Every New Zealander has about $1200 worth of unused stuff, Trade Me estimates

Monday, 21 October 2019

Every New Zealander is hoarding about $1200 worth of unused stuff, according to a Trade Me survey.

Trade Me surveyed over 4000 and found everyone had about 15 used and unwanted things, and it says the country's 'secondhand economy' is growing.

It estimates there are approximately 73 million secondhand items left in people's garages, spare rooms and cupboards around the country that are no longer used, but are still usable.

Zero Waste Network spokesman Marty Hoffart said donating old stuff to charity stores created local jobs and stopped valuable items going straight to the landfill.

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It was a welcome step upwards from the days when everything was sent straight to the landfill, Hoffart said.

Every New Zealander is hoarding about $1200 worth of unused things, according to a new survey.

Donating unwanted things was also a boost for local communities.

'If people are donating that stuff to a secondhand shop, the money doesn't go to an international corporation, it goes to the local community and it does really good things.'

Trade Me asked participants how many items they had to sell, which gave them an average of 15 per person.

Hoffart said selling things on Trade Me for a profit was good, but donating them was even better.

The survey found 51 per cent sold the last item they offloaded, 42 per cent gave it away or donated it to charity.

It also found the Marie Kondo effect is still alive and well, with 51 per cent of people claiming their biggest motivation for selling unwanted items was to make more space and declutter.

Selling unwanted stuff around the house could benefit the environment and earn some money on the side, Trade Me head of marketplace Lisa Stewart said.

'We expected more Kiwis would be selling their secondhand things for environmental reasons, but just 5 per cent told us that this was their motivation for offloading their preloved items.'

People also appeared to be buying more items secondhand than before, with 76 per cent having bought a used item in the last six months.

The primary reason was to save money at 62 per cent, Stewart said.

'For some it's more about finding something unique and different [20 per cent].'

Almost 4300 New Zealanders took part in the survey, which was externally recruited to avoid potential Trade Me membership bias.