Secoo urges people to put their dusty, unused luxury goods back in circulation by selling them. Photo: IC

A second-hand market for luxury goods has sprung up in China. Statistics from the China Resale Goods Trade Association show that every day, the total amount of unused domestic luxury items lying idle is worth more than 500 billion yuan ($81 billion). The number is growing at an annual rate of 5 percent. 

The Fortune Character Institute recently released its "2013 China Luxury Report," which makes an important point - one of the four major growth areas for China's luxury market is the rapid growth of second-hand luxury transactions.

As China's largest luxury goods trading platform, Secoo stands out in the luxury second-hand trading market. In July 2008, Secoo officially kicked off an online marketplace. That same year in October, Secoo's first offline store opened in Ji'nan, Shandong Province. At the beginning, Secoo did not focus on second-hand luxury transactions. It was more like a department store with goods including children's toys, household and electronic goods, natural jade bracelets, expensive clothes and LV bags.

In 2009, the team started to realize they should focus on high-end luxury goods consignment. In July 2009, Secoo abandoned the department store concept and become a company specializing in second-hand luxury consignment in Beijing.

Secoo originally did not do too much marketing. It tentatively tried to find some customers through friends and acquaintances. In the process of consignment, the first important step is "authenticity" - that is, assessing an item for authenticity. Another important part is "pricing." For commodity pricing, Secoo has a complete database system library. It classifies the condition and wear and tear on goods in accordance with prevailing international standards.

In order to win the trust of consumers quickly, Secoo found experts in the industry and formed a professional team. Many are appraisers who have been in the field for more than a decade, bringing a sense of trust because of their professional knowledge.

Secoo cooperated with high-end clubs, like wine clubs and investment forums, gradually becoming the leading second-hand luxury trading platform.

Zhou Ting, the head of the Fortune Character Institute, said "We may have a bad impression about buying second-hand, and believe it is for people who do not have enough money to buy new items. Actually, this is not necessary the case. Many people who are in their forties will also come in order to trade limited edition works of art and collectibles, which are priceless. All in all, the second-hand luxury trading market has a large space for further development."