Editor’s Note
This article explores the growing trend of secondhand K-pop merchandise trading, highlighting high-value transactions for groups like Stray Kids and BLACKPINK. It also examines the expansion of Korean sellers into the reverse import market for industrial goods and jewelry, reflecting a broader shift in global consumer patterns.
![“리커머스, 역직구 뉴웨이브로 부상” 이베이, 2024년 중고·리퍼비쉬 거래 매출 비중 40%. [사진=이베이]](https://cdn.joongangenews.com/news/photo/202507/432766_233215_018.jpg)
According to global market research firm Maximize, the global recommerce market reached $460 billion (approximately 629 trillion won) in 2023 and is projected to grow at a high annual rate of 13.6% until 2030. As recommerce establishes itself as a new trend in the reverse import market, the overseas secondhand market is emerging as a business creation opportunity for domestic sellers.
The global commerce platform eBay announced in its ‘Impact Report’ released for 2025 Recommerce Day that the share of secondhand and refurbished products accounted for over 40% of its total revenue in 2024.
Recommerce refers to the consumption pattern of reselling products one already owns or has used. Recently, it has expanded beyond sustainable consumption culture and rational consumption pursuit to include the resale of products that are already discontinued or have scarcity value.
According to a survey conducted by eBay of 28,000 consumers worldwide, 37% of respondents said they buy secondhand goods ‘to raise funds’. Furthermore, 64% of respondents recognized that ‘buying secondhand goods helps protect the global environment’, and 49% cited ‘because the same product is not available as new’ as a reason for buying secondhand.
Korean sellers are also showing steady interest in the reverse import recommerce market. While the secondhand and recommerce sales of Korean sellers increase every year, the recommerce categories with high sales for Korean sellers last year were, in order: ▲Business and industrial products, ▲Entertainment-related supplies, and ▲Jewelry & watches.
In particular, ‘K-Secondhand’ created by the K-Pop related secondhand market is cited as a differentiated competitive edge for Korean sellers. Transactions are active due to the combination of scarcity (only available in Korea) and fandom demand.
Last year, new listings for entertainment-related supplies by Korean sellers increased 1.8 times compared to the same period the previous year. Albums, photocards, light sticks, concert merchandise, and limited-edition goods were the main items. Among them, the official merchandise from the SKZOO (Ski-Ju) pop-up store ‘Ski-Ju’s Magic School’, featuring animal characters based on Stray Kids and its members, recorded the highest sales volume. Additionally, a photocards set of Dreamcatcher’s Gahyeon was traded for $5,016 (approximately 6.82 million won), and a signed promotional album of BLACKPINK was traded for $1,800 (approximately 2.44 million won), showing K-Pop goods are emerging as a new driving force in the recommerce market.
eBay is conducting various activities to encourage continuous recommerce participation from both sellers and buyers. In April, it introduced a ‘Refurb Program’, granting a certification mark to refurbished products from verified sellers, and strengthening quality assurance and supporting returns.
Domestic secondhand trading specialist companies are also accelerating their overseas expansion through eBay. Bunjang, which linked with eBay through a sales agency last October, saw its overseas sales surge by 1105% and transaction volume by 1553% as of February this year compared to the time of linkage.