Still taboo to give second-hand toys as gifts?

The face of the second-hand economy changes from year to year. While prejudices gradually fall as the cost of living increases, one last persistent taboo is also evolving, that of giving used gifts at Christmas.

At Réno-Jouets, high season is in full swing. Once again this year, the organization plans to break its own record in sales volume. He receives nearly 50,000 toys monthly and finds, sometimes unique, are among the lot.

Old editions of the board game Château Lafortune are particularly popular as are certain items bearing the image of Harry Potter, such as chess sets. We also received this Fisher Price house from 1969says François Gingras, director of development and communications at Réno-Jouets.

People say: “Huh! I had this house when I was young, I played with the same guys! They sometimes decide to pay a little more to take the version vintage for their children and grandchildrenhe gives as an example.

François Gingras is witness to the paradigm shift around second-hand buying. He notices that many people, who had never set foot in a resource or thrift store before, are now regular customers.

Many tell us: “I really like your store and I shop here all the time, but I would never buy my Christmas gifts there since they are not in new packaging.”

The director of development and communications deplores that adults have formed the ideology according to which a child wants to receive a toy in a box. According to him, when children receive a gift, the first thing they want to do is remove it from its packaging as quickly as possible to play with it.

Rethinking toy consumption

Gabriel Blanchette is the father of two children. At his house, toys are very rarely bought new, if ever. They come from resource stores and thrift stores while others are rented from the Joujouthèque at the Gabrielle-Roy library.

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People may ask us how much we’re saving, but we don’t know what to tell them, because we don’t buy new toys so much that we can’t compare! he says, alongside a small children’s kitchenette. This one cost him around $40, while it sells for around $120 when new.

I think we need to ask ourselves why we have toys. Do we always need to add toys to our household or do we prefer to rotate? For children, it is much more interesting when new toys arrive regularly he explains.

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Buy used… online

To respond to growing enthusiasm, Réno-Jouets launched its online sales platform in December 2023. Delivery has been free since the start of 2024.

The objective is to allow customers who cannot necessarily travel to the organization’s only branch to still buy second-hand.

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Several toy stores, such as Benjo and the store Toys “R” Us of Laurier Québec, recently announced their closure. According to François Gingras, the advent of online purchasing certainly has something to do with it.

Réno-Jouets is not in direct competition with these retailers, but we said to ourselves that it would allow us to stand out even morehe maintains.

A growing movement

The second-hand market has become widely democratized in recent years and is even popular among younger generations, argues Maryse Côté-Hamel, professor of consumer sciences at Laval University.

The rising cost of living and protection of the environment are the main arguments that push customers to favor the purchase of used toys.

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It is not uncommon to see people turning first to second hand and then supplementing with slightly more high-end toys for Christmas.indicates the professor, who specifies that in this way, the consumer does not not necessarily pay more.

Toys made of wood or resistant materials are particularly popular with customers, unlike plastic toys sold in supermarkets, also adds Maryse Côté-Hamel.