Just like almost every sector in the business world, the second -hand industry struggles the consequences of the rates of President Donald Trump.
Based on the comments from Ebay and Etsy earlier this week, both seem to be not too worried.
The companies recently reported the win results of Q1 2025, both of which tackle the urgent subject of rates. Ebay and Etsy are resilient to a certain extent, largely because of the approaches of their sellers for purchasing products. In contrast to import-dependent rivals such as Temu and Shein, who recently raised prices in response to rates, many eBay and Etsy sellers in the US have their products mainly locally, often used, vintage or handmade items.
The companies have provided data during their profit calls to demonstrate the minimum exposure to rates.
Jamie Iannone, CEO of Ebay, said: “Our larger China until the American quarter makes up about 5% of the total [gross merchandise value] For us. And China is generally slightly less than 10%. ”
Etsy’s CFO, Lanny Baker said: “At the moment, the direct tariff exposure of Etsy seems to be relatively low, since slightly more than 1% of [gross merchandise sales] Comes from the American import of articles that have been purchased from sellers in China. “
The CEO of Etsy, Josh Silverman, added: “Most are solo entrepreneurs who work from their house with 90% who insource their supplies in their own country.”
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Having sellers with local sourcing strategies can offer a considerable advantage over competitors such as Temu, Shein and Amazon. However, second -hand companies still have to deal with the challenges associated with the constant economic uncertainty and consumer expenditure.
Etsy seems to be slightly more vulnerable when it comes to this. The Etsy core model focuses on handmade and vintage goods, which are usually priced higher. Although Etsy sellers may not feel the effects of rates, customers still hesitate to spend, which leads to a fall of 3.4% on an annual basis of active buyers, which brings the total to 88.5 million. The number of ordinary buyers fell by 11%, a total of 6.2 million.
In addition, Etsy reported a decrease of 8.9% in the gross merchandise sales (GMS) for the market up to $ 2.3 billion.
Positive is that Etsy continues to benefit from the ownership of Depop, a second -hand fashion platform that remains popular in the midst of the threatening recession. Since the acquisition of Depop in 2021, the Platform has reached record -high GMs. The company has not announced specific figures.
“Etsy has a strong track record of navigating due to turbulent macro -economic conditions, and we are convinced that we can continue to adapt,” Silverman said.
Ebay, on the other hand, is in a stronger position because more price -conscious shoppers opt for used and renovated goods, the company said that more than 40% of its inventory is. The company reported that customers who would like to avoid the rates have increased their expenses, giving eBay a solid start to the quarter.
“We have observed healthy volume trends as a result of strength in our focus categories and what a modest request could be of consumers who are concerned about increased costs and complexity at American customs in the near future,” said Ebay’s CFO, Steve Priest.
The company’s gross merchandise (GMV) grew to $ 18.8 billion, while sales increased by more than 1% to $ 2.58 billion.
