How Australians can make $5300 from unwanted items on Gumtree

It’s the easiest five grand you’ll ever make – and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home to cash in.

Australians could stand to make $5300 each if they find the time to sell the junk accumulating in their home.

A new report commissioned by online marketplace Gumtree found that the average Aussie has 21 unwanted items lying around in their house that could be sold for some quick cash.

One in five Australian households have 40 items or more left forgotten and unused.

The “circular economy” is estimated to be worth a staggering $48 billion – if people would get around to selling their stuff.

And 40 per cent of Aussies don’t realise the untapped potential of selling their old items, the report found.

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The linear economy is when you buy an item, use it and throw it away. The circular economy is turning that on its head.

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Office furniture, dining tables, cars and home decor are the four most popular items to buy on Gumtree.

When it comes to selling preloved items, clothing and shoes were the most common sale listings in 2020, accounting for 44 per cent.

That was followed by second-hand furniture, responsible for 28 per cent of sales.

The remaining 26 per cent came from books, electronics and toys.

Of those who were on Gumtree, they sold on average 16 items per person over the last year.

That’s a total of 110 million items spared from landfill and lining people’s wallets with a little extra cash.

It’s the easiest $5000 you ever made – and didn’t even know you had. Picture: Getty

‘Nation of hoarders’

Surveying more than 1000 Australians in May 2021, the “Trading in the Circular Economy” report found that Gumtree is primarily used by Millennials.

That’s despite Generation X admitting to hoarding their items the most.

Gen X-ers said that they saved 90 per cent of their items from landfill in the survey, which was the most out of any age group.

Millennials made on average $6907 from second-hand sales, while Gen X-ers made $3669.

Baby Boomers were behind both, at $3399 per person.

Around 46 per cent of Millennials want to sell old products online, while Baby Boomers were less motivated, with only 34 per cent wanting the same thing.

The report concluded that Australia is a “nation of hoarders”, as 87 per cent of people have preloved or unused items gathering dust in their home.

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Time to stop hoarding and start selling. Picture: Getty

The second-hand market has grown by 89 per cent in the last 10 years.

The circular economy has risen by four per cent since 2020.

Mark Kehoe, from Gumtree Australia, said that financial strains brought about by the pandemic had pushed more people to resort to the circular economy to save money.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has been tough on many Australians emotionally, and financially,” he said in a statement.

“Fifty-three per cent of Australians who experienced a decrease in revenue or income due to Covid-19 have bought or sold items through the circular economy to supplement the income or revenue they lost during this time.”