Why Are Pre-Owned Luxury Items Popular in India?

If there’s a country that truly lives up to the definition of love at second-hand, it has to be India. The concept isn’t quite unheard of, and for a middle-class person, who is perennially stuck between spending and saving, it’s the perfect kind of affair. Pre-owned, pre-loved, or simply known as second-hand luxury is a hit in the country, because there’s something in store for every stakeholder.

Selling pre-owned luxury in India

One of the reasons why luxury goods resonate with Indians is because they can be viewed clearly in terms of investment. Take the much beloved yellow metal, for instance. For years, gold has proffered the fulfilment of every angle that comes with the notion of investment. It’s purchased for a good deal of money, towers over the feeling of prestige, can be flaunted easily, but most importantly, it can be resold. A similar understanding dictates the working of second-hand or pre-owned luxury market. Bags, dresses, shoes, watches, cars, and even real estate are expensive to buy in the first place, but are reassuring in terms of Return on Investment (RoI). When you enlist a luxury product for resale, and extract a good deal out of it, you can use the money received as an excuse to buy another item from your luxury wishlist. Selling pre-owned luxury also lets you embrace your ‘savings mode’, if you’re simply looking for a way to make some quick buck.

Luxury accessories sell like hot cakes on online marketplaces. (Representational photo)

Buying pre-owned luxury in India

At the heart of middle-class Indian buying behaviour lies frugality. As a chunk of the country’s population slowly works its way towards splurging mindfully on luxury, there arises a need to increasingly make high-end products affordable to the masses. Nothing casts magic like a ripping bargain on an otherwise ultra-expensive product!

Pre-owned luxury steps in to let you buy that expensive Gucci bag your heart went drooling on, or that bold, stunning BMW that aroused the thrill of whirring by. Pre-owned luxury cars in particular have witnessed a phenomenal surge in their demand in India. There’s a two-dimensional approach to the monetary-factor:

• An obvious benefit is affordability. A budget-friendly pre-loved luxury car spells pure joy.
• Car insurance tends be cheaper for pre-owned luxury automobiles, since the vehicle would have already depreciated to an extent. 

The demand for pre-owned cars has gone up in India. (Representational photo)

Apart from that, there’s an equally enthusiastic willingness of selling pre-loved luxury in India, and no dearth of second-hand luxury products on online marketplaces. You can easily place a request for a particular high-end item, and if the network is vast enough, chances are, you’ll draw a great deal.

Sustainability

For those who are determined to channelise their fiercely eco-conscious outlook, or simply want to pledge to their allegiance to the cause, buying pre-owned luxury goods is a good way to do so. Pre-loved luxury entails cutting down on costs and other resources that would have otherwise been used to manufacture a similar product. Among practices undertaken by luxury brands to obey the laws of responsible business, resale of luxury goods is a prominent one. It works for them because a lot of demand comes in via digital platforms, with woke millennials and Gen Z forming a vast majority of the consumer-base.

Pre-owned luxury is gaining immense popularity with the coronavirus pandemic bringing a halt to the production of new items. Online marketplaces dealing with second-hand luxury products are a saviour for satiating the need to buy prestige goods. The entire trade is a rewarding phenomenon, and is expected to dominate the overall Indian luxury market in the coming times.