Appropriability: Theorisation essay on the role of appropriation in the second-hand item purchase process

Abstract

This article presents a theorisation essay on the role of appropriation in the second-hand item purchase process. It highlights the concept of appropriability, which is defined as the relative potential of an object to become a consumer’s complete and entire possession. An item’s appropriability potential is relative to the prevalence of displayed traces from a previous owner or owners and the nature of the motivation that led to its acquisition. It also affects both the phases of a second-hand object’s appropriation process: (1) the Distancing phase, the intensity of which varies according to the prevalence of the Other’s trace and (2) the Absorption phase, the strategies of which – Denial, Creativity and Mastery – are defined by the nature of the purchase motivation.