An examination of the marketing mix in second-hand product buying/selling processes: A study on e-commerce platforms

Second-hand consumption is increasing day by day and has become quite popular today and is being purchased more by consumers. Especially in terms of time saving and easy accessibility, most digital consumers prefer to shop second-hand via e-commerce platforms. In this context, the aim of the research is to examine the marketing mix in the second-hand buying and selling process on e-commerce platforms in Turkey. While second-hand products were initially bought and sold from physical stores, with the development of technology and the introduction of the internet into our lives, second-hand products have started to be bought and sold via e-commerce platforms. The importance of e-commerce platforms has increased as consumers sell products they do not use or do not want to use via platforms or purchase second-hand products that consumers need. It is thought that this research, which will be conducted on the users of second-hand platforms, which are seen as a new sector, and the marketing mix elements, will contribute to the literature on its subject. For this purpose, the electronic commerce platforms selling second-hand products and marketing mix elements were evaluated with content analysis using the purposeful sampling method among the sampling methods within the scope of the research. In addition, data was collected from consumers using e-commerce platforms with 20 face-to-face interview questions prepared during the research process. According to the research results, it was determined that the features such as sufficient information about the product, product price range and necessary photos for the visuality of the product were available on the platforms used by the participants. The products uploaded on the platforms used vary from product to product seller depending on their usage status. It is important to inform consumers about how the payment for the products purchased on second-hand product platforms will be provided. Shipping and delivery are other important elements for consumers. Consumers want to know when, how and in what way the products they purchased will be delivered to them. Therefore, detailed information should be clearly stated in the description section of the products with this element.