Almost 30% of Ontarians buying used goods monthly to help with cost of living: survey

More than a quarter of those living in Ontario are buying second-hand goods at least once a month, according to a new survey conducted by Paypal.

A total of 29 per cent of Ontarians who responded admitted to buying second-hand goods each month, which is actually below the national average of 31 per cent.

Paypal said it surveyed around 2,000 Canadians to attain the results which also show that with inflation soaring, 73 per cent of respondents are turning to used items to stretch their dollar while 43 per cent putting the extra cash towards the general cost of living. Another 38 per cent said they used the extra money to splurge on themselves while 43 per cent said it helped them reduce financial stress.

Ontarians are not just simply heading to thrift stores for their online purchases though, as a third say they buy from an online source such as Depop, Mercari or Etsy, while about a third of all respondents say they have been making purchases through social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook.

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Those who have turned to online shopping are reading the reviews; 48 per cent of respondents were using them to establish trust while 46 per cent of people were looking to see multiple images in a listing for verification purposes.

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While a good number of us are buying used goods to save money, a quarter (24 per cent) are doing so to help the environment.

On the flip side of the coin, 36 per cent of Ontarians admits to having more than $500 worth of unused items in their home, which Paypal says is a recipe for sending items to the resale market.

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A number of Canadians have clearly done so as the website says that on average Canadians have earned $167 over the past year from reselling goods in a side hustle while making $31 per sale.

“With prices soaring, it’s no surprise we’re seeing a boom in the second-hand economy,” Malini Mitra, PayPal Canada’s director of communications.

So what is holding people back from entering the reselling economy?

Forty-three per cent of Canadians say they are not sure where to start when it comes to becoming a reseller while 39 per cent are concerned about making deals with strangers.

A further 34 per cent believe they would not pull in enough cash to make it worth the time they would need to put into such a side hustle.