Merle Brown, a 53-year-old writer from Scotland, buys most of her gifts secondhand. ¡°I love the thrill of finding something unique and special that I can¡¯t get anywhere else,¡± she says.
She looks for vintage glass and kitchenware, Christmas cards and puzzles ¡ª all things unavailable in conventional stores. This Christmas, about half of the gifts she¡¯s purchased so far have come from thrift stores run by U.K. charities. The trend is catching on across the globe.
Gifting secondhand used to have a bad rap (think last year¡¯s candle or dusty bath set), but it doesn¡¯t carry the taboo it once did. In the U.K., some 84% of people say they plan to buy at least one pre-owned Christmas gift this year, according to research by the resale app Vinted and the market researcher Retail Economics. In the U.S., 3 in 4 people believe secondhand gifting has become more socially acceptable over the past year, according to a survey by the resale app OfferUp. The British Heart Foundation charity ¡ª with 680 secondhand shops in the U.K. ¡ª says demand has surged.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.