Secondhand lovers - a thread for buyers and sellers of second hand clothes

[GingerBreadTeddy]

Thought I’d start a thread for preloved clothes fans.

I’ve always bought loads secondhand, used to buy a lot via eBay but now I live somewhere with amazing charity shops I mainly shop in them.

I’ve always sold second hand too, but have found the market has plummeted since Covid started. I guess so many people are having clear outs, money is tight & certain clothes like work wear are no longer sought after (although maybe that will start to change?!)

I used to use eBay but found I was paying a lot in fees. I’m now trying Vinted. I’ve listed 30-odd items and sold 6. Prices are very very low though, and I turn down some exceptionally cheeky offers!!

I’m currently getting less on Vinted than charity shops ask around here (!) so I’m being very mindful only to buy stuff in charity shops that I absolutely love as I can’t guarantee getting my money back on Vinted / eBay these days if I change my mind.

I’m also noting there’s look loads of overpriced tat on Vinted - like well worn H&M /Zara for stupid money. Assume those people aren’t selling anything?

I tend to donate to charity instead of selling when I clear out things.
I always look to buy second hand before looking to buy it new. Mostly I will go without until I find it second hand. It’s just eco-conscious to not constantly consume and buy new. This for me, isn’t just clothes. It is homes, cars, furniture, etc.

I donate some stuff too.

I do think online selling is a good source of second hand clothing for those who don’t have access to charity shops (or decent ones) though.

Friends are selling on depop but I haven't tried it

I sold some Lucy and yak dungarees on eBay recently and the buyer claimed they were damaged and tried to claim a refund - whilst simultaneously listing them on eBay using my photos 😬 I had to do a refund and she had to return them to me. I’m fairly sure she damaged them on purpose or they were too small for her and she ripped them. Either way I’m feeling a bit jaded about using eBay now.

I do love a charity shop though - to buy and donate. Today I got some lovely Laura Ashley trousers for £1.25.

I sell stuff on EBay but yes, prices aren’t great. So far (touch wood) I’ve never had a bad experience.

I also occasionally buy but I get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff to trawl through. I did recently buy a vintage cashmere and wool camel coat on depop, and a Liberty scarf of eBay. I’ll only buy second hand for brads where I know the sizing generally.

I'm loving vinted at the minute for buying and selling. I do sell stuff for pretty low prices though.

I've recently decided to always try to buy second hand in the first instance (except underwear 😬). I've had some brilliant bargains and I'm stocking up my kids wardrobes too.

I do find it very off putting when women on Vinted pose very sexily in their clothes. I don't want their dirty sex clothes! Also selling thong body suits etc 🤮

I've had a good experiences buying secondhand through Re-Fashion and Thrift+. I can return things that don't fit or suit me, and the quality is very good.

I've bought and sold a fair bit on Vinted because I find it easier to do compared with FB or eBay. But I tend to sell my secondhand things for yard sale prices anyway.

Some sellers are lovely and really take pride in selling on nice, quality things, communicating clearly, and being friendly. But I have also had my fingers burned a couple of times as a Vinted buyer: people listing things as "very good, only worn a few times, £3 plus postage" ... and then the item arrives bobbled or with a big stain on it. One bundle I bought for my daughter reeked of cigarettes (smoking status was tucked away at the bottom of the seller's bio and not disclosed on the listing) and it took days of washing and airing out to get the smell off. If you leave lukewarm feedback, there's a chance for the seller to then retaliate with their own lukewarm feedback, even if you did nothing wrong as a buyer. So, a lot of people will just leave no feedback at all rather than deal with the hassle.

I have a really nice charity shop that recently opened up the road from me. Found a few gems in there so far, and it was easy to see the condition of the items straight away.

I could not understand Depop.

Any tips for searching on eBay? I feel as if it’s just full of rubbish at times! Stuff that should be in charity shops.

Loving Vinted for selling but I really can't get the hang of buying. I lovely an orderly. curated rail a la Jigsaw, and can't seem 'rummage' online or in a charity shop. Would love some top tips!

Tips for ebay...
I put in a search eg 'Boden 12' for a brand or 'silk dress' in women's clothes and then sort with 'ending first'. This tends to focus on the small sellers.
Read the description then contact seller for more details if they haven't supplied them eg fabric composition or washing instructions. I also cross reference the item on Google to see if there are old reviews still on the original shop or John Lewis. In general the more details and original pictures supplied by the seller the better the sale: you know what you're getting- 'nice dress' means nothing. I also buy things with small marks and easy repairs as they seem to be cheaper and less popular.
I don't spend much on any particular item to manage the risk, but resell if the item doesn't fit.

Now this is my kind of thread!!

I very, very rarely buy clothes brand new. If I do, theyre from Primark, ASDA etc. I love buying clothes from charity shops and have recently discovered Vinted and find its a bit addicting. The only reason I haven't sold anything on there is I don't have a printer!

Me, me!
I've only bought second hand with exceptions for underwear or things like running shoes for years. I remember rummaging in an amazing massive oxfam near me as a teenager.

I do really prefer charity shops as you can actually try and feel and get the size.

I've got some excellent bits from eBay and vinted but I've also wasted loads of money on things that just didn't fit. So I'm much pickier now and tend not to buy shirts for example as so hard to tell if will fit my bust.

I've started really focusing on natural fibres and expensive brands when I look online, mostly it's only way I could ever afford these items, like Margaret Howell or John smedley for example. I've got a better eye in charity shops too, I can spot the better stuff from scanning the rail.

My ebay tips are to filter by the material to get the real wool, silk etc, and look in the specialist vintage clothing section as well as the main clothing section.

Some good scores recently; a forest green 1980s wool coat from aquascutum off vinted, £20.

A cream cashmere Johnston of Elgin scarf, £30 Salvation Army eBay shop.

Rich sort of brighter navy jaeger wool jumper, I think 80s or 90s from the label, £4.50 in shelter. I debobbled and darned and it looks excellent.

Kurt Geiger classic brown leather boots, £10 on a street jumble trail last year.

My eBay tips are use the advanced filter to search for U.K. based sellers only and private sellers only, filters out those mass-selling cheap crap from China

About 80% of my wardrobe is second hand and it’s all designer or high end high street.

I have rules: Natural materials - silk, cashmere, cotton
High end high street or designer
Look new (no bobbles)
Do I really like it and not the bargain price?

I sold some amazing clothes on eBay but I did not seem to have the knack because they went for peanuts.

I've sold a lot on Vinted but also bought a lot too, a lot of things that are not quite right which I need to relist. I try and only buy second hand now.

Used ebay for years but the fees were making it just not worth my while.

I sell on ebay after buying way to much over the years, I also buy from ebay, I will only buy brands I know, and uk sellers only, I did recently buy a cos dress I love it, it was a guess if it would fit as its my first cos item, any thing I buy that doesn't fit I just resell.

@LivingDeadGirlUK I feel the same about eBay & was always shocked when I got the fees bill - always seemed high compared to profit made.

Re Vinted I’m having some success with but only for stuff I’m prepared to sell low priced. But I’m trying to take the view that £5 in my purse is better than a dress in my wardrobe that no longer fits. And which I probably wouldn’t wear nowadays anyway.

Question about Vinted - if something doesn’t sell in the first couple of weeks of listing is it worth leaving it up? Or delete the listing then try again another time?

I think the newest posted things come first in the search, so it probably is worth relisting, although I can't be arsed :p I do think it takes longer for stuff to sell but it all seems to be going eventually.

I've just started selling on Vinted this weekend. I only uploaded three things to get a feel for it and one thing has sold already. I will only sell my better stuff (I.e. newest or best quality) and will donate the rest to charity shops or the mystery bags that come through the door. I have an alarming amount of "BNWT" items to sell The low prices were a bit of a disappointment but as a pp said, better a fiver in my pocket than nothing. I won't be buying as I'm trying to cut down.

Ooh, yes, this is me. Almost all my clothes come from eBay and charity shops.

I got a lovely Next pink and white striped denim blazer for £4.00 in a local charity shop yesterday. I recently got a vintage All Saints dress on eBay for £18.50.

The main issue with eBay is filtering out all the rubbish from the search results. Sometimes they are completely bonkers - searching for a cotton tea dress, say, and a load of PVC clubbing gear appears. I filter to 'used' and 'UK only' which gets rid of it.

I also filter to specific brands. Like a pp, I only buy reasonably high-end brands - mainly because if it's something like George or Primark, the second hand price is almost as much as the new price.

I've just had a look at Vinted and tbh, it looks like a load of old tat on there! I was disappointed.

I’ve bought some lovely things from Vinted recently- an AllSaints jumper, a velvet Jigsaw dress and an Aquascutum pencil skirt.

I’ve given up on selling my clothes and tend to donate, although DS’s clothes sell well on the Facebook selling groups for certain brands.

@StarfishDish the hermes parcel shop should have a label printer 🙂

I only offer royal mail on Vinted as I don't have a hermies drop off near me.

I've never tried Vinted. Is it any good for a middle-aged size 12-14 whose dress sense is stuck in 1992?