Four Takeaways from the Recommerce Caucus Capitol Hill Briefing

What resellers want policymakers to understand.

Michael Phillips dabbled with selling on eBay while building his career in the federal government, but his ecommerce business really took off after he retired. It became a second career.

He now sells vintage items — ranging from Japanese Meiji Bronze Candlesticks to Turkish door knockers — through his store Antiques Brocante. Since joining eBay in 1998, Phillips has sold nearly 2,000 items on eBay — to customers in all 50 states and 25 different countries — while maintaining a 100% positive feedback rating.

Phillips recently brought that experience to Capitol Hill, joining two other resellers and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, co-chair of the bipartisan Recommerce Caucus, for the “Americana at 250: Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Vintage” lunch and learn. The briefing brought together lawmakers, sellers and others to discuss the growing secondhand economy, the role of online marketplaces in supporting small businesses and the policies shaping the future of recommerce.

Here are four takeaways from the conversation:

1) Recommerce is big — and getting bigger.

The global second-hand market surpassed $475 billion in 2025, and with demand continuing to rise, it is projected to reach $854 billion by 2030. eBay’s 2025 Recommerce Report found more than one-in-three — 35% — of people buy used goods monthly or more often.

2) Buying used lets people dress fashionably, affordably and sustainably.

Kamlager-Dove praised recommerce platforms and sellers for providing quality, in-style clothes at reasonable costs, while also making it possible for Americans to easily launch and grow their own businesses.

“The re-commerce economy is helping to democratize access to entrepreneurship, creativity, and sustainability,” she said. “It helps me with making sure that I can get the best bargain while I'm looking fashionable and original.”

 READ MORE: eBay’s Second-hand Goods in Global Trade report

3) Social media and tariffs have upturned the vintage fashion market.

Social media has helped make thrifting a popular hobby, as influential creators post updates about their hauls and treasured finds. Rajni Rao, one of the co-founders of Vintage Vintage Vintage, a fashion collective in Washington, D.C, said social media caused an explosion of interest in clothes from previous eras. 

She added the surge in popularity — in addition to higher tariffs making imported used goods from other countries more expensive — has complicated sourcing vintage fashion.

4) Recommerce requires thoughtful regulation.

Policies developed with traditional ecommerce in mind often have unintended consequences for resellers who rely on different supply chains, shipping processes and sales systems.

The bipartisan Recommerce Caucus, chaired by Representatives Kamlager-Dove and Nicole Malliotakis, seeks to address this problem by ensuring the unique needs of resellers are represented in conversations focused on trade, small businesses, and sustainability on Capitol Hill.

The Caucus’s recently released legislative priorities support a stronger future for recommerce by:

• Protecting lawful resale while combating counterfeit goods.
• Creating practical compliance standards for second-hand goods.
• Supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses.
• Reducing waste through resale, repair, and refurbishment.
• Promoting global trade in used goods.