My favorite thing about thrifting is the treasure hunt. You never know what you’ll find or how good of a deal you’ll get. Thrift stores and garage sales have always been my go-to, but the internet has brought us even more options. Platforms like eBay, Etsy, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace offer a million possibilities for finding secondhand items. Some are even industry-specific, like Vinted and ThredUp in the fashion industry. Thrifting has always brought me joy and excitement, but some people worry that the fun of the treasure hunt might be coming to an end.
With new technologies, especially AI, everything is becoming a lot more “optimized”. If algorithms can quickly find the hidden gems, what’s left for people like us? Today, we’ll see how technology has impacted online thrifting and the secondhand market, and how the experience has changed over the years.
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