Buying second hand

oldtractor

Lizling wrote: »

No. You'd really turn down something you really wanted and/or needed that was being offered to you at a bargain price, just because you couldn't have afforded the original price?

If I did that, I'd have almost no clothes or furniture, and for that matter, no home (since I'd never have paid the full asking price!)


My approach for is 'Will I actually use it?' If not, it doesn't matter how low the price is - it's a waste (unless I resell it.)

no its not to do with affordability. If I wouldnt pay the full price I wont have the item what ever it is either a sofa or a cruise or anything in between. Otherwise I'd end up with stuff I dont really need or like just because its a bargain and then it isnt a bargain its money and time wasted.

GreyQueen

Ozgirlnc wrote: »

Hi, newbie here.
I'm just wondering how you all transport these furniture items/large purchases etc.
I'm a single woman with a dodgy back and only a hatchback car. I'm not sure that paying someone to pick things up and deliver them for me might not counteract any savings I make. :-/
I assume you have to go to the CS quite a lot to find stuff, as the few times I've ventured in there's been little furniture in many. Maybe I'm going to the wrong ones?
When I was young and trim I bought a lot of clothes from CS, now I'm middle-aged and fat I never find anything nice.

Hi, I'm a single woman with ME and no car. As such, I can't take advantage of many things like the auction houses in distant market towns or from Freegle - have no means to collect anything which isn't very small. I don't need a lot of furniture as my flat is very tiny but what I have has come from charity shops which can deliver, for a small fee.

Only a minority of charity shops in my area do any furniture at all, beyond a few little things like lamps, linen baskets and mirrors. Of those who do have the space to sell furniture, the turnover is ferociously-fast and you do need to check them very frequently, daily even.

With clothes (aslo middle-aged, also a bit chubbier than I ought to be) I think the issue is that the first-hand clothing market caters very poorly for our age band and thus this is reflected in the second-hand markets. You seem to drop into a black hole, as not being able or willing to dress like a fresh young lass, but not being ready for a quilted nylon dressing-gown and sensible slippers, either.

Beggared if I know the answer, unless it's being very thin and very rich and buying extremely well-cut clothing from superior fabrics. I don't have that lifestyle so wear casual sporty trousers and longsleeved teeshirts on my own reconnaissance and black trews/ fitted blouses or tunic dresses for the office. Not going to be winning any fashion awards, but it's adequate for my undemanding life.

Lizling

oldtractor wrote: »

no its not to do with affordability. If I wouldnt pay the full price I wont have the item what ever it is either a sofa or a cruise or anything in between. Otherwise I'd end up with stuff I dont really need or like just because its a bargain and then it isnt a bargain its money and time wasted.

Hmm, I think I see what you're saying. You like the fact that something's a bargain, so you end up buying stuff you don't want because it's a bargain and have ended up paying more than the item itself was worth to you?

For example you might like an item enough that it was worth £10 to you, but if it had been marked down a lot, you might snap it up anyway at £15 because it looked like a bargain. Then you've effectively paid £5 for the feeling of getting a bargain and I can see why you'd want to avoid doing that!

Not meaning to be rude here, it's just that I find the way different people make decisions quite interesting. I'm a careful weigher- upper and wouldn't be factoring in the original asking price at all. If I like something enough that I'd pay £10 for it, then I'll either buy it for £10 or leave it in the shop. Simple.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Ozgirlnc wrote: »

Hi, newbie here.
I'm just wondering how you all transport these furniture items/large purchases etc.
I'm a single woman with a dodgy back and only a hatchback car. I'm not sure that paying someone to pick things up and deliver them for me might not counteract any savings I make. :-/
I assume you have to go to the CS quite a lot to find stuff, as the few times I've ventured in there's been little furniture in many. Maybe I'm going to the wrong ones?
When I was young and trim I bought a lot of clothes from CS, now I'm middle-aged and fat I never find anything nice.

I don't drive, so am similarly limited.

Most High St charity shops don't do furniture as it takes up so much floor space; you would need to ask if they have branches that specialise in furniture and electrical goods. The BHF have many and will deliver for a fee (£30 in London). You can find your nearest one here: https://www.bhf.org.uk/shop/our-local-shops/furniture-and-electrical-shops

Horace

At the moment me and my pals are doing swapsies.

One has a brand new deep fat fryer that she doesn't want and I have a large George Forman grill more suited to a family of 4 instead of just me so we are having a swap (it has been used twice).

Another friend has a cappuccino maker - her dad has to find it first and get rid of the spiders and check that it still works. In exchange for that she is getting all my beads and jewellery findings.

charlies-aunt

Ozgirlnc wrote: »

When I was young and trim I bought a lot of clothes from CS, now I'm middle-aged and fat I never find anything nice.

Have you thought about buying larger-than-you-need sizes and remodelling them to fit? This is a very inspiring blog and most refashions only need basic sewing skills
http://refashionco-op.blogspot.co.uk/

dander

I love second hand, as others have said I can buy so much better quality second hand than I can new. Some things I find even expensive modern versions aren't of the quality of old things - household linens is one thing that leaps to mind - the weight of the fabric in vintage sheets and pillow cases is incredible compared to the thin fabrics used today. But I do have to be very strong with myself when I come across things that I know are bargains but I don't need. Good kitchen ware is another thing I struggle to walk past because it's often so cheap in charity shops.

One thing that really helped with clothes is I have spent time and effort organising my wardrobe and drawers beautifully with matching hangers and proper shoe storage, etc. Things aren't packed in and I can access everything comfortable and easily. I know that any time I add to the amount in there it will start to get crowded and chaotic so any time I buy something I think "what will I get rid of to make room for this?"

eandjsmum

All my furniture for my first home was second hand. I still have most of it I kept it after my marriage. We have splashed out on a new suite, cooker, freezers and beds. I am looking for a new desk, but as I would prefer something solid and well built that will be second hand too. We have Oxfam and Emaeus which take good quality furniture. A lot of my clothes are second hand too as I quite often find good quality clothes that would be too expensive for me to buy new.

savingfortomorrow

Real wood not mdf with stick on wood finish is the better investment. Anything that can be sanded, painted and renewed is better value long term than the argos/ ikea entry level items.

Once the glue gives way the new looks like worse rubbish than that table liberated from a skip. Now my ikea items are limited to solid wood.

Chalk paint a secondhand item allows better quality items that will has a few house moves, the mdf rubbishy furniture cost more to get rid off.

One good thing about secondhand clothes, they have survived a wash in the machine. i feel confident about just throwing them in the machine. I rarely buy new; unless significantly discounted. Having sold on ebay and seeing the depreciation of value; I recall something said on the Oprah show once: "if's on your !!! it's not an ASSET."

pleasedelete

I grew up living in an antiques shop. Everything in our house was for sale- come home from school to find your bed sold etc

I can buy stuff and sell it for a profit. Must be genetic! But I hate it- for years I bought stuff because it was worth more that it was selling for- it was a bargain. I resold most of it often after owning it for a while- I never deliberately bought something to sell it- I bought it as it was cheap. I was horrified when ebay started showing lifetime sales to see that 1 of my 3 accounts was £96k.

Now I dont buy it. I dont care if it is £5 and worth £20. Life is about more than making money and no-one wants to live in a house full of clutter. I hated the churn of stuff as a child.