This inbox item caught my eye. Ebay commissioned a survey on behalf of their fast growing Kijiji product (it competes with and engages in litigation with Craigslist).
The survey revealed surprising (I use the term sarcastically) facts such as:
- 90% of Americans have at least one unused item lying around the house
- Unused electronics items can be found in more than 2/3 of households (70%)
- 38% of men are holding onto old electronics, compared to 35% of women
Want to sell that junk? You won’t get much for it. The average purchase price and resale value is below. Ebay turns those lemons into lemonade though: “Although you may not get much money back in some cases, it’s better than nothing – especially in these tough economic times. And we all know how quickly the value of electronics depreciates, so those poor saps holding onto their first-generation iPhones should probably unload them ASAP!”
Get that stuff on Kijiji pronto! On a side note, I wish we had unlimited amounts of money to commission random surveys.









See all



Most of us have more than 10 things considered “useful” that we keep for the “future” that we will never use.
It’s just a way of life!
http://blabtech.blogspot.com
I ran a chain of eBay consignment shops back when that was new, and quickly discovered that people pretty much ONLY have junk. The items listed above, as low a value as they are, were the only things that ever generated any revenue at all. eBay’s bread and butter.
It doesn’t take a survey to figure out that most Americans have too much crap.
Precisely why i use http://www.swaptree.com. Not only do i have a lot of media i don’t want, but i know i wont get allot for it on sites like ebay and craigslist. So i just trade it for something i do want on swaptree.
Yes, Arrington. Commission a survey about how reading about a product on highly-read tech blogs increases trust in the product or company behind it.
I wonder if there’s a company that deals in people buying crap they don’t need. You know? Like niche stuff. And I wonder if that company deals in people selling crap that other people don’t need?
Hmm.
I would think Ebay would be more worried about the number of sellers that are leaving them due to their policy changes. For example, most of the artists selling on Ebay have moved on to Etsy.
“# 90% of Americans have at least one unused item lying around the house
# Unused electronics items can be found in more than 2/3 of households (70%)”
Obviously a poorly done, flawed survey. Both numbers should be 98+%.
just donate that stuff instead of selling it and take the tax credit
If “Kijiji” was a captcha, it’d boggle my eyeballs!
It isn’t just Americans who buy crap on Ebay.
Brits do it too.
Many buy stuff to resell at a higher price in home run businesses.
I fail to disagree as I look into my Pantry and look at all those Gourmet Food I bought from the corner aisle of Publix and Kroger… which I have been collecting for months.
http://mydatingtree.blogspot.com/
Mike.
Seriously dude, you just gave a shameless add for Kijijijijijijji. Why are you helping Ebay silently. Ebay is a crack headed Microsoft. Nothing Ebay makes will be worth while, ever. One day something actually good will come along and finally get rid of there crap.
Ebay should use their own site by getting a new brain someone has left unused. It’s gotta be better than theirs now.
Interesting to see how companies like TechForward are approaching this problem. Definitely a big opportunity in a more efficient mechanism for the disposal of used consumer electronics…
“The average purchase price and resale value is below.”
Errr…what?
Not surprised at all by the results of that survey…I buy stuff that I don`t need all the time on ebay myself.
PLEASE link to the original survey when you post these results. What was the sample? How was it administered?
So, Kijiji commissioned a study, which finding is that we got stuff we do not use anymore, and that they costed more that what we can resell them for? Fascinating….
I want to sell a study that would eventually discover that a broken camera is worth less that one in pristine conditions, whom shall I contact at eBay?
If you want to get rid of the 1st generation iphone sell it to freeiPhoneswap.com
Curbsidebooty.com gives you the heads up on where free, usable stuff is being dumped on the streets, sidewalks and curbs of New York City so that you can get lucky, recycle and help keep our city clean! Email us info on where you’ve seen stuff being chucked out or if you have the inside scoop on when it’s going to happen and we will post the address here on the Curbside Booty blog!
we got stuff we do not use anymore, but they costed more than what we can resell them for?