Reselling News: eBay Says 47 Percent Now Buy Secondhand Monthly, and Mercari's New Label Prices Land October 19

Most weeks the news is a platform taking something. This week one of the stories is about the people buying from you, and the number moved more in twelve months than it has in a while.

eBay says monthly secondhand buying jumped from 35 percent to 47 percent

eBay published its 2026 Recommerce Report on October 7. The headline figure is that 47 percent of consumers surveyed say they buy secondhand at least monthly, up from 35 percent in the 2025 edition. Alongside it, 76 percent say they bought something secondhand in the past year, and 89 percent plan to spend the same or more on it next year. The consumer side of the research covered 10,522 people across ten countries in July, with a separate survey of 1,707 eBay sellers running into August. Value Added Resource covered the report on October 7.

The why is not sustainability. It is money. Seventy percent said secondhand shopping matters to managing the household budget, and in the US, 36 percent called it very important against 28 percent globally. The age split is the part worth writing down: 53 percent of 18 to 29 year olds expect to buy more secondhand over the next twelve months, against 36 percent overall.

Treat that as a demand signal, not a pat on the back. A buyer who shops secondhand monthly because groceries are expensive is a different customer than a buyer doing it for fun. They compare more, they wait for a price they consider fair, and they are shopping the same brands they would have bought new. That favors the boring middle of a closet. Known mid-tier brands in common sizes, honestly described, priced so the number does not need defending. It argues against sitting on a high ask for a month hoping for one perfect buyer.

Mercari's prepaid label prices change October 19

Mercari's rate update takes effect in eleven days, and it is not a flat increase. Per Value Added Resource's breakdown, the $7.97 Best Rate that covered qualifying UPS and FedEx economy packages up to five pounds becomes weight-based pricing that tops out at $9.39, and some heavier UPS Ground and FedEx Home rates go up by more than half. USPS Ground Advantage moves in both directions depending on weight, while Priority Mail and Media Mail rates come down. The new prices apply to new and existing listings on buyer-paid and seller-paid Mercari Standard labels. Mercari's own shipping change notice is the primary source.

The trap here is existing listings. If you set a shipping price months ago on a heavy item, the label cost underneath it changes on the nineteenth and your listing does not. Pull your heaviest active Mercari listings this week, the boots and the coats and anything multi-pound, and reprice the shipping on those specifically. Light items are mostly fine, and a few media and Priority items get cheaper.

eBay adds a condition for parts still bolted to the donor car

Smaller item, but a real one if you touch auto parts. eBay's October 2026 seller update brings its Certified Recycled program to US Motors sellers, along with a new "Used - Part on Vehicle" condition that lets a seller list a part while it is still installed on a salvage vehicle, then pull and inspect it after it sells and cancel if it fails the check. The badging and search placement that come with the program require CARE certification through the Automotive Recyclers Association, including audits, so this is aimed at actual yards rather than a weekend parts flipper.

The takeaway

Demand for used goods is widening and the reason is household budgets, which is good news with a condition attached. These buyers are price-sensitive and they are comparing. The money shows up in turnover and accurate pricing, not in holding out.

Meanwhile the cost of getting a box to them keeps moving, on dates nobody asked you about. Reading your own numbers often enough to notice is the whole skill, and the system for doing it week after week is what we work through in The Income Lab.

Hero image: a rack of used jeans at a thrift superstore in Union, New Jersey, photo by Magpieturtle, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.