Readers and gleaners on classifieds platforms: two forms of amateur labor on the second-hand book market

The resale of durable goods on the second-hand market can be explained by economic factors in a context of crisis and increasing inequalities. The democratization of digital technologies and new consumer values of reuse and waste reduction have also encouraged a move to give a second life to goods people have bought. This article examines two forms of work taken by book resellers on a popular French classifieds website, leboncoin. We explore the labour process, the skills required and the other reasons that explain why individuals devote their leisure time to the second-hand book market.