Ebay launches new furniture hub to encourage pre-loved shopping

Ebay has launched a new online hub that will serve as a curated destination designed to help shoppers “consider pre-loved first” when furniture shopping. 

The ‘Better Than New Homeware’ Hub will encourage customers to choose vintage, refurbished or repaired pieces. 

It comes as new research from Ebay UK revealed that the average person looks to refresh their home around three times a year. Although one in seven (14%) say they are buying more second-hand furniture now compared to two years ago, Ebay said there was “still a way to go to tackle the vast amounts of fast-furniture that end up in landfill”. 

Nonetheless, data from the online retail giant found that pre-loved Home and Garden purchases on Ebay over the past year resulted in 6.5m kg of avoided waste. It added that by opting for pre-loved, 22 million less pieces of furniture will end up in landfill each year. 

Rachel Miles, head of Home and Garden at Ebay UK, said: “In a similar vein to the way we’ve celebrated pre-loved fashion through our partnership with Love Island, we’re now turning our attention to help ‘slow down’ fast furniture by demonstrating the style, value and environmental benefits of secondhand furniture and home accessories available on eBay. 

“This new hub places a much needed spotlight on the impact fast-furniture is having on our planet and showing shoppers there’s a better way to refresh the home without creating more waste.  Customers will be able to find a wonderful assortment of  items from sofas to lighting with lots of character that support the fight against fast-furniture and correct existing perceptions around affordability.” 

Ebay has also partnered with interiors expert and author of Resourceful Living, Lisa Dawson, with the aim to “inspire even more to embrace pre-loved and continue to combat furniture waste”. 

Dawson said: “The move to ‘slow’ homewares is something I’m really passionate about – we need to be more considerate with what we’re buying, reusing and repurposing vintage pieces as much as possible. I always head to eBay when I’m planning a new addition to my home and have found some really amazing and stylish pre-loved pieces – from vintage sideboards right through to flokati rugs and pearl handled cutlery. 

“Using eBay as a first stop when adding to your space is a more sustainable move – the recycling of interiors, buying less and buying carefully is an all round winner, limiting landfill and being kinder to both the environment and, ultimately, to our pockets.”