Representative study commissioned by Eppli: Pre-owned luxury on the rise
Luxury and second-hand – what once sounded like a contradiction has long since developed into a huge market with growth potential. Pre-owned watches are particularly popular.
This is shown by a recent representative survey conducted by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of Eppli, the Stuttgart-based auction and trading house for pre-owned luxury goods.
The study surveyed 1,000 private sector decision-makers in Germany online. According to the results, 41 percent of respondents could imagine buying pre-owned luxury goods such as watches, handbags, or jewelry.
The study captures the opinions of business decision-makers regarding the market for pre-owned luxury goods. The focus was on purchase intent, transaction experiences, the most popular product categories, the most important purchase motives, and annual spending patterns.
Pre-owned luxury study: Key findings at a glance
High willingness to buy: Over 40 percent of respondents (40.7 %) could, in principle, imagine buying or bidding on pre-owned luxury goods ("Yes, definitely": 21 %; "Rather yes": 19.7 %). This indicates that the market is evolving from a niche to a mainstream market. scalable size developed.
Growing market: Almost one in five respondents (17.7% of respondents) has already purchased pre-owned luxury goods, and another 6.2% plan to do so. The figures are similar on the sales side: 15.5% have already sold or auctioned luxury goods, and another 7% are considering doing so in the future. The market therefore functions as true circulatory model already in both directions.
Popular categories: Particularly Watches are popular (14.7 %) and designer fashion and handbags (10.9 %), followed by furniture (9.6 %), art (9.1 %) and jewelry (8.2 %). Thus, categories that are particularly well-suited for resale dominate – with stable prices, high demand and attractive margins for retailers.
Sustainability as a driver: Although the most frequently cited reason for buying pre-owned luxury goods is cost savings (37.4 percent), a good quarter of respondents (25.8 %) cited sustainability as a key purchasing motive.
For 18 percent, collector interest and purchase as an investment are the primary motivations. This shows that the market is not solely driven by price considerations, but increasingly by other factors. societal megatrends such as circular economy and sustainable consumption.
Exclusive buyer group: A small but financially powerful group invests considerable sums: 2.7 percent of respondents spend more than €5,000 annually on pre-owned luxury goods, and another 2.4 percent spend between €1,000 and €2,499. For 6.2 percent, spending ranges between €500 and €999.
This high-spending customer group This offers luxury brands the strategic opportunity to extend the life cycle of their products through secondhand offerings, to sustainably secure brand value and to deepen customer loyalty.
The survey commissioned by Eppli from Civey makes it clear: The market for pre-owned luxury goods is developing into a dynamic sector with great potential in Germany.
It reflects the shift in consumer behavior towards greater sustainability and conscious consumption, thus addressing a key societal trend. Even though the trade in second-hand luxury goods is still relatively small, the study reveals a clear openness to future transactions.
Second-hand luxury as a conscious choice
Managing Director Ferdinand Eppli comments:
“The results of the Civey study confirm our long-standing experience: The pre-owned luxury market has developed tremendous momentum. Today’s buyers are not only looking for a good price, but also for exclusivity, value retention, and a contribution to sustainability. Second-hand luxury is a conscious choice that appreciates the value and quality of the objects as well as their history. This trend has long since entered the consumer consciousness and will shape the market in the coming years.”
Second-hand luxury is on the rise worldwide
The market for pre-owned luxury goods is also growing strongly internationally. According to a study by the IMARC Group, the global market for pre-owned luxury goods was estimated at US$37.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to rise to US$77.8 billion by 2033 – representing an annual growth rate of 8.5 percent.
A driving force is digitalization: online platforms significantly facilitate access to secondhand luxury goods and are sustainably changing buying and selling processes.
Civey conducted an online survey of 1,000 private sector decision-makers for Eppli between April 11 and May 5, 2025. The results are representative due to quotas and weightings, taking into account a statistical margin of error of 5.8 to 6.0 percentage points for the respective overall result.
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