Tori.fi helps Finnish people consume in a responsible manner: “Consumer-to-consumer sales enable people to by exactly what they want second-hand”

“Tori.fi came to Finland from Sweden. With the Swedish online service Blocket, people were selling and buying second-hand furniture, cars and bikes.

Schibsted, the group owning Blocket, sensed that consumer awareness in Finland was at a sufficient level for a similar business. In 2009, Jussi Lystimäki founded Tori.fi, which operates under the Schibsted group. Since 2010, Finnish people have been selling and buying second-hand goods on the platform that over the years has developed into the most popular online store for second-hand goods in the country.

Tori.fi is a free service to consumers. The profit comes from companies that advertise or sell their products on the platform. For example, companies can sell their last product batches, surplus products and item removals in Tori’s stores. Tori.fi provides excellent visibility to companies as more than three million individual people visit the website every month.

The joy of discovery is at the heart of purchases on Tori.fi. People value the stories behind the objects. For many, a used product is worth more than an odourless and tasteless new product. The same also applies increasingly to presents. In a survey we conducted in winter 2020, 86 per cent of respondents said they would react positively to receiving a second-hand product as a Christmas present.

The trends and most popular products in consumer-to-consumer sales reflect the high seasons and events in the rest of the world. For example, it is not worthwhile selling skis on Tori.fi before there is snow. With consumer-to-consumer sales, people can buy the products they need second-hand and also conveniently get rid of things that sit in their cupboards and storage spaces.

During the Covid-19 epidemic, our turnover increased dramatically and the list of the most popular product groups changed entirely. Before the virus, people mostly bought clothes and products related to building, renovation and hobbies. In the past 12 months, the most popular categories have been interior decoration and furniture, homes and cars. Consumer behaviour reflects the changes in people’s lives.

People consume in a more and more responsible way and want to protect the environment. Last year, Finnish people saved 195,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions through consumer-to-consumer sales on Tori.fi compared to buying new products. The figure corresponds to the emissions caused by transport in Helsinki over three months. The more goods circulate from people to people, the more there is pressure on companies to manufacture products that can be recycled.”