Second-hand websites also conquer the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made a name for itself as a hub of luxury, glamor and extravagance. No one is surprised that the Dubai branch of the Christie's auction house put up for bid for 2.9 million dirhams (about 665,000 euros) a Patek Philippe watch that belonged to Egyptian King Farouk; or that there are those who are willing to pay a million for a car license plate with a capricious numbering. Expensive brand stores are repeated ad nauseam in every mall and convey the idea that in this country everyone is loaded.
The reality of most of its nine million inhabitants is more pedestrian, as evidenced by the proliferation of second-hand sales portals. The first emerged in the shadow of the luxury market. Very expensive clothes and accessories that their owners, often the owners of the garments, discarded after having used them a few times. Thus, many expatriates, intoxicated by social ascent, accessed rooms above their means.
But the Luxury Closet or Designer-24, which according to the market analysis company MEVP are growing at 5% per year and will reach sales of 3,500 million dirhams by 2020, are no longer alone. The local press echoes the success of less exclusive second-hand sales websites and with a broader product catalog. Opposite the Luis Vuitton bags or the Armani suits that advertise those, in theDubaiBazaar.com or secondstore.ae you can find from mobiles and tablets, to kitchen trousseau, including sneakers.
Part of the success of these portals has to do with the nature and mobility of the inhabitants, 89% of them foreigners. To a large extent, the websites replace the purchase and sale announcements on the boards of the company or the community of neighbors. But the effect of the higher cost of living is also intuited, given that wages are unable to beat inflation, the recent introduction of VAT and other rates.
