Building a house or renovating an apartment often ends with overpayments and a heap of unused materials. Almost anyone has a bag of dry mix, leftover tiles, or a “spare” roll of wallpaper gathering dust in a garage or balcony for years. Throwing them away feels wasteful, and there’s no time or energy to sell them. In the scale of large construction companies, this problem turns into hundreds of thousands of “burned” rubles: illiquid and leftover materials from completed projects sit on warehouses for years, lose their commercial appearance, and ultimately end up in the dump. The creators of the Secondstroy portal decided to connect those who don’t know where to dispose of materials and tools with those who want to save money by creating a specialized aggregator for buying and selling construction leftovers. We spoke with the project’s author about how the platform works for ordinary people and legal entities, who controls the prices, and whether it’s really possible to make a renovation much cheaper.

The project’s founder is named Alexey Didenko. He is an engineer by training. He has been working in the construction sector since the early 2000s: he started with small repairs, then for more than 15 years led a construction company with a staff of over 50 people — building large structures as a general contractor, and handling major repairs and reconstructions.

— Every construction organization runs into the problem of leftovers. For example, you arrive at a new site, purchase materials. Somewhere in the project there’s an error, or plans simply change — and part of the materials is no longer needed. This becomes apparent after a few months, when returning the goods to the supplier is no longer possible. The materials are sent to a warehouse, where they are moved from place to place, lose their properties and quality. Then they are simply written off and taken to the dump, causing the company to lose profitability.

Later Alexey encountered the same problem, but from another angle, when he started building his own house

Officially it began operations in May, although its creation has been underway for two years.

— At first we opened an offline store where construction companies could list their goods, and a mobile app. But development was unstable, and the format didn't allow scaling. Then our team underwent training, after which we decided to abandon offline sales and move entirely online: refine the app and build a full-fledged website.

Сейчас, по словам Алексея, на портале размещено более 6000 объявлений. Публиковать их могут как люди, так и юридические лица.

Now, according to Alexey, the portal hosts more than 6,000 listings. Both individuals and legal entities can publish them.

Для обычных граждан сервис работает абсолютно бесплатно. Процесс предельно прост: достаточно зарегистрироваться, сделать пару кадров залежавшейся плитки или остатков штукатурки и создать объявление, указав стоимость, варианты доставки и другие детали.

For ordinary citizens the service is completely free. The process is extremely simple: just register, take a few photos of leftover tiles or plaster scraps, and create a listing, specifying price, delivery options, and other details.

Для компаний регистрация также простая, но с площадкой придется заключить официальный договор.

For companies registration is also simple, but they will need to sign an official agreement with the platform.

— Абонентскую плату за публикацию объявлений мы не взимаем, комиссия берется только за реальную совершенную сделку. Размер комиссии зависит от продавца и товара. Для крупных ретейлеров вроде продающих уценку комиссия минимальна и составляет 3—4%. Для строительных компаний и производителей, реализующих залежалый неликвид, комиссия может достигать и 15%. Если же строители не хотят заниматься продажами, менеджеры Secondstroy могут сами выехать на склад компании, провести оценку, отфотографировать, классифицировать товар, создать карточки и довести сделку до продажи — за такую услугу комиссия составляет 20%.

— We do not charge a subscription fee for posting listings; the commission is taken only on a completed transaction. The commission amount depends on the seller and the product. For large retailers selling discounted goods, the commission is minimal at 3–4%. For construction companies and manufacturers selling leftover non‑liquid assets, the commission can reach up to 15%. If builders do not want to handle sales themselves, Secondstroy managers can go to the company's warehouse, assess, photograph, classify the goods, create listings, and bring the deal to sale— for that service the commission is 20%.

А теперь посмотрим на платформу с точки зрения покупателя. Прежде чем приступить к выбору материалов, пользователю нужно пройти быструю регистрацию на сайте — это обязательное условие для всех.

Now let's look at the platform from a buyer's perspective. Before starting to choose materials, the user must complete a quick registration on the site—this is a mandatory requirement for everyone.

The catalog is divided into two main categories. The “Everything for Construction” section includes building materials (from blocks to plaster), floor coverings and wallpapers, doors and windows, as well as any construction tools and equipment. The second category, “Everything for Home,” covers furniture, décor, textiles, lighting, and everything needed for the garden and site improvement. For those looking for large volumes or products exclusively from companies, there is a separate “Outlet” section that contains items from all categories but strictly from legal entities.

Filters help buyers find the items they need. A buyer can quickly filter offers by seller type, price range, condition of the item, and method of pickup—choosing self‑pickup or options for direct home delivery. Moreover, goods are offered not only in Minsk but also in other cities of Belarus.

The subsequent purchase scenario depends on who the seller is. When buying from an individual, the buyer contacts the seller directly by phone or through the built‑in chat to arrange the deal. If the item is purchased from a legal entity, the item is added to the cart, after which an order is created and a platform manager or company representative contacts the buyer to clarify details.

At present, Secondstroy does not participate in financial transactions: all payments are made directly between buyer and seller. However, the project’s development plans already include launching payments directly on the site to make transactions safer.

So what about the savings? Let’s look at concrete examples. The new Danogips Dano Jet 5 putty, weighing 25 kg, is sold for 45 rubles on well‑known marketplaces, while on Secondstroy it can be found for 20 rubles. The new leveling plaster “Typhoon Luxe Hybrid,” weighing 30 kg, costs about 25 rubles in stores, whereas on the platform it is offered for 17 rubles.

However, some sellers still try to cheat.

— During the work we encountered a problem: some legal entities began listing goods on the platform at standard market prices. To preserve the discount‑marketplace concept, we will soon implement automatic moderation based on AI. The neural network will scan the Belarus construction‑goods market and analyze prices for similar items at all possible buying locations. The price of a product on Secondstroy must be at least 20 % lower than the average market price, which the AI will calculate. If it is higher, the listing simply will not pass moderation.

Well, the idea looks at least interesting: free up warehouses for business, let ordinary people earn, and save those who are starting a renovation. Whether Secondstroy will become a truly popular people’s marketplace or not will be shown by time.

Leveling plaster ilmax 6805 (30 kg)

leveling, gypsum base, 30 kg

Leveling plaster KNAUF Rotband (30 kg)

leveling, gypsum base, 30 kg