TY  - JOUR
A1  - Clausen, Jens
A1  - Blättel-Mink, Birgit
A1  - Erdmann, Lorenz
A1  - Henseling, Christine
T1  - Contribution of online trading of used goods to resource efficiency : an empirical study of eBay users
T2  - Sustainability
N2  - This paper discusses the sustainability impact (contribution to sustainability, reduction of adverse environmental impacts) of online second-hand trading. A survey of eBay users shows that a relationship between the trading of used goods and the protection of natural resources is hardly realized. Secondly, the environmental motivation and the willingness to act in a sustainable manner differ widely between groups of consumers. Given these results from a user perspective, the paper tries to find some objective hints of online second-hand trading’s environmental impact. The greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the energy used for the trading transactions seem to be considerably lower than the emissions due to the (avoided) production of new goods. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for second-hand trade and consumer policy. Information about the sustainability benefits of purchasing second-hand goods should be included in general consumer information, and arguments for changes in behavior should be targeted to different groups of consumers. Keywords: online marketplaces; online auctions; consumer; electronic commerce; used products; second-hand market; sustainable consumption
KW  - online marketplaces
KW  - online auctions
KW  - consumer
KW  - electronic commerce
KW  - used products
KW  - second-hand market
KW  - sustainable consumption
Y1  - 2011
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/22591
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30-113094
SN  - 2071-1050
N1  - © 2010 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an Open Access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
VL  - 2
IS  - 6
SP  - 1810
EP  - 1830
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -