Does anyone else mainly buy clothing at Charity Shops and via Ebay?

[EvaporatedHour]

I can afford to buy things at retail price these days but I just can't bring myself to when I get so many amazing things for such low prices at charity shops and on Ebay. I recently bought a Topshop blouse in a BHF shop. The blouse was new with tags and the original tag said £29, whilst I paid £2.50! Such a bargain!

Other great things I've bought recently have been a Maxmara white shirt for £3, Current Elliott jeans with a leather stripe down the side for £2.50, Seven for all Mankind jeans for £3, and brand new UGG boots for £15! I've been on Ebay today and just won a few Topshop items for 99p each.

Does anyone else mainly buy secondhand and what have been your best buys?

I would say that about 90% off my clothing is second hand. I love charity shopping and ebaying. This week I have bought 3 dresses for summer and 2x bags both also for summer. I tend to buy a season in advance as what is out of season has less competition.
I've only been in a charity shop once though since covid and a managed to get myself a few things. I got a white stuff denim skirt which fits perfectly and was like new, a fat face top for the summer and a topshop flannel shirt, which I've been wearing quite a lot. I love a bargain but I buy as much second hand or hand made as possible to help save the planet not just my purse.

@CharlottesComplicatedWeb, is that you? You look fabulous in it.

@MikeUniformMike... it is! In the flesh. And faux fur 😂

You're not going to wear it commando are you?

Might have to! God forbid... let’s hope I don’t get flattened by a bus and carted off to A&E 😂

Charity shopper here - recently converted. Today's bargains - cream silk blouse with labels £4 and a cashmere jumper £10. Both in perfect condition. I'm thrilled and enjoy wearing these things more than brand new.

Where do people live where the charity shops have such nice clothes?

I did used to find some amazing stuff way back when in Bushey, but nowadays it’s getting harder as your average person is buying cheaper new clothes that don’t have the quality to age well. I’ve kind of accepted in the future it’s going to be so much harder to buy second hand but for the moment nice items are still out there.

And to be fair I have a very nice second hand ASOS dress that washes well!! So perhaps it’s not all doom and gloom.

@CharlottesComplicatedWeb that coat is absolutely fabulous!

I bought a beautiful French Connection coat for £2.50 in the charity shop that doesn't quite do up over my podge of a stomach but fits beautifully everywhere else. My tip is just wear it undone and wear a nice chunky scarf with it ☺ At these prices, it's rude not too lol

Aha! Picking your area to charity shop is an art. I find it’s the slightly smaller ‘naice’ towns where you score. In the north, Ilkley is brilliant for great quality donations, likewise Wetherby and Otley. Strangely enough, the ‘posh’ places aren’t always as good. I’ve never been that lucky in Harrogate or Skipton for example.

Not that Ilkley isn’t fairly posh - it is. Very genteel

I shop at charity shops or H and M for clothes and charity shops and Ikea for home.

I’ve picked up many bargains. Brand new Ugg boots (that I use as house boots) for £8. Merino The White Company Cardigan for £3. J Crew cardigans, cashmere jumpers, wool coats.

We are better off than we have been in years, but I love charity shops. I think I am actually addicted to shopping in them. I also collect vintage Christmas decorations and actually dream about rummaging in charity shops.

I find the CS run by little old lady volunteers tend not to know labels like Toast &otherstories so will price them at a bargain outs few quid but boy can they spot a Totes umbrella or Radley handbag from 10 paces and charge over the odds for them
Charlotte you look amazing in that coat, like the Snow Queen. I’d wear thin but warm clothes underneath that coat, cashmere or merino would be my choice

I only ever buy charity shop or ebay, apart from undies!

@Snackasaurus... thanks!

Might post pics of some of my “Best buys” from charity shops. Had some amazing stuff.

@CharlottesComplicatedWeb I'd love to see them!

@CharlottesComplicatedWeb yy show us yer bargains, woman!

I agree you can't beat a naice market town, especially if it's within commuting distance of a city. And yeah the very poshest places aren't always the best; last time I was in London I made a special trip to the fabled Red Cross shop in Chelsea - wall to wall labels but nothing remotely to my taste. I must defend Skipton as I found my Harris Tweed coat there.

Actually that's not quite true about the Red Cross shop. There were quite a lot of things I liked, just nothing I could imagine fitting into my life, and it wasn't cheap enough to encourage taking a punt.

I got some fabulous LEVIs today from a boutique charity shop in town. They have high end brands so you do pay more but I don’t mind when you know you’ve made a saving of £40 or so to spend £12.

I visited y to he charity shops in Knutsford recently. Boy, do they know how to charge. £ 40 for an LK Bennett dress that had clearly seen better days and was very bobbled. Anything Boden priced way too high. This was the Cancer Research shop.

Can't remember the last time I bought antyhing in a real shop, had a fossil bag for £4 and a long Principles puffer coat for £5 a couple of weeks ago in my chazzer, also walked around Debenhams, selling all the summer shite off still overpriced!

Floisme I salute your Skipton chazzer shop find. I’ve never had any luck there myself.

I always think of it as my lucky town, Craftycorvid even though I don't think I've been back since!

I’m intrigued by this and can see the environmental benefits...the one worry I have is bedbugs etc. We once had to bin suitcases and wash all clothes at 90 degrees on holiday binning those that were delicate after an unfortunate bedbug incident in a rented holiday villa... bedbugs are virtually impossible to kill - what do you do to decontaminate things you buy?