What is the latest update in the resale market?

The resale market had a blockbuster first quarter of 2026, with a billion-dollar acquisition, record financial results, and new regulations reshaping how secondhand goods move around the world.

This is our constantly updated overview of the biggest resale market developments, and we refresh it every quarter so you always have the latest picture.

Whether you are an investor scouting for opportunities, a founder building in recommerce, or just someone who wants to understand where secondhand is headed, this page is for you.

And if you want to better understand this new industry, you can download our pitch covering the resale market.

Summary table of the most important updates in the resale market

We define the resale market as all sales of products that come back into the market after already being bought once by a consumer.

We include peer-to-peer secondhand sales, consignment and vintage shops, charity/thrift stores, brand or retailer pre-owned programs, and refurbished or open-box goods that were previously owned or used.

We exclude sales of brand-new overstock in outlets or off-price channels, purely B2B liquidation of new inventory, and non-ownership models such as rental, subscriptions, and sharing platforms.

You can also get all the latest market news for the month here.

Piece of News	Category	Date	Source
eBay agreed to acquire Depop from Etsy for about $1.2 billion in cash	M&A	February 18, 2026	Etsy, Inc.
Back Market reported more than $3.5 billion in 2025 GMV and reached EBITDA break-even	Financial results	February 4, 2026	PR Newswire
The RealReal crossed $2 billion GMV and posted its strongest year yet	Financial results	February 26, 2026	The RealReal
thredUp hit record buyers and positive annual cash flow for the first time	Financial results	March 2, 2026	ThredUp Inc.
The EU published a new disclosure rule on unsold goods destruction	Regulations & Policies	February 10, 2026	EUR-Lex
Vinted launched in New York as its first major U.S. expansion move	Market expansions	January 22, 2026	Vinted
Samsung expanded its Certified Re-Newed refurbished phones to France, Germany, and the UK	Product launches	January 13, 2026	Samsung
Vinted Pay received a UK Electronic Money Institution licence from the FCA	Regulations & Policies	March 16, 2026	Vinted
IKEA expanded its second-hand marketplace to Sweden, now active in five countries	Market expansions	January 26, 2026	Ingka Group
Vinted started rolling out its own wallet to keep more payments in-house	New tech and infrastructure	January 14, 2026	Vinted
A luxury resale market report projected the category could reach $50 billion by 2030	Market Research	January 6, 2026	Business Wire
A refurbished retail report projected the market could more than double by 2034	Market Research	January 6, 2026	IMARC Group

How is the resale market doing now?

How do we define the resale market?

We define the resale market as all sales of products that come back into the market after already being bought once by a consumer.

We include peer-to-peer secondhand sales, consignment and vintage shops, charity/thrift stores, brand or retailer pre-owned programs, and refurbished or open-box goods that were previously owned or used.

We exclude sales of brand-new overstock in outlets or off-price channels, purely B2B liquidation of new inventory, and non-ownership models such as rental, subscriptions, and sharing platforms.

This is also the definition we use in our report covering the resale market.

How big is the resale market in 2026?

We estimate the global resale market is worth approximately $560 billion in 2026, covering all secondhand product categories across both online and offline channels worldwide.

This is not a random guess, if you want to know how we have come up with this estimate, you can read our resale market size analysis here.

To put that number in perspective, the resale market is roughly the same size as the global cloud computing market ($600-680 billion) and the global video game industry ($530-580 billion), and it is larger than the entire global pet care market.

The resale market scores 55 out of 100 on maturity (still lots of room for digital growth), 75 out of 100 on competitiveness (platforms fight hard for buyers and sellers), and 85 out of 100 on fragmentation (no single company holds more than 5% of the global market).

How fast will the resale market grow in the future?

We estimate the resale market will grow at about 11% per year, which is our realistic scenario based on blending faster-growing online resale with slower-growing offline thrift and categories like furniture and electronics.

At that pace, the resale market should reach approximately $850 billion by 2030, and roughly $1.6 trillion by 2036, which would make it nearly three times its current size.

For context, the resale market is growing about twice as fast as general retail (5-6% per year) but a bit slower than global e-commerce (15-19%), which makes sense for a market that still blends a lot of in-person and online shopping.

What does current funding activity look like in the resale market?

Our team, who continually updates our resale market pitch deck, is keeping a close eye on the market and tracking key signals.

One of those signals is fundraising activity across startups. Each month, we refresh this page with a list of startups of the resale market that have raised funding, and we also publish a quarterly analysis here.

Is funding momentum accelerating or cooling in the resale market these days?

We are currently compiling the detailed funding data for Q1 2026 in the resale market, so check back soon or visit our quarterly funding analysis for the latest numbers on deal count and total amount raised.

In the meantime, the big story of the quarter is eBay's $1.2 billion acquisition of Depop, which alone shows that major capital is still flowing into the resale market at a very large scale.

Between strong earnings from The RealReal, Back Market, and thredUp, plus Vinted's continued expansion, investor confidence in the resale market appears healthy heading into 2026.

Which categories and business models are attracting capital in the resale market?

Based on what we observed in Q1 2026, these areas of the resale market are drawing the most attention from investors and acquirers:

• Peer-to-peer fashion resale platforms attracted the biggest move of the quarter, with eBay's $1.2 billion acquisition of Depop showing that scaled secondhand fashion communities are highly valued.
• Refurbished electronics continues to prove its economics, with Back Market's $3.5 billion GMV and EBITDA break-even reinforcing that this category can scale profitably.
• Luxury resale is maturing as a category, with The RealReal posting $2.13 billion in GMV and showing that authenticated high-end secondhand goods are a durable business.
• Marketplace infrastructure is getting investment too, with Vinted building its own wallet and payment services rather than relying on third-party providers.

The common thread across all these categories is that the resale market is rewarding platforms that solve trust, build repeat buying habits, and control more of the transaction experience.

Who's writing the most checks in the resale market?

Q1 2026 was defined more by strategic acquirers than traditional venture investors in the resale market:

• eBay made the quarter's biggest move by agreeing to buy Depop for $1.2 billion, betting heavily on younger secondhand fashion shoppers in the resale market.
• Etsy is on the other side of that deal, selling Depop to focus its portfolio, which shows how resale market assets can change hands as strategies shift.

The biggest capital deployment this quarter came from a corporate acquirer rather than a VC firm, which suggests the resale market may be entering a consolidation phase where large platforms buy smaller ones.

Any big acquisitions or IPOs in the last three months in the resale market?

These are the big acquisitions and IPOs that happened recently in the resale market:

• eBay agreed to acquire Depop from Etsy for about $1.2 billion in cash, gaining 7 million active buyers, 3 million active sellers, and roughly $1 billion in annual gross merchandise sales.

This is the clearest sign of consolidation in the resale market this quarter, and it resets expectations for how much a scaled secondhand fashion platform is worth.

How are companies in the resale market performing overall?

We are watching this market everyday, because we need to constantly update our pitch deck. Here is a couple of things we have noticed.

Are there any standout success metrics or financial results in the resale market?

Q1 2026 brought several impressive financial results across the resale market:

• Back Market reported more than $3.5 billion in 2025 GMV, up 32% year over year, and reached global EBITDA break-even for the first time in the refurbished electronics category.
• The RealReal crossed $2.13 billion in GMV for full-year 2025, up 16%, and posted positive adjusted EBITDA in every quarter of the year for the first time in luxury resale.
• thredUp hit $310.8 million in 2025 revenue, up 20%, grew active buyers by 30% to 1.65 million, and achieved positive annual cash flow for the first time in online fashion resale.

Three major resale platforms all hitting profitability milestones in the same quarter is a strong signal that the resale market business model is finally proving itself financially.

Have there been any major partnerships in the resale market?

Based on our data, there were no major standalone partnerships announced during Q1 2026 in the resale market, though the eBay-Depop acquisition will effectively create a deep integration between two large resale platforms.

Have there been any notable technology or infrastructure breakthroughs in the resale market?

A couple of infrastructure moves stood out in Q1 2026 in the resale market:

• Vinted started rolling out its own wallet through Vinted Pay across several European countries, letting sellers keep proceeds in-wallet, spend them on the platform, or withdraw to a bank account.
• Vinted Pay also received a UK Electronic Money Institution licence from the FCA, which means Vinted can now issue e-money and run payment services directly in the UK.

Vinted is clearly building its own financial infrastructure layer, which could improve margins, speed, and user retention across its resale marketplace over time.

Have any companies restructured or shifted pricing or business model in the resale market?

We did not spot any major restructuring or business model shifts during Q1 2026 in the resale market, though the competitive landscape is clearly evolving as platforms focus more on profitability than pure growth.

Are there any other notable wins or successes in the resale market?

A few other wins stood out during Q1 2026 in the resale market:

• Vinted launched in New York, marking a major step in the European resale platform's expansion into the U.S., the world's largest single-country secondhand market.
• Samsung expanded its Certified Re-Newed refurbished phone program to France, Germany, and the UK, giving certified refurbished devices more visibility across three of Europe's biggest markets.
• IKEA expanded its second-hand marketplace to Sweden, bringing the service to five countries and targeting 170,000 listings in 2026 for pre-owned IKEA furniture.

Major brands like Samsung and IKEA expanding their own resale programs shows that secondhand is becoming a built-in retail channel, not just a startup opportunity.

What is the overall sentiment in the resale market right now?

Are there any notable recent opinion pieces, thought leadership about the resale market?

We did not come across any major standalone opinion pieces or thought leadership articles during Q1 2026 in the resale market, but the sheer volume of strong earnings reports and expansion announcements speaks for itself.

Are there any interesting and recent market research reports about the resale market?

Two notable market research reports were published early in Q1 2026 in the resale market:

• ResearchAndMarkets published a luxury resale market report saying the category was worth about $32.5 billion in 2024 and could reach roughly $50 billion by 2030, with AI-driven authentication as a key growth driver.
• IMARC Group projected the global refurbished retail market could more than double from about $151.5 billion in 2025 to roughly $365 billion by 2034, implying a 10.27% annual growth rate.

Both reports reinforce the view that the resale market is not a niche anymore, and that refurbished electronics and authenticated luxury goods are becoming large, investable categories.

Have there been any regulatory changes, policy updates, or new compliance requirements in the resale market?

Two regulatory developments stood out in Q1 2026 in the resale market:

• The EU published Implementing Regulation 2026/2 on February 10, setting the required format for companies to disclose what happens to their unsold consumer products, which should gradually push more goods toward resale and reuse channels.
• Vinted Pay received a UK Electronic Money Institution licence from the FCA on March 16, allowing the resale platform to issue e-money and provide payment services directly in the UK market.

The EU disclosure rule is especially important because regulations that make product destruction more visible tend to benefit the entire resale market over time by redirecting inventory toward secondhand channels.

Who is the author of this content?

NEW MARKET PITCH TEAM

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