Second-hand retailers in Australia are seeing more people donating unwanted items amid the coronavirus pandemic, as well as shopping for pre-loved clothes, accessories and equipment online.

Published: 15/08/2020

Alex Leung left his career in finance to start re-selling luxury handbags. 

It was a good move, the 35-year-old says. 

“Our bag sales have tripled during COVID-19,” he told SBS News. “Our inbox is constantly flooded out, and we are actually struggling to even process all the queries.”

“A lot of people may have lost their jobs, so they're clearing out their cupboards and they're selling some of their items, and some are quite valuable.”

Alex and his wife Angela live close to the business, The Purse Affair, in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Waverley.

Alex comes from an entrepreneurial family who migrated to Australia from Hong Kong. His father gave up a career as an executive chef and his mother ran a successful beauty business.