Second-hand goods satisfy luxury cravings

Good quality: Shoppers looking at bags in a ZZER second-hand goods store in Shanghai. The number people selling luxury items like bags and watches to raise cash, as well as those out to source them on the cheap, has surged. — Reuters

SHANGHAI: China’s coronavirus-driven economic slowdown is proving to be a boon for Zhu Tainiqi, the Shanghai-based founder of second-hand luxury goods marketplace ZZER, who is now scouting for shop space to expand the business.

The former venture capitalist is seeing a surge in people looking to sell their Hermes Birkin bags or Rolex watches to raise cash, as well as a jump in interest from belt-tightening shoppers.