Luxury resale and brand equity: Motivation-based value appraisals and first-hand benchmarks

The expansion of the second-hand luxury market raises an important issue about how consumers appraise luxury value in resale contexts and what this implies for brand equity. Building on self-determination theory and a multidimensional view of luxury value, we examine the role of second-hand consumption motives in forming luxury value perceptions. We also account for consumers' comparative orientation toward first-hand counterparts and propose an integrated model that explains both perceived luxury values and perceived value gaps. Using structural equation modeling, we find that motivations relate selectively to value perceptions and to the magnitude of the perceived gap. In addition, luxury value perceptions predict brand equity and intentions to purchase second-hand luxury, suggesting that resale markets can influence the original brand's equity. This research contributes a consolidated perspective on luxury value in second-hand settings and offers implications for luxury brand managers and resale platforms.