You know your broke when you find Primark expensive

andyroberts1967

goodgirl80 wrote: »

My shoes are falling apart, but because I can still wear them, I refuse to buy new ones.

My mother always says always buy good shoes and a good bed, because when you're not in one, you're in the other.

SuziQ1962

A couple of weeks ago got a lovely coat,military style jacket,fab cardi and coordinating tee shirt/scarf combo in half price sale from George-obviously hit it at the right time-all for the princely sum of £30.I trawl round local charity shops and often pick up jeans for myself and the kids,best find was a lovely Levi skirt for my daughter for a couple of quid,should have cost £60.I never buy stuff in city centre shops,if I need anything I will try it on in town to check sizing and price,make a note of style no. and then search the web for same, saved a fortune on jeans for my husband this way.Unfortunately my eldest son thinks I am a bit sad but then he wants everything right here and now-so he now has to save his allowance for the more expensive items he wants-just trying to make him appreciate the value of money! Though he was impressed that I put together a complete outfit from Primani for him for less than the price of a teeshirt he would buy!

crafty*kate

You are all so lucky with your charity shops!

I trawl mine regularly but I have yet to find anything decent....it all seems to be cheap supermarket clothes (Florence & Fred etc) or Peacocks/Primark stuff, and it's all nearly as expensive as buying it new! For example, plain t-shirts going for £5, that kind of thing.

I don't mind paying a reasonable price for second hand stuff, but when it's not much cheaper than new then I'd rather go to the high street. At least the shops don't smell there.

chevalier

babyshoes wrote: »

I am reading this and feeling depressed that I seldom find anything decent in charity shops in my size. I need to lose weight so that I too can buy good quality jeans for under a fiver! I can only buy limited things in Primark, though more than before since they started doing PJ's and knickers in my size. Perhaps I should try ebay? Anyone know if there is lots of good stuff in size 20-22?

I think that there is a good selection of this type of thing on ebay, however also a lot of demand. I have sold things in these sizes and they went really quickly.
chev

norathetiger

Waves to all,
I buy all my jeans in charity shops, only pay £2 each.
Ebay can be expensive with the postage added.
Looked at christmas presents for my 2 young kids on ebay but you are only saving very little if any.

Wetwang

I find Bon Marche very good value for clothes - both on price and quality as they last for ages and have many special offers. Their styles are fairly neutral so look good year to year.

Last month, I bought a £10 pair of trainers from shoezone. Then last week, someone asked me if they were one of those makes which exercise your legs - I just thanked her for the compliment and did not let on they were from shoezone! Being able to look good on the cheap is part of survival on a dmp or low income!

mandragora_2

crafty*kate wrote: »

You are all so lucky with your charity shops!

I trawl mine regularly but I have yet to find anything decent....it all seems to be cheap supermarket clothes (Florence & Fred etc) or Peacocks/Primark stuff, and it's all nearly as expensive as buying it new! For example, plain t-shirts going for £5, that kind of thing.

I don't mind paying a reasonable price for second hand stuff, but when it's not much cheaper than new then I'd rather go to the high street. At least the shops don't smell there.

Charity shops aren't the bargain basement they once were - but you can still find good quality stuff in them, if you pick your area carefully. Have a think - is there a small town near you that's 'gentrified' - perhaps more upmarket, with lots of yummy mummies living there? When they have a clear out, stuff will go to the charity shops, and you can pick up some good quality bargains. Our local town isn't always great, but there's a 'county set', so sometimes you hit it lucky (I've had le Creuset pots; a Dior jacket and most recently a lovely job lot of Per Una stuff). Eight miles away, for some reason (over the county border, close to an 'upmarket' town) the charity shops are really full of good pickings! It always makes for an interesting afternoon out!

mandyc

gerf wrote: »

not all primark stuff is rubbish. i bought a fleece jumper in the £1 rack 4 years ago and still wear it. recently i bought a hand towel for £2 and thought it was fine. then i bought one in debenhams sale - a christy for £3.30 and the primark one was actually better. so can someone tell me is today's christy towels not the same as years ago. i remember my gran having them and they felt like blankets. this one in debenham's was supposedly £11.00 full price. my cynical side says they must have special ones for the sales with less 'stuff' in them.

I used to work for Ashton Bros (Christies sister company). This was over 20 years ago and I am still using the towels which I bought then (all seconds).

Christies shut down their factory (the site is now a Tescos!!) and all the production was done at Ashton Bros. A few years ago all the machinery was dismantled and sent to India where all the production is done now. All that is done in the UK now is the sales operation and the labs. I would say that this is why the quality is now not what it was.

lovethymini

Did anyone see Despatches last night? Sweat shops in Leicester paying £2.50 an hour, dangerous working conditions, making clothes for Primark, New Look, BHS, Jane Norman. Felt quite depressed after watching.

This is something I ask when I see cheap clothes - how can they be so cheap???

herculean1982

QS/Store Twenty One have acceptable clothes for cheap. Jeans £6 or buy one get one half price so £9 for two pairs of jeans. Good for work/DIY etc.