Amazon has been selling used and refurbished products since 2002, when third-party sellers first joined the platform. It added returned and open-box products from its own operations in 2009, introduced professionally refurbished products through Amazon Renewed in 2014, and has been running Second Chance Deal Days as an annual UK event for the past two years.
The numbers have reached a scale that makes this more than a marginal revenue line. Second-hand product sales on Amazon exceeded £1.7 billion across Europe last year, and UK customers saved more than £95 million shopping second-hand on Amazon. Amazon now has over 30 million second-hand products available in the UK.
The Luxury Expansion That Changes the Category Conversation
The genuinely new element in this year’s event is the partnership with Luxclusif, an Amazon Luxury seller offering pre-loved bags and accessories at an additional 15% off during the event. This is the first time Amazon has included authenticated pre-loved luxury in a Second Chance Deal Days event.
The luxury resale market is the fastest-growing segment of the broader secondhand economy. We covered in the premium brand rush piece published this week that half of all luxury shoppers now consult the secondhand market before buying new, and that Bain estimated the personal luxury market declined 2% in 2026 while the secondhand luxury market continued to grow.
Amazon entering authenticated luxury resale through a curated seller partnership is a deliberate move into a segment dominated by specialist platforms. The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, Fashionphile, and StockX have each built businesses around the trust mechanics that authenticated luxury resale requires, condition grading, authenticity verification, seller vetting. Amazon’s approach through Luxclusif gives it access to authenticated inventory without building that verification infrastructure itself.
Why Two-Thirds of Brits Now Buy Second-Hand
According to CEBR research carried out for Amazon, two-thirds of Brits are now buying second-hand, driven by cost-of-living concerns, environmental concerns, and convenience. Top concerns when purchasing second-hand include product condition, lack of warranties, and seller trust.
Two-thirds is a majority by any measure. The secondhand market has moved from niche to mainstream in the UK, driven by the same consumer caution we have been documenting all month. Cost-of-living pressure is the most cited driver, and secondhand purchasing is one of the most direct consumer responses to that pressure.
The trust concerns the CEBR research identifies are exactly the gaps that Amazon’s resale infrastructure is designed to address. Every returned product sold through Amazon Resale goes through a condition inspection and receives a grading — Like New, Very Good, Good, Acceptable. Amazon Renewed products are professionally refurbished by qualified partners. Both are backed by Amazon’s standard customer service and return policies.
The Returns Connection That Makes This a Circular Economy Story
Amazon’s second-hand business is structurally different from dedicated resale platforms because it begins with Amazon’s own returns. In 2025, Amazon and its selling partners donated over 35 million items across Europe, including many returns. Products not suitable for resale but still in good condition go to charity partners.
The returns-to-resale pipeline means Amazon’s second-hand business has a cost structure that standalone resale platforms do not. The inventory arrives through a channel that already exists for operational reasons. That cost structure advantage, combined with Amazon’s existing trust infrastructure and marketplace reach, is why Amazon’s second-hand numbers have reached £1.7 billion in Europe while most dedicated resale platforms are still building to scale.
What This Means for Brands Selling on Amazon
A brand that sells premium personal care devices will find its returned products appearing in the Second Chance Deal Days event at up to 50% off the recommended retail price. The brand did not choose to participate. The products are Amazon’s to resell because they were returned to Amazon.
This creates the same dynamic we described in the premium brand rush piece: the premium customer considering buying a brand’s product new now has a credible alternative through Amazon’s authenticated resale channel at a significant discount. For brands trying to protect premium pricing and brand perception, Amazon’s growing resale infrastructure is a force they cannot opt out of and cannot fully control.
Our Take
Amazon Has Been Building a Resale Business for 20 Years. It Just Decided to Make It Visible.
Amazon’s Second Chance Deal Days is primarily a consumer-facing promotional event, but the numbers behind it describe something more significant: a £1.7 billion European secondhand operation growing fast enough to add luxury categories for the first time, backed by infrastructure that processes tens of millions of returned items annually.
The event runs September 1-10, in the window between Labor Day and the start of the main holiday shopping season. For UK consumers shopping on a budget, it is a genuine source of value.
