Are people starting to offload their lockdown/staycation purchases?

I imagine that loads of people are either deferring purchases because of the cost of living crisis, or trying to sell stuff to make money because of the cost of living crisis.

Either way, discretionary expenditure is a bit lower down the priority order.

You know when the best time to sell camper vans, kayaks and other holiday stuff and get a quick sail for a good price? Right at the end of the holidays 😉 With or without lockdown or soaring bills non of that stuff would be moving quickly at this time of year.

We’ve got a Turbo Trainer sitting in the spare room that needs to go onto eBay, it’s not been used since it got too hot in May 2020.

Turns out I prefer riding my bike outside to in my spare room.

Consumer goods being sold off are all well and good, but I am worried that people won't be able to keep their recently acquired pet dogs as they move back into the office as home working becomes expensive to do this winter.

You know when the best time to sell camper vans, kayaks and other holiday stuff and get a quick sail for a good price? Right at the end of the holidays 😉 With or without lockdown or soaring bills non of that stuff would be moving quickly at this time of year.

Lol, I guess that time of year will have an impact, but a lot of these purchases (I'm also looking at you, hot tubs) were done at massively inflated prices and that bubble of demand appears to have burst beyond those seasonal variations. Some people could be seriously out of pocket.

A colleague of work is always complaining about his 2021 purchase of a £15K 'garden room' that now dominates his semi detached back garden and is used as a storage shed.

but I am worried that people won’t be able to keep their recently acquired pet dogs as they move back into the office as home working becomes expensive to do this winter.

already happening

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-62650444

https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/co-tyrone-animal-shelter-overwhelmed-24621774

I'm waiting for the bubble to burst.
Dependant on what you're interested in, there could be some great bargains.
Give it 6 months to really squeeze the best deals from others misfortune and forced sales.

frankconway
Full Member
I’m waiting for the bubble to burst.
Dependant on what you’re interested in, there could be some great bargains.
Give it 6 months to really squeeze the best deals from others misfortune and forced sales.

Nice, fully embracing yer inner tory there.

Nice, fully embracing yer inner tory there.

Nothing at all wrong with snapping up bargains if you can afford to. There’s nothing “inner Tory” about it!
I’m seriously thinking of holding back on my next bike purchase to see if any bargain second hand stuff pops up in the next few months.

Yeah that’s your Facebook algorithms showing them to you. That said they are easy to get hold of now as they’re in stock in shops, so secondhand ones aren’t seller as fast.

I was going to suggest it's Facebook algorithms too, especially if you've looked at any similar products anywhere online.

I accidentally broke a long-standing rule and clicked a clickbait article (amazing hacks for pvc pipe or some nonsense) and a few days later my Facebook feed is completely clogged with similar nonsense.

At the moment it's:
Group/Friends post
Marketplace ad
Advert
Marketplace ad
Group/Friends post
Clickbait

... And repeat...

Some people could be seriously out of pocket.

SiL and BiL bought a early 1990's seriously rusty Mazda Bongo for £12.5k... They've just spent £2k on chassis repairs and £500 on electrical issues to get it through the MOT. There's a few for sale locally for £3-6k....

Interesting snippet on the news this morning. Peleton have announced $1.2 Billion losses for 4th Quarter 2022. The reason being that people flocked to buy their goods and services during lockdowns and they geared up production anticipating that boom to continue. It didn't.

The local caravan servicing places are all fully booked for the next 2 months. Had a chat to one of the owners and he said that the bubble has not burst for his sector. If anything it is busier as people have started using their vans again after it lying dormant before the lockdown and they are now getting them in shape for the next few years when foreign holidays are too expensive

@scapegoat - There is almost weekly forecasts of doom for peleton based on sinking sales/turnover

I’m no expert but Peloton sound like they’re done for. According to this, their valuation has dropped from £50billion at the start of the pandemic to £3.6billion now. I’m sure things like the £40 a month subscription for a fancy clothes horse Exercise bike will be one of the first things to go once money gets tight.

Do the bikes work with other things like Zwift? If not it’ll be a very expensive waste of space if Peloton fold.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/25/peloton-losses-shares-plummet?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Not just Pelton - I was talking to someone in the bike trade the other day and their sales are 50% down on last year.

Campervan prices are definitely dropping, the overpriced stuff isn't selling.

To be expected - it's coming toward the end of summer, there's the fear of impending financial meltdown, and the COVID boom has ended. I think prices have a long way to drop yet.

was talking to someone in the bike trade the other day and their sales are 50% down on last year.

Also see the Pearl Izumi and Sportful sales in other threads with a lot of stuff 70% off. Late delivery of last years stock? Over ordered in boom and now no demand? Cash flow issue? It’s surely one of those.

Lol @ fancy clothes horse.

I think all of these subscription based services will be squeezed tbh. I wonder how the lease car market is / will fair? Can you take a lease back early?

@TheBrick pretty sure you can by paying a penalty, off the top of my head I think it is a sliding scale depending on how long is left on the lease

Also have a cheapo Planet X turbo trainer. Bought to relieve some boredom of the 2nd/3rd lockdown when it was mid winter/dark nights and then I remembered that using turbo trainers incite more boredom so used it once and then folded it up in the corner of the garage.

Anyone want it? Collection from York - will swap it for a few 4 packs of nice beer.

Im looking for a Canadian canoe, decent rowing machine and a gen1 Porsche Boxster, I reckon £100 should get me all three in January.

Ooh, please can I tangent...

If anyone has some rudimentary weights around Manchester that they want to sell, then let me know.

Please can this thread's title be edited so I don't keep seeing the "word" "stay**tion" 🤬

Please can this thread’s title be edited so I don’t keep seeing the “word” “stay**tion” 🤬

Yeah - change it to Holibobs!

I did impulse buy an Ibanez GIO something-or-other (looked ace, sounded shit) but was lucky enough to be able to punt it on in time. I can't think of owt else but there's bound to be something 🤣

Please can this thread’s title be edited so I don’t keep seeing the “word” “stay**tion”

Indeed. The key part of the word in 'staycation' is 'stay', i.e. staying at home, and doing holiday type stuff. Going on holiday in Cornwall in the campervan you bought in lockdown, loaded with the SUP, inflatable canoe and border terrier puppy that you also got in lockdown is, in fact, not a staycation, it's going on holiday.

I can just see the cheery headlines... 'Hardship Bargains in Broken Britain'..... 'Spend Your Way to Happiness'.. 😉

I stopped my Zwift subscription. Not because I couldn't afford it, mainly because it's sh1t.

Secondhand bike prices seem to have settled back down now, close to pre-Covid but perhaps with a bit for inflation.

With energy and other prices rising and winter on the way, the phenomenon described by OP could accelerate and we might be reading articles about "the great clear out" in months to come.

SiL and BiL bought a early 1990’s seriously rusty Mazda Bongo for £12.5k

OMG, I think some people completely lost the plot in lockdown.

I hate staycation to mean uk holiday. But I accept that words get there meaning from how they are used

I was googling  campervans yesterday, Adria Twin. I wasn’t seeing bargains. The new ones seem to have gone up in price which in turn seems to be supporting the price of the used market.

I reckon £100 should get me all three in January.

Or a loaf of bread and a pack of cheese.

OMG, I think some people completely lost the plot in lockdown.

There is a house just down the road from me that is divided into holiday lets. Very ambitious price 10 months ago, sold for 50k over asking. No way it was a viable business at that price. Back on the market already for more money, no takers yet…

I think it is starting, we picked up a spotless robens tipi tent as we needed a bigger one, came with stove and all the extra bits and we paid less than half its new cost.
Can't say i want anything but am sure that a lot of stuff will be on the market at way over what it is worth soon

Indeed. The key part of the word in ‘staycation’ is ‘stay’, i.e. staying at home, and doing holiday type stuff. Going on holiday in Cornwall in the campervan you bought in lockdown, loaded with the SUP, inflatable canoe and border terrier puppy that you also got in lockdown is, in fact, not a staycation, it’s going on holiday.

God yes. If we taxed everyone who used staycation to mean UK holiday £100 every time they said it and gave it to those in poverty we would be out of this mess.

In defence of the OP though, depending on where you live, kayaks/SUPs, hottubs and so on could well be an actual staycation.

Hey, don't shoot the messenger...we can call it Holistay if you prefer!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staycation

Lol @ fancy clothes horse.

I'm guessing that's what they're mainly used for if my sister is anything to go by.
She decided to buy one for her and her husband but didn't realise how big they were so it's stuck on the landing. After the initial novelty wore off and her posting photo's on social media about how she'd burned off 100 calories in a "workout" It now sits in the corner as unloved as a lockdown puppy.

I don’t think many people take a a hot tub on holiday, even if staying in the UK

The holiday lets people are the ones most at risk. That’s real money probably paid for with borrowing. Bikes and Kayaks were probably bought out of money that would have gone on a holiday. If you bought a used bike for £1000, road it during covid to keep your life on track, then sell it for £500 it’s hardly a disaster. It’s like a years gym membership

I wonder how the lease car market is / will fair? Can you take a lease back early?

You can but could be seriously out of pocket as the contracts state that there is a minimum payment, in my dad's cars case we could have been on the hook for 12 grand! (22k Corolla Estate) You can auction it via Motorway or one of the other trade sites but that's the only legal way to "sell" outside of returning to the dealers and hoping for the best. But if everyone else is doing it and supply exceeds demand I expect a lot of folk out of pocket.

EDIT: by lease I assume you mean PCP rather than actual leasing which not many folk do.

It's just the way of the world, boom and bust is just something we never learn from, and people buy stuff they never use, or will only use for a limited period, it's no new thing unfortunately, or fortunately if you're trying to buy stuff cheaper.

I've always paid upfront for cars so I dont know - isn't there some sort of insurance product you get with it incase you are unable to pay?
Of course I bet they word that to only apply to loss of income so no good for those who are still earning but spending all their money on heating gas.

Im looking for a Canadian canoe

@RustyNissanPrarie - a bit like cars not being made, part of the canoe issue is a severe shortage of supply, and supply of lighter boats now Royalex is deceased. It's taken a few years to get here, pre pandemic. The number of folk then taking up the sport in pandemic has just been the thick layer of icing.
And boats always were the 'bank of plastic'.

But you're right - there are 20 year old boats up for sale for +£200 over what they were new at present - and people are paying it...

We're just about to sell one of our boats to the neighbors (17' NovaCraft Prospector) and then sell the next one (16' NC Prospector, cracked) in the spring/next year as we're hunting down a new/newer 16' Esquif Prospector in T-Formex...

by lease I assume you mean PCP rather than actual leasing which not many folk do

Probably car finance is something I know close to zero other than some products are closer to a car subscription than a loan that about apay back.

I'd say so. A new to me road bike which my Dad no longer rides, is going onto a turbo trainer. Lots of reasonably priced ones on Ebay, whereas 18 months ago 2nd hand ones were going for nearly-new prices. I don't need anything super flash, just want one with some smart/ANT+/Bluetoothy features.

Probably the cost of living issue is also a factor too. I think people are looking for saleable things that will help keep the wolf from the door.

Consumer goods being sold off are all well and good, but I am worried that people won’t be able to keep their recently acquired pet dogs as they move back into the office as home working becomes expensive to do this winter.

Firstly, I really hate the stigmatization of people who have to give up their dogs for rehoming. For the absolute vast majority of people it was one of the most heartbreaking things you can do.

Unexpectedly we* didn't find this actually happened during filming. The kennels were full, but not entirely because of high turnover of lockdown pets coming in.

The real problem was people had had 2+ years where rehoming privately was as easy a putting their dog on Pets4Homes with a £2k pricetag and having desperate buyers beat their doors down. This meant a lot of problem dogs were passed around, being re-homed multiple times until eventually they were brought to the shelter completely broken and were going to take a lot of work to get them back to a state where they could be re-homed.

So we had full kennels, but the were all likely to be in there a long time.

This is also why if you phoned up a shelter you were very likely to be told there were no suitable dogs, even if they were full. Because a LOT of them either had a history of having bitten people, or other behavioral issues that just ruled them out for 99/100 applicants.

Lockdown puppies with no issues where people had unfortunately died, had their own medical issues, work patterns had changed, getting divorced, had kids, etc etc etc. Those were rehomed in days. The biggest issue was finding enough time to film them in the shelter before they were rehomed!

*we, long running TV series at a dog rehoming charity, you can figure out which one,.

Anyone got one of these cheap SUP's they want to offload?

'Inner tory' - that's a new insult but miles off the mark.
If there's a buying opportunity which fits my requirement I'll take it - there's nothing tory about that.
It's nothing other than being pragmatic.
What's your suggestion - don't buy if there's a bargain to be had?
The thread title clearly refers to unnecessary/non-essential purchases and my post was in direct response to that.

I imagine that loads of people are either deferring purchases because of the cost of living crisis, or trying to sell stuff to make money because of the cost of living crisis.

Either way, discretionary expenditure is a bit lower down the priority order.

Will depend where you are in the financially comfortable stakes. Suspect people buying holiday homes or even new campervans are probably not in the most affected by cost of living crisis category. The people who will be hit hardest by their electricity and gas bill tripling are people who never had discretionary spend on fancy toys in the first place.

Consumer goods being sold off are all well and good, but I am worried that people won’t be able to keep their recently acquired pet dogs as they move back into the office as home working becomes expensive to do this winter.

There can't be many people who are working from home and would find it cheaper to commute than heat a single room of their house. I'm sure there will be some who cycle to work and shower at work to save the money but I wonder how many of them were making dog impulse purchases during lockdown?

Not just Pelton – I was talking to someone in the bike trade the other day and their sales are 50% down on last year.

Are you our finance director? that the sort of stupid analysis he does. "Why are we selling 50% less than last quarter?". Because last quarter was an absolutely exceptional quarter where some unusual things happened and it was actually 3x the average - nobody claimed it was normal, we are still above the average and in a trend of growth.

I think all of these subscription based services will be squeezed tbh. I wonder how the lease car market is / will fair? Can you take a lease back early?

Depends on the terms, some you can. Given the prices of cars though I'm not sure many people who "need" a car for work are going to be switching from lease to purchase. That's the sort of decision that capital rich people get to make.

Iavoided splashing out on anything massively overpriced during the lockdowns so only have stuff that I will use anyway (Wahoo Kicker, new computer) or that holds its value (Lego, Mini) but the amount of crap some friends bought is unreal. One is currently bombarding Facebook with ads for selling: sex pond, garden furniture, Peloton bike, mini home bar, trailer tent (that they never used!), home mini projector and a wealth of SUP and camping gear. A few have camper vans they can't shift as they've failed MOT's (one is an old X reg Transit that has basically split in half at the bulkhead, paid £9k for it last year!) and one has a holiday let they're desperate to sell as they leveraged themselves way too much while trying to make a quick buck out of the 'Staycation' boom.

All are normally sensible people but they all went nuts on their furlough pay

‘Inner tory’ – that’s a new insult but miles off the mark.

I suspect it was this sentence which trigger the Inner Tory remark:

Give it 6 months to really squeeze the best deals from others misfortune and forced sales.

Statement of fact.
Unfortunately, the world we live in isn't a caring, sharing place.

To be fair, if this was the energy company thread we'd all be calling for every contributors lynching as a "disaster capitalist".

Statement of fact.
Unfortunately, the world we live in isn’t a caring, sharing place.

I'd agree, the problem with large scale capitalism is if you opt out, it has no impact (other than in this case potentially driving the price even lower).

we’re hunting down a new/newer 16′ Esquif Prospector in T-Formex…

@matt_outandabout
How much are you prepared to overpay for a nice 2019 red boat!? 😉
Maybe thinking of selling mine as it doesn't get used and my Northstar covers 90% of paddling needs. It was purchased in 2019 and had limited use. Config is wooden trim, kneeling thwart, mast hole front seat (and mast foot) and full lacing. Currently sat in back garden but spent most of its life hanging in the garage undercover.

Some people are still in Dreamland when it comes to prices.

Prime example. 150 mile old 2021 Vitus Vitesse Evo CR AXS, up for £2850, £3200 new.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125360488819?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=-TnFgtZjSuC&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=qgBXRGuhTDe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

You can buy a brand new 2022 model with the same exact spec for £2699 from wiggle...

🤣😵‍💫

@matt_outandabout

@RustyNissanPrarie – a bit like cars not being made, part of the canoe issue is a severe shortage of supply, and supply of lighter boats now Royalex is deceased

I'll be honest and say I know little about canoe's - I've been using the wife's SUP in canoe mode and figured a Canadian would be better. The royalex story is interesting reading.

@ta11pau1. I always wonder about the number of watchers on things like this, are they buyers or people trying to sell similar and trying to gauge demand.

There was a T5 camper on a few days ago with over 500 watchers, it didn't make reserve...

we can call it Holistay

You could, but I'm afraid I'd have to give you a kick in the knackers 🙂

thisisnotaspoon - that's a really interesting, and sad, explanation of the dog shelter situation

Probably car finance is something I know close to zero other than some products are closer to a car subscription than a loan that about apay back.

https://www.arnoldclark.com/newsroom/006-pcp-pch-or-hp-car-finance-explained

That explains it all, long and the short is that you are in for the full term like mobile contracts and you need to buy yourself out. That's why the stories of folk turning up to food banks in Porsches started (Aberdeen during the oil downturn), people couldn't afford to give the cars back.

Given the prices of cars though I’m not sure many people who “need” a car for work are going to be switching from lease to purchase. That’s the sort of decision that capital rich people get to make.

How many of those capital poor people do you think are paying at least £250 a month for a PCP/PHP/Lease (in order of likelihood) as opposed to driving their old sub £2K car into the ground? People buying cars on PCP are not short of the money or credit rating (for now) to buy a car outright or on a loan. People who aren't tend not to have £250 odd a month to spunk on a car.

Statement of fact.
Unfortunately, the world we live in isn’t a caring, sharing place.

Still a shitty thing to say, taking advantage of other folks misfortune.

Camper vans were getting silly, but I'd imagine the price of fuel (£160 plus to fill a van) has led to some people wanting to offload plus with winter on the way it's the wrong time to be selling. Plus, with the cost of living, a few people will be offloading unused/little used things to free up some cash. I had a mass clear out in spring to raise for cash for, funnily enough, a van conversion, and was amazed at how much you could get for unused stuff cluttering up the house!

Not getting rid of my camper, with mortgages rates and energy bills set to rise, I may be living in it! Am in the market for a gravel/bike packing bike though...

Still a shitty thing to say, taking advantage of other folks misfortune.

Not really. Nobody made people overpay for things. They bought in a period of high demand, low supply. Presumably they had the excess money to spend and they have had a year or two usage out of whatever it is.

What are people supposed to do now, offer them the same inflated price out of some false altruism then get lumbered with something that isn’t worth what you paid?

Not really. Nobody made people overpay for things. They bought in a period of high demand, low supply. Presumably they had the excess money to spend and they have had a year or two usage out of whatever it is.

Also not going to get upset about this.

Waiting for mortgage forclosures to snap up some BTL housing for cheap, yes thats shitty.

Buying someones 2020 paddleboard at half price is all good. If they had spent that money on a [what they would call a] proper holiday instead, they would have nothing to show for it/sell at all.

Buying someones 2020 paddleboard at half price is all good

This is exactly my thinking too. My board is looking a bit used (because it has been very used) so I'd like to upgrade it and there's got to be some that have seen less than a tenth of the hours on the water mine has.

I don't understand how peleton got such a high valuation in the first place. Wasn't it obvious that their growth was essentially lockdown driven?

The key part of the word in ‘staycation’ is ‘stay’, i.e. staying at home, and doing holiday type stuff. Going on holiday in Cornwall in the campervan you bought in lockdown, loaded with the SUP, inflatable canoe and border terrier puppy that you also got in lockdown is, in fact, not a staycation, it’s going on holiday.

Hey! The puppy came after lockdown.

There was a T5 camper on a few days ago with over 500 watchers, it didn’t make reserve…

Not T5's, but my eBay watch list is mostly bikes that are overpriced. I've zero intention of bidding on any of them but it means I get a ping when they're eventually re-listed.

Or in the wierd case of one set of formula brakes I was watching with the hoses cut off, that were at what I thought were sensibly priced but I had no need. The seller just doubled the price to one where you could get some that still had hoses 🤷

Bit mixed on this. I was predicting a bit of an availability rebound after lockdown - all those bikes being bought when gyms were shut and we were only allowed to exercise on our own. Then as things opened and also into winter I suspected people would sit on them until spring - riding in winter takes commitment but there would be 'but I'll start again when good weather returns....' which would then lose out to the lure of the gym or pub for many. I was OK with that, if they're not using them I'd happily take them off their hands.

But people who want to keep them and being forced to sell to pay a food shop or gas bill.... doesn't sit as well for me.

The other thing I have mixed feelings about, and I might get flamed here. We've had artificially low interest rates and energy bills, we've known this was coming. We also had because of lockdown opportunities to reduce expenditure - no commuting, no socialising, etc. How many used that opportunity to build up an emergency fund and how many bought toys they didn't need and in hindsight can't really afford. I don't know if I have the same sympathy for them.

Still a shitty thing to say, taking advantage of other folks misfortune.

TBH, we get a 'will the housing market collapse?' hope-thread every now and again on here. Which equally relies on the current misfortunes of people who over-extended themselves in the good times and are now are desperate to sell, even with negative equity.

Even the classifieds on here fairly often involves someone who has to N-1 because they need the money urgently.

Probably not the done thing to express it quite that clearly, mind you.

Can't imagine many of the hot-tub purchases in lockdown will be getting fired up this winter, given the price of energy.

TBH, we get a ‘will the housing market collapse?’ hope-thread every now and again on here. Which equally relies on the current misfortunes of people who over-extended themselves in the good times and are now are desperate to sell, even with negative equity.

yep, people braying for a "correction" which magically halves house prices across the country. Benefiting those with no house, not really affecting those with a fully paid up house. But financial ruin for anyone who is currently paying off a mortgage. (and a massive blow for anyone standing to inherit their parents house).

we can call it Holistay

You could, but I’m afraid I’d have to give you a kick in the knackers

Thanks for that IHN 🤣🙃👍

yep, people braying for a “correction” which magically halves house prices across the country. Benefiting those with no house,

Agreed

not really affecting those with a fully paid up house.

Agreed

But financial ruin for anyone who is currently paying off a mortgage.

Not necessarily, if they stay in the house they'll just have a house that's possibly worth less than they paid for it. Annoying, but not ruinous. Financial ruin only comes if they need to sell, and the sale proceeds won't cover the outstanding mortgage.

(and a massive blow for anyone standing to inherit their parents house).

True, but registers pretty low on my sympathy-ometer

I always thought Ebay bikes were overpriced (with the odd exception). On my local FB marketplace someone is advertising an Ultegra speccd Trek road bike for £150. I am sorely tempted.

Holistay

I always thought almost everything on Ebay bikes were overpriced

FTFY.

There's used Garmin Fenix 6x watches still being listed for more than new ones are on Amazon currently.

Although there are some bargains, I won a vacmaster fan (non remote version) for £29, local collection only though which will cost me £10 so £40 total Vs £70 brand new delivered.

but I am worried that people won’t be able to keep their recently acquired pet dogs as they move back into the office as home working becomes expensive to do this winter.

Our street used to be quite quiet, in the last two years half our bloody neighbours got lock down dogs which are now left at home all day yapping their heads off as their owners go back to work.

On my local FB marketplace someone is advertising an Ultegra speccd Trek road bike for £150.

Seeing as getting a pair of second-hand hydraulic Ultegra shifters is around the £300 mark (ST-RS685 or ST-R8020) for my Genesis Equilibrium rebuild, I have started to think it may be a lot better value in picking up the sort of thing you've seen and then just selling the rest of the bike that I won't need.

All a bit nuts really but there are definitely people out there still pricing things very high, and presumably getting away with it.

*edit - on second thoughts, scrap that*

I always thought almost everything on Ebay were overpriced

mostly this, but as said a few bargains.

I was very interested in a camper that was bid up to £13k, didn't sell due to reserve. Now it's back up as a classified Ad at £18k. Im at a loss, how can the owner think they will suddenly get £5k more from the same buying pool who only thought it worth £13?

#Holistay

On my local FB marketplace someone is advertising an Ultegra speccd Trek road bike for £150. I am sorely tempted.

Genuine seller? Or local bike thief?