When workers lose their jobs, they begin to tap their savings to make ends meet. But in a long recession with high unemployment, people start looking for alternative sources of income to continue to feed themselves, according to Bruce Hutchinson, professor of economics at UTC.
“Lots of things that you have accumulated around your apartment or home can be sold, so it is not a surprise that you see more selling on eBay,” Hutchinson said.
Business has been booming at SmartHotBuys, which according to the owner is a Chattanooga-based business in which consumers drop off their valuables to be sold on eBay, Amazon, Overstock, Yahoo and other online storefronts.
Anil Anand, owner of SmartHotBuys, said that while more people have been selling rare and personal items, buyers have been getting harder to find.
For instance, rare lithographs that went for $300 in the fourth quarter of 2009 go for $200 now, he said.