OfferUp, which has more than 40 million users in the U.S., said searches for smartphones, appliances, tech gadgets and electric bikes surged in May.
Americans wary of the effect tariffs could have on their wallets are shifting their gaze toward secondhand goods.
Operators of secondhand marketplaces for items ranging from footwear to toys and home necessities have said they expect tariff-triggered price anxiety to boost interest in resold goods. Secondhand marketplace OfferUp has lately seen searches for some products -- including Apple (AAPL) AirPods, washer/dryers, and couches -- rise to 10 times their typical levels, executives told Investopedia.
The data "makes it clear that something is happening," said OfferUp Chief Business Officer Nathan Garnett. "We're probably at the very leading edge of seeing actual impact on the resale marketplace from these tariffs and consumers starting to search for alternative ways of finding things that they want."
The U.S. secondhand market generated about $53 billion in 2023 revenue, according to Capital One; approximately one-third of the clothing purchased in the U.S. over the past year was secondhand.
A majority of those polled earlier this year by online thrift and consignment platform ThredUp were concerned that trade policies would make apparel more expensive, with most saying they would seek out options -- such as secondhand goods -- to mitigate rising clothing prices.
"More consumers are turning to secondhand as a way of hedging against price rises and potential product shortages," said Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData Retail. "As we move into key retail occasions like back to school and the holiday celebrations beyond, secondhand will likely surge in popularity."
OfferUp, which has more than 40 million users in the U.S., said searches for smartphones, appliances, tech gadgets and electric bikes surged in May. The most heavily searched recent product category on the platform is strollers; Baby products are especially vulnerable to tariffs, as a majority of infant merchandise sold in the U.S. is imported, primarily from China.
Awareness of shortages or rising prices-or even just the possibility of them-tends to juice interest in some product categories, according to Garnett. That may explain a rise in searches for iPhones on OfferUp, with President Donald Trump recently raising the specter of tariffs on smartphones made outside the U.S.
More than 40% of the goods sold on eBay (EBAY) are now used or refurbished, which CFO Steve Priest on an April conference call, a transcript of which was made available by AlphaSense, called a "competitive advantage and a strength."
"Consumers are continuing to look for value in this environment," said Priest.