Office Workers Sell Gifts for Cash
Consumers Use It as a Means to Save Living Expenses
#Kim (35), a 4-year office worker, posted tuna cans and Spam gift sets on a secondhand trading site ahead of Chuseok. After listing the items at about half the online retail price, he received four inquiries in just one day. Kim said, "Many students living alone who want to save on food expenses buy these gift sets," adding, "Selling three gift sets leaves me with at least 50,000 to 60,000 won. It's a small amount, but it's quite profitable."
As Chuseok approaches, reselling holiday gifts is actively taking place mainly on secondhand trading sites. Office workers are cashing in on their gifts, while consumers are tightening their belts through secondhand transactions.
Searching for holiday gifts on secondhand trading sites like Danggeun Market and Junggonara revealed various sales posts for items such as toothpaste, cosmetics, and Spam sets. The selling prices were confirmed to be 20% to nearly 50% cheaper than market prices. Among these, posts selling health functional foods were also frequently seen.
This change came after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety allowed peer-to-peer trading of health functional foods for one year starting in May as part of a pilot project. Since the pilot began, posts selling red ginseng, vitamins, and garlic extracts have been continuously posted on secondhand trading sites. These products are very popular as so-called "gifts for parents."
Some sellers even tried to attract buyers looking for cheap gifts by offering to include shopping bags. They promised to enclose wrapping paper so that buyers would not realize the items were purchased from secondhand trading sites.
The rise of secondhand trading of holiday gifts is analyzed as a phenomenon caused by rising prices. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price inflation rate last month was 2.0%, the lowest in 3 years and 5 months. However, due to the heatwave causing vegetable prices to skyrocket and subsequent processed food price increases, the burden of grocery prices remains significant.
On the 4th, a Chuseok gift trading post was uploaded on the secondhand trading platform Danggeun Market. [Image source: Screenshot of Danggeun Market screen]
Some gift sets even increased in price compared to last Lunar New Year. According to a survey by the Korea Consumer Agency last month on 283 Chuseok gift sets sold at large supermarkets and department stores that had the same product composition as last Lunar New Year, 11.3% (32 types) had price increases. Among them, four gift sets had the same product composition but reduced quantities, and three gift sets had similar compositions but increased prices with reduced quantities.
In this ongoing situation of perceived inflation pressure, secondhand trading of holiday gifts is gaining attention as a way to save on living expenses. Kim Do-hoon (25), a university student, buys holiday gift sets at bargain prices on Danggeun Market as Lunar New Year and Chuseok approach. He aims to reduce expenses by purchasing shampoo, tuna cans, and other items cheaply. Kim said, "There's nothing better for saving money," adding, "Instead of buying Spam individually at large supermarkets, I buy it cheaply during holidays and stock up."
A representative from a secondhand trading platform explained, "Usually, during Chuseok or Lunar New Year holidays, keywords related to holidays such as hanbok or Spam rank within the top 10 search terms," adding, "This year, from February 6th for three days before Lunar New Year, gift sets and hanbok ranked first and fifth respectively among popular search terms."
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