Cash saving gadgets like heated airers and air fryers selling for £1,000 online as families face cost-of-living Christmas
5 December 2022, 11:16 | Updated: 5 December 2022, 11:41
Sold out household device that are being tipped as cash saving godsends in the cost-of-living crisis are changing hands online for double or sometimes triple the retail price, LBC has discovered.
Plug in heated clothes driers, and air fryers, have been hailed as ways to slash energy bills as costs skyrocket.
But the best-buy items are selling out, with two per customer limits in place for some items as people try to buy them up and sell them for profit online.
One of the most sought after items, Lakeland’s Dry:Soon Deluxe 3-Tier Heated Airer, which is listed for £199.99 on Lakeland’s website, is currently on sale on auction site eBay for up to £1,000.
Read more: Severe level 3 cold weather alert issued for England
Other listings show the item, which dries clothes without the need to turn on the central heating, for £499.99 for ‘brand new’ examples. Even used examples are being sold higher than the list price, at around £250.
John Lewis also stocks a highly sought after heated clothes airer. The £100 John Lewis 3-Tier Heated Indoor Clothes Airer is currently sold out on the store’s website, but they are changing hands on eBay for as much as £500.
A third most sought-after heated clothes airer, the Dunelm 2 Tier heated airer, which retails for £75, is being sold online for as much as £199.99.
Air fryers have also been surging in popularity and they are being sold at inflated prices on auction sites.
One of the most sought-after, The Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2 in 1, is currently available and is listed at £149.00 on the Curry’s website.
Despite it still being widely available, the item is nonetheless being listed on eBay at vastly inflated prices. A quick search showed listings for boxed, brand new examples, at £480, while used examples are being sold at full retail price of around £150.
Another ‘Best Buy’ money saving air fryers, the Ninja Foodi MAX AG551UK, is being sold for £250 on the Argos website and is currently in stock. The same eBay search shows they are being sold new for around £370. Pre-owned examples of this model are being sold for around £170 - less than the new price.
Heated clothes airers have been hailed as money savers in the cost of living crisis, costing around 10p per hour to run, as opposed to around £2 per load in a tumble dryer at recent energy prices.
Air fryers have also surged in popularity as energy costs soar, various studies and real-world tests have shown that they use less than half the energy than a conventional oven to cook certain foods.
Sales of air fryers, clothes airers and electric blankets soared on Black Friday this year.
In spite of the weakest Black Friday sales in the tech and durables sector for five years, sales of air fryers up 145% in a year.
Other top-selling energy-efficient appliances included electric blankets, heated clothes airers and heated throws.
Thermal curtains and blinds also proved popular, part of the "low-cost refresh" trend, where budget-conscious homeowners add a fresh coat of paint and cheaper items such as throws and candles to economically improve their living space.
Kelly Whitwick, senior manager of retail market intelligence at GfK, said: "These results confirm that consumers are being much more considered in their purchases.
"It's not just the cost of living that is a concern.
"Many people bought technology goods during the Covid periods of 2020 and 2021, so there isn't the same level of need to buy new items, but there's also a distinct lack of innovation in the market.
"In the last recession, consumers continued to invest in the latest technology.
"With fewer product launches, there's little or no urgency to spend this Black Friday.
"The only category to enjoy growth was telecoms - one where new features are still on offer."
