhand market.
Not Just Korea: The Case of Japan
This phenomenon is not limited to Korea. Japan’s largest secondhand platform Mercari saw cross-border sales via overseas shipping agents grow about 1.5 times year-over-year in 2023. The most popular category was “toys and hobby goods,” including anime and character merchandise. This parallel example clearly shows how culturally unique items gain new value in the global market.
Why Does the World Enthusiastically Embrace Secondhand Goods from Other Countries?
- The Era of Smart Value Consumption: The MZ generation’s trend of seeking diverse experiences at reasonable prices rather than owning new products has fueled the secondhand market.
- The Value of Sustainability: Conscious consumers practice environmental protection through secondhand trading by prioritizing resource circulation over reckless consumption.
- The Power of Irreplaceable Culture: On top of these trends, strong soft power like K-Culture and J-Culture adds value. Limited edition albums, idol goods, and local designers’ vintage products offer a special experience of owning the culture itself, beyond just money.
Trade Like an Expert: Global Secondhand Trading Platforms A to Z
| Platform Name | Origin/Base | Monthly Active Users (MAU) / Members | Features & Main Items | Cross-Border Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bunjang | South Korea | About 5 million (MAU) | K-POP goods, fashion, sneakers targeting MZ generation | Supports direct sales to overseas fans via “Global Bunjang” service and overseas shipping agents. |
| Karrot | South Korea | About 19 million (MAU) | Local-based daily necessities | Expands overseas under the name “Karrot,” transplanting the local community model. |
| Mercari | Japan | About 23 million (Japan MAU) | Anime goods, fashion, daily necessities | Successfully established in the U.S. market; offers official overseas sales linkage to search and buy Japanese products within the app. |
| eBay | U.S. | About 132 million (Active Buyers) | Original platform covering all categories | Through the Global Shipping Program (GSP), sellers send items to domestic centers, and eBay handles international shipping and customs clearance. |
| Vinted | Lithuania/Europe | About 80 million (members) | Clothing and fashion accessories | Dominates European market by strengthening logistics solutions like “Vinted Go” connecting users with low shipping costs. |
| StockX | U.S. | - | Sneakers, streetwear, luxury goods | Introduces a “stock market” model with a professional authentication center between sellers and buyers, guaranteeing authenticity and trust in global transactions. |
Future Outlook: How Far Will Secondhand Trading Evolve?
Beyond the current explosive growth, the future secondhand market is expected to advance further by integrating technology and new business models.
1. Technology Turns Trading into Art: The Era of AI and Data
The future of secondhand trading will be a “smart recommerce” era led by artificial intelligence (AI) and big data.
- AI Price Analysis and Recommendations: The days of wondering “How much should I sell this for?” are over. AI analyzes vast transaction data accumulated on platforms in real time to suggest optimal selling prices and recommends products that perfectly match buyers’ tastes.
- Automated Content Creation: Upload a product photo, and AI automatically crafts the most attractive title and detailed description, even producing short promotional videos. This technology is already being introduced and will drastically reduce sellers’ effort.
- Blockchain and Authenticity Verification: Especially for high-value luxury or limited edition items, blockchain-based digital certificates will be introduced to fundamentally block counterfeit issues and maximize transaction trust.
2. Beyond Simple Sales: The Rise of C2B and Live Commerce
New trading models beyond peer-to-peer (C2C) will become mainstream.
- Expansion of C2B (Consumer-to-Business) Models: The C2B model, where individuals resell items to businesses, will become more active. Many fashion companies like Kolon and ZARA have already introduced trade-in services that buy back or manage secondhand sales of their products. This offers convenient and stable sales channels for individuals and strengthens brand loyalty and sustainable resource circulation for companies.
- Integration of Live Commerce: Live commerce, which vividly conveys product stories in real time, will be a powerful tool to solve trust issues in secondhand trading. Sellers showing item conditions live and interacting with buyers will create a shopping experience as engaging as a video call direct trade.
3. The Era of Value and Investment: Strengthening ESG and ‘Resell-Tech’
Future secondhand trading will expand beyond consumption into value realization and investment.
- Core of ESG Management: The fundamental value of secondhand trading—resource reuse—will become a key element of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) management. Companies will actively collaborate with or operate secondhand platforms to build a sustainable circular economy.
- Rise of Resell-Tech: Limited edition sneakers, luxury watches, and other scarce items are increasingly recognized as “investment assets” that appreciate over time. “Resell-tech,” a blend of reselling and investment technology, is a new investment culture among the MZ generation, who consider the future resale value when purchasing new products.
Epilogue: Where Your Memories Become Future Value
From uncertain online trades to trusted face-to-face transactions, and now to AI-analyzed pricing and cross-border smart recommerce—the evolution of secondhand trading never stops.
Today, open your wardrobe and bookshelf. The memories sleeping there might be treasures waiting for new stories beyond borders and investment assets holding future value. Secondhand trading is no longer just a fun culture connecting the world and ourselves; it is the smartest way to create a sustainable future and generate new value.