AM : I’m starting the recording… Ok, it’s recording. You can hear me out?

DS : I can hear you, I can see you.

AM : So, thank you for being here, thank you for your time. Do you still agree to be recorded? That’s fine for you?

DS : Of course, of course.

AM : OK. So basically, what we’re going to do today is we’re going to be discussing the second-hand market as part of a market study. And then obviously, there’s no good or bad answers, like, to say whatever you want. No one will judge you, and myself in the first place. Uh yeah, so briefly, can you introduce yourself? So your name, if you want to be anonymous that’s fine too, but if you want to say your name, don’t hesitate. Where you’re from, what you’re doing in life, and yeah, stuff like that.

DS : OK. Hi, my name is Dean Simos. I’m friends with Aristide through our basketball in North Carolina last year. I’m currently in college in Pennsylvania at a school called Seton Hill University. I’m a freshman studying data analytics.

AM : Alright, cool, perfect. So first, you’re gonna see three… I’m gonna ask some general questions, and then we’re gonna narrow it down to be more specific. But again, feel free to say whatever you want. So, my first question is very basic: what do you know about the second-hand market? Like, what comes to your mind when you talk about it?

DS : The second-hand market is something I’ve commonly used to just like markets where I can buy off other people, buy things that someone has owned previously. Like, most of the things I own are second-hand, like some, a lot of clothes, even my phone. Like, there’s a whole lot of aspects of the second-hand market which I just agree with, and it’s just an easier way to buy stuff that’s cheaper and more accessible to a lot of people.

AM : OK, fine, perfect. So that means you already bought something, a second-hand item, right? Like you say, your phone. But have you bought anything else that comes to mind? Like, I don’t know, we played basketball, so maybe shoes, maybe not shoes, but you know, jerseys or whatever?

DS : Of course. So second-hand, my car is second-hand, a lot of my clothes, basketball shorts, basketball jerseys, shoes… just a lot of necessities. Not food, because that’s weird. But like, a lot of necessities, in instance, are second-hand, just due to being a more affordable option for me.

AM : Right, perfect. And like, what are your feedbacks on that? Are you mostly happy, or it’s like negative? What do you think about all the purchases you’ve done so far?

DS : The second-hand market has its ups and downs. I do believe, like, my phone is in perfect condition, it’s really good. And the second-hand object, my car, great. But there have been shoes where I bought off second-hand places, and they’re just not up to scratch. Almost like they’ve come with little defects, little scratches, little scuffs, things that I wouldn’t want if I bought them new. But I understand that I bought second-hand, so there’d be little things that I understand that are a bit off.

AM : Alright, perfect. And do you consider yourself as an occasional buyer or someone that pays attention every day to what’s happening?

DS : It’s definitely, for me, occasional. I just look at the market if I’m in need of something. If I’m in need of shoes, I’ll go on the app StockX or GOAT, which are second-hand markets, and go on Facebook Marketplace if I’m looking for a car. Or if I was trying to sell my car, there were things… like, I wouldn’t go there just to look around. It always has to be like, « Oh, I need an upgrade for my phone, » I’ll look on the second-hand markets to make sure I can get it in the time being, at a reasonable time.

AM : Sounds good. And so, do you have an idea in which industries the second-hand market exists?

DS : The second-hand market definitely has specialties like vehicles, technology, shoes. They’re the three that come to mind most. Clothing even. Like, those aspects are very, very in demand in the second-hand market. Obviously, like we said, food can’t really be a second-hand option. Like, you can’t really get food second-hand. There are certain things I’ve missed that I definitely would consider second-hand, that are specialty, that most people would purchase from the second-hand market.

AM : Yeah, perfect. I’m just going to turn off my notifications… yeah, that should be fine, sorry… hum…

DS : You’re all good, you’re all good.

AM : I’m tryna deal with it… uh yeah, do not disturb, perfect. Um, and yes, so my next question is: do you buy online? And if so, do you have any platforms online that come to your mind when we talk about the second-hand market, or not? Or have you heard of some platforms online?

DS : So, the second-hand markets are mostly frequent online: Facebook Marketplace, StockX, GOAT. I’m in Australia, where I’m from, we have one called CarSales, where it’s like, obviously, second-hand cars. eBay is a big one that’s been around for a long, long time. And those five, majority of the time, if I was going to look for something on the second-hand market, I’d look at those websites.

AM : OK. And so, last question for the general questions, I would say: do you think in your environment you’re the only one buying second-hand, or do you have friends buying also second-hand? Your parents maybe, or your family? Or do you feel it’s more like a new generation thing?

DS : Hum, I definitely… for me, at least, I’ve definitely adopted my second-hand market interest from my parents, from my family. They’re very, very heavily into it, like « You can get a new phone, there’s no point buying a new iPhone 16 when the 13 is nearly half the price and a good option still for what it is right now. » So, I’ve definitely adopted that from my family. But in my overall environment, I would assume a lot of people around me in the second-hand market are purchasing cars. Especially being in the age of 18, no one really wants to buy a brand-new car. So, people from 18 to 24 all look for second-hand cars, look for second-hand clothing because it’s cheaper. So, I do believe a lot of people in my environment would also be looking at the second-hand market.

AM : OK, perfect. So now we’re going to dive into the second part, which is about the motivations—like what motivates you to buy second-hand. Uh, so you’ve already mentioned a bit, like the price, obviously, uh, that comes down with the use. So, in your opinion, what motivates you to buy second-hand?

DS : So, obviously, I’ve mentioned the price, but another aspect of it is knowing that, like, knowing that if I buy off a person and I don’t receive it, I can get my money back through refunds or customer service on eBay or Facebook Marketplace. I can make sure I understand where I’m getting it from, who I’m getting it from. And if the person does end up scamming me, I can report them and get my money back—and also get them off the platform, where they will have to stop selling their second-hand items.

So there’s almost a guarantee I will get an item. It might not be in the most perfect condition or in the condition they offered it, but I’ll still get an item in similar condition, which is what I wanted in the first place.

AM : OK. And do you think advertisements help you buy second-hand? Like, is there a lot of communication about it? Because obviously, companies are going, trying to be more ecological, you know, with climate change. So, do you think second-hand is taking another place in the market, or is it something still kind of small, trying to progress, you know?

DS : I do believe second-hand has really, really stepped up. It’s gone into a lot of markets—a lot of mainstream markets like Facebook. Facebook Marketplace is a big thing. eBay is massive. So I think mentalities alone have really shifted towards being more mainstream and more directed towards the population. More people have access to it, which therefore means that advertisements and everything lead to more second-hand markets.

Obviously, people will still buy from direct stores, but I do believe the second-hand markets are growing exponentially and growing to a point where, even though they’re still getting bigger, they are a massive, massive benefit for the population.

AM : Right. And so, following what you say, do you think it comes down to price? Like, the more expensive something is, the more you’re going to pay attention to buying second-hand? Or is it something like—I don’t know—for a $10 item, are you also going to pay attention to the second-hand market because it’s cheaper?

DS : I do believe the price has a big impact. Like, it definitely sways a lot of people.

AM : Right.

DS : But I still believe that people would check the first-hand market—for phones, for cars, even for shoes—because it’s more reliable. If you get them from a store that you know, the quality will be top, top, top quality until you start using it. So that’s how I see it.

AM : OK, so it’s always coming from a need, right? It’s not—

DS : Definitely, definitely from a need.

AM : No, but, you know, I’m asking because sometimes people just want something more that they don’t actually need, but they want it, so they buy it, you know?

DS : Oh, for sure. A lot of people—a lot of people do buy based on wants. Like, especially in the second-hand market, that’s what they look for. I look for needs, but a lot of people look for wants as well at times.

AM : OK. And when you’re buying second-hand, do you think about the ecological impact that it can have? Or is it just because, obviously, you know the price is going to be cheaper? Some people pay close attention to their impact on the environment, but some don’t. So where do you position yourself on that?

DS : I’m not overly ecological, if I’m going to be completely honest. But I do understand the impact things have on the environment, and I do believe purchasing something that’s already been produced does help, to an extent. Like, obviously, it’s already been produced, the damage to the environment has already happened. So, even though I bought it, that damage was already there.

But people also purchase just to purchase, which leads to more production, and that does impact the environment. So either way, a lot of people do not think about it. I’m more towards thinking about it, but I don’t think about it as much as I probably should.

AM : OK. And so, if we’re talking in percentage terms, how would you split all those factors? Like, is it 50% about the price, 30% about the social impact? How would you split it?

DS : OK, so, especially being young—just out of my teens, 20 years old—I have looked at social impact. Like, if I get new shoes, do I look better? Do people look at me differently? The phone—it’s a bit like, am I keeping up with trends? Those little things.

So, at the end of the day, I’d say it’s probably 20% social impact and 50% price. Price is a big, big factor. That leaves me 30% for the economy and the ecology. Am I missing anything else, or is it just the ecology that we said?

AM : No, I mean, any factor that comes to your mind. It can be ecological, about money, about social impact, about necessity—whatever you want.

DS : I’ll sort of group most things with price, so the next 30% is most likely for me the environmental impact.

AM : Yep, OK, perfect. Hum, so obviously you mentioned, like, how you’re gonna look in this society. Do you think it plays a big role in, like, your daily life? Being just maybe—I don’t know, let’s say you’re buying clothes, and the next day they’re gonna say, “Ohh, it’s second-hand,” “Ohh, it’s new.” Do you think, like, they’re gonna pay attention to that? Because, like, sometimes second-hand is very loose, very new, you know? But sometimes it’s also—you can see that it has been used before.

DS : I don’t personally, but I do see this is, like, a new trend where people are buying from thrift stores, which are all second-hand and a bit cheaper, but, like, the style looks good. Like, I’ve never really been a thrift-store person. I’m… I’m starting to go a little bit. I’m looking at them, like, “Nice clothes.” But—so people are, like… Society’s sort of changed where it’s like, it’s not frowned upon to buy second-hand and to always get new. It’s now looked at like, “Ohh, it’s trendy, he’s different.” And so that’s—that’s the big thing. It’s like… So now society is not looking down on people for buying second-hand and buying tattered clothes. They’re looking at it like, “Oh, they’re making something good out of what was thought to be someone’s throwaway.” So, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” almost.

AM : OK, perfect. So I guess we’re done with the second part, so we can jump into the third one if you want. OK, so my first question is also pretty general. Uh, what would prevent you from buying second-hand? What could be the obstacles in the purchase of second-hand?

DS : As I mentioned, I’m pretty sure I mentioned in the first half…

AM : … Yeah, but if you go deeper into that…

DS : Right, yeah. I was going to start. Like, you’re purchasing from someone you don’t know, so you’re purchasing with no real idea of the quality, of how the person’s kept it, of where they’ve kept it. So if you’re buying shoes, like, someone could have worn them 100 times, scuffed the side of the shoe, and then all they did was clean it a little bit, a little bit of paint over it. So once everything—all the, like, once you start wearing it—all the little impacts, little dents, and little scuff marks all start to show. So you’re not really… You’re purchasing something based on the assumption the other person’s kept their word, and that could be hard for a lot of people because it’s hard to trust someone. Like, if they say the shoe was dead stock, which means bought off the shelf, put in the box, and sold to you, you can’t really trust that until you see the shoe. Or the car is not in perfect condition until you have the car in your… Like, you’re driving the car on the road. Like, there could just be little changes that you never would assume would happen if you bought it from a store.

AM : And have you ever been disappointed with a purchase that, like, been delivered, and then you realize that’s not the same, like, as it was in the photo? Or maybe the quality is, like, not as good as you expected?

DS : Yes. So when I bought my first car, I went for a test drive, and the car I drove was amazing. Like, I thought I got the same car. It’s just… So the kilometers on the car I first drove was something like 105,000, and then I get the car a month and a half later, it’s on 115,000. So in my eyes, another person’s driven it 10,000 more kilometers, or they’ve given… They’ve maybe thought I’m purchasing this car, but they actually gave me a car in the same, same brand, same style of Ford Mondeo, but they gave me a couple of 10,000 more kilometers. So in my eyes, I was like, is this car…? Aye, is this the same car? The same interior, same, like, drive? It was… Obviously, it was still the same drive, it just had a bit more wear and tear on it, which was almost disappointing to me because, I mean, I had to spend more money on headlights, on buffing out the scratches on the side of the car—like, little things that just… I wouldn’t have had to do if I had the car that I test-drove.

AM : Yeah, that makes sense. OK, perfect. And so how did you deal with it? Like, did you reach out to the seller, or did you try to, I don’t know, get a payback or whatever?

DS : I honestly just moved on. I didn’t think anything of it. Like, obviously, I was upset in the moment, but the fact that the car still drove great… There were still a lot of benefits to having the car, and the risk of being upset with the guy, giving it back, and then waiting another week or two to start driving again… It was sort of like the cost to benefit. Like, at the end of the day, the car was the cheapest on the market, it was a great price for a great car, so the little bits of wear and tear and little scratches were manageable. Almost like, I was thinking, « Oh, I’ll just deal with them, deal with them, and then whatever happens, happens. » Like, not that big of an issue where I need to get retaliation, get angry. At some point, I just moved on and was like, OK, it happens.

AM : OK. And earlier, you mentioned Facebook Marketplace and eBay especially, and you said that they were trying to pay attention to all these transactions—about the quality, the feedbacks, and stuff like that. Uh, but some other platforms do not take accountability when there are issues between the seller and the buyer. So what’s your opinion on that? Is it something good that the platform is completely apart, or is it something that they should be involved in to, I don’t know, protect their brand, you know? Like, taking care of the brand, or… yeah?

DS : It definitely does have negatives about companies completely, like, stepping back away from the transactions within their company. So, like, people—hypothetically, if we said eBay was the one that was not really paying attention to the transactions, that was neglecting customers who gave feedback like, « Oh, this person sold me a bad thing »—people would start stepping away. And so that’s what a lot of companies who do second-hand selling but don’t actually monitor what’s happening within the company… That’s what’s happening. A lot of customers start going to the well-known ones—eBay and Facebook Marketplace—because they understand, « If I sell through here or I buy through there, I can get a refund. » And if the company’s not willing to help you get through there, and it’s just, like, holding you back, and it’s sort of like you have to do it your own way… And you’re buying from someone—let’s say you’re buying from someone in an Asian country and you’re from France—the avenues to be able to get in contact with that person again are very, very difficult.

AM : All right, OK. And so, we’re coming to the end of the third part, but I have one last question. So, do you think it’s worth taking the risk to maybe have, like, a better quality in purchasing new? Or is it something that you really can take advantage of from buying second-hand?

DS : I think that’s up to someone’s discretion and depends on the purchase. So, for a car, I definitely 100% believe that someone should buy second-hand, because a car is something that decreases in value as soon as you buy it. So, you drive it off the lot, the value goes down a lot. So that’s one thing. A phone, like technology… But there are things where if you risk buying second-hand and you don’t love it, there are more issues than what you thought there were going to be. It’s not really worth it. Like, shoes—shoes are a good example, actually. If you buy shoes and they’re scuffed and they’re not… and there are holes, and the sole’s starting to, like, decrease, to depreciate, and everything’s, like, bad, that’s something you could have bought at a regular price, retail price, and not have the risk. Even if you saved $50—$50 isn’t worth it if, instead of having a shoe for a year, you have them for three months. Like, little things that just make you think, « Oh, if I had just bought new, I’d have had it for a longer time. I only saved $50.00. » But, like, a car… A car is something where it’s like… You buy a brand-new car, and you spend 60,000. You buy a second-hand car, similar model, maybe a few years older, you buy it for 25,000, and it runs the same. Very similar features. There’s not much difference between them.

AM : Right, OK. Absolutely. So, great answer. Thank you, Dean. Thank you. Uh, so now, and it’s going to be our last part, I wanted to talk about the future. How do you see the second-hand market evolving? Is it more like a positive change or a negative change? Is it something really specific to the younger generation? Because obviously, grandparents don’t really buy second-hand… I mean, online, because sometimes they just, you know, go to the market and buy second-hand. But how do you see the future?

DS : I really believe the second-hand market will continue to increase and continue to just get bigger, because people of our generation… It’s harder to be financially sound and financially secure. And to be able to have the option to buy something that makes sure you still look good in the public eye and still look good to your friends and social group while saving money…

AM : Yeah. So do you think it’s a trend, or is it going to be something that will last over time?

DS : Umm, I do believe it’ll drop off a little bit. I do believe it’s a trend, but I still believe that it will last a long time, even if it’s not with the billions of people who use it.

AM : OK. Dean, that’s the end. Do you have something you want to add or go back to, or you said it all?

DS : I think that’s all. So just, thank you very much for having me, Aristide.

AM : Thank you for your time and also for your answers. That was really, really cool, and I appreciate your time.

DS : You’re good, anytime.