PCs, household appliances, electronics: these are the most popular categories when it comes to used items on Amazon in Italy. Behind every discounted purchase there is an inspection, cleaning and repair process that involves millions of products returned every year, and which from 1st to 10th September brings discounts of up to 50% on the main technology brands.
The relationship between Italians and second-hand goods increasingly passes through Amazonwhich returns from 1st to 10th September with the Second Hand Offers Festival. Additional discounts on tens of thousands of returned and refurbished products, from electronics to DIY, in a market that in Europe has surpassed the 2 billion euros in sales in 2025.
The numbers reveal a change in habits that goes beyond bargain hunting. Amazon has invested over $4 billion between 2024 and 2026 to strengthen returns management on the continent, with the declared aim of giving a second life to an ever-increasing number of objects that would otherwise end up forgotten in warehouses.
A saving of 380 million euros
In 2025, European customers have saved over 380 million euros purchasing second-hand products instead of new ones. On average the discount compared to the list price is close to 20%, but during the Second Hand Offers Festival it rises even further, reaching up to 50% on brands such as Apple, Sony, Samsung, Beats and LEGO in the “Good” condition.
In Italy the most popular categories remain PCs, consumer electronics, kitchen appliances and DIY items. It’s not surprising: they are also the sectors where the price of a new product weighs more heavily on the family budget, and where a good refurbished product can make the difference between postponing the purchase and taking it home immediately.
“Our investment in returns management in Europe is making it possible to give a second chance to an ever-increasing number of products,” explained Rory Feldman, Head of Returns and Recommerce at Amazon in Europe, underlining how each item is inspected by qualified specialists before going back on sale.
How the refurbishment machine works
Behind the label “second hand” there are two distinct programs. Amazon Second Hand collects used and open box products, with condition descriptions ranging from “Like new” to “Acceptable”, so as to orient the purchase based on the actual condition of the object. Amazon Renewedon the other hand, concerns actual refurbished products, sold by qualified partners after professional inspection, cleaning and testing.
When a customer returns a product, Amazon tests it, sanitizes it and, if necessary, repairs it. Those that pass the inspection in perfect condition return to the digital shelf as good as new, the others are sold at a discount, with a wider margin for truly used items than for those that are almost intact.
What cannot be resold but remains usable takes a different path: in 2025 Amazon and its partners have donated over 35 million products to European non-profit organizations.
Fewer returns, less waste
Amazon also aims to reduce returns upstream, before they even become a problem to manage. AI-generated review summaries and more detailed product sheets do just that: to make you choose better on the first try.
Size recommendation technology, for example, brings over 90% satisfaction among those who purchase the suggested size. Products with a historically high return rate are also accompanied by an explicit invitation to carefully read the description and reviews.
It is a logic that is intertwined with a broader trend. According to industry estimates, the European second chance economy market is now worth it over 21 billion euros and continues to grow, driven by three overlapping motivations: savings, sustainability and, increasingly often, simple convenience.
From 1st to 10th September, discounts of up to 50%
The Second Hand Offers Festival takes place on Amazon’s Second Hand and Renewed windows, with tens of thousands of items involved. For those with a long-delayed purchase in mind, the ten-day window is probably it the best time of the year to decide: the discounts are added to those already provided on refurbished products, and the selection affects almost all product categories, with over 60 million items available in Europe.
There remains one detail worth remembering. In an era where the word sustainability it is often used inappropriately: here the link between personal savings and less waste of resources is direct and measurable. This perhaps explains why, year after year, more and more Italians choose to buy used without feeling at fault.
