Cash Conscious Brits Search for Second Hand Summer Fun

June 22, 2011 - PRLog -- Cash-strapped Brits are still determined to have a summer of fun, despite rising living costs, by snapping up bargain, second hand seasonal items, according to the UK’s most passionate second hand sales site, www.preloved.co.uk.

While recent figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that retail sales volumes dropped by 1.4% month-on-month in May, with supermarkets, electrical goods and DIY stores seeing sales slide, the second hand classified advertising site, which attracts over six million visits a month, has seen a marked increase in searches for a range of items associated with the summer months, including everything from caravans and camper vans to windbreaks.

Ian Buzer, Managing Director of Preloved, said, “With weekly outgoings on the rise caused by the soaring cost of living and stagnant salaries, more and more people are realising that in order to enjoy their leisure time they need to make their money stretch further, and they can do so by purchasing good quality second hand items.”

The site has seen users posting adverts for camping and caravanning equipment increase by 38% since last year; while responses to such advertisements have also climbed by over a third to 35%.

In other sectors associated with summer, second hand buyers looking for gardening gear has increased by an impressive 106%, while searches for cycles has risen by 86% and boating by 82%.

The recent increase in searches for caravans and camper vans also suggests that a growing number of people will be looking to holiday at home this year. “It seems that the ‘staycation’ phenomenon is here to stay as camping and caravanning breaks offer the chance to get away for less, and buying a well-maintained second hand vehicle or tent is a great way to reduce costs even further,” said Ian.

Alongside searches for al fresco accommodation and equipment, another area of the site that has seen a marked increase in activity is Preloved’s UK Holiday Accommodation category. Ian said, “We’re seeing increasing numbers of visitors to the site seeking suitable accommodation for a staycation break by sending responses to advertisements for property in the UK. Searches in this category have increased by 60% since this time last year.”

Cash-conscious motorists feeling the effects of rising fuel prices at the pump are another group which is utilising the second-hand website to find ways of reducing running costs. Ian said, “We’ve noticed that cars which offer greater fuel efficiency and are cheaper to run, such as Smart cars, are being searched for at an increasing rate.
This seems to back-up the recent findings of research by The Institute for Fiscal Studies which found that the cost of fuel was having the biggest impact on people’s finances.”

Members of Preloved can also use its free advertising service to clear out the clutter and make some extra cash in time for summer. “Selling unwanted items is a great way to raise extra funds that can go towards a family holiday or break. People can potentially be sitting on hundreds of pounds locked up in things they never use, so it makes sense to buy and sell second hand this summer,” Ian said.

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Preloved is the UK's leading second hand website, with hundreds of thousands of adverts in over 500 categories. Each month the site attracts over 2.4 million unique visitors and has a membership of 870,000. It is in the top 500 most visited UK sites.