Solar Boom Spawns Growing Secondhand Market on eBay, Craigslist

Todd Dabney, who’s been going to the Burning Man festival since 2011, needed a way to keep his tent cool under the baking Nevada sun. So the IT consultant created what he calls “the ultimate swamp cooler” out of a heavy-duty plastic storage container, pumps, tubes and a fan.

Powering the device is a 385-watt JinkoSolar panel that he snapped up on Craigslist several years ago from a nearby seller for $100. Dabney recalls that the seller was upgrading his solar array and getting rid of his current panels, which were about five years old.

“There was no reason to buy new panels” for ...