If you shop preloved/second hand do you find it difficult to pay the prices in the shops?

[Niftythrifter]

Not necessarily financially difficult but difficult in terms of the price of new clothes even at a discount. I have just seen a jumper not too dissimilar to one I picked up for less than six pounds in a charity shop but around eight pounds difference!

Yep. If I can get 100% good- condition cashmere for £15, I'm buggered if I'm paying over 20 for synthetic.

I've not found a great second hand deal online or in shops in easily, 10 years now. I don't mind buying from charity shop and then not liking it at home, I see it as a good dead but I actually resent paying for ebay and vinted secondhand and then not liking the item in person at least with shops I can return it, with the latter I have to relist and then faff with packing and posting and then the wait that it got to the ok... ugh.

Unless the item is so rare and unique I just wouldn't bother buy secondhand from private sellers.

Unless it's on sale (at a good discount!) I will only buy new if it's a specific item I need, or shoes for the kids. Absolutely hate paying full retail price!

Yes this is me. Live without some things I really really want because of a mental block about buying new things and it never comes up in charity shops or eBay. Ridiculous. However I did just give in an buy some new tracksuit bottoms. They’re so new!!!

I got a cashmere jumper for a pound the other day hard pressed to beat that

At a regular shop

Under a cat he pressed post 😂

I buy a lot second hand from charity shops and Depop/Vestiaire/Vinted. I find it more fun in the same way I prefer TK Maxx to normal shopping. I also like that it forces me to a bit more creative and get out of my comfort zone/style rut.

I could afford new if I wanted to but I'm not minted enough to justify shopping with abandon at my favourite shops all the time.

No. I buy new when I see something I like. I feel better able to afford it because I have bought so many items at charity shop price.

I expect shopping habits now mean very few people buy things full price. Sales are almost constantly occurring, or you have shops like GAP and Fatface where everything is priced for a constant 20-40% off.

The spin off is you have people complaining about how much clothes are new from these places, and comparing the full retail price with Shien and Boohoo.

I find it tricky.

I subscribe to lots of fashion stuff on insta and so on - often see an item I really like and go to the website and at that point my enthusiasm dissolves 😂

It does give me ideas for things to look for on Vinted and so on. And a charity shop mistake is only a few pounds, a high street shop mistake can easily be £40+

I bought some amazing wide leg Massimo Dutti trousers from TK Maxx for £12 - they've been a staple of my work wardrobe for a year and really want another pair. Can't bloody find them - I would pay the new price for them as well!

I buy most of my clothes from charity shops, and I like the fact that I never go to an event wearing the same outfit as someone else. I mix and match as well, and will wear old with new. If I need a new coat, I always check my charity shops first. I recently bought a beautiful, bright red trench coat for 50p, and a knee length boxy woollen coat in lime green for a fiver. I love bright colours.

Yes!! I pretty much never buy brand new any more. I just can't see the point. I have extensive taste, but get what I want on vinted and ebay, plus charity shops. I'm the same with my kidsb- their books, toys and clothes (I find the car boot sale brilliant for kids' stuff). We're not poor- our household income is more than £110k - but why pay full price for new stuff when you can get second hand for a fraction of the cost? Better for the environment too.

Oh sorry - to answer your question: yes I find it difficult too! I have to love something to even consider parting with cash for new prices.

I meant £80 not £8

Yes me too, I just can’t pay full price anymore even though I can afford it.
A few weeks ago I took advantage of an offer on the Thrift+ site and got 13 items for £31 including postage.
Four items were a bit tatty so I got rid of them and two items didn’t fit, but that still left six items which were in great condition and fit nicely. That included a brand new jumper with £130 price tag.
I don’t think I can top that offer.

What happens when people stop buying new though?

Companies go bust which means there will be no clothes for people to buy 2nd hand.

Do you think that's likely to happen @AHelpfulHand ?

If most people buy second hand yes.

Thats why companies go bust, people don’t buy from them.

Buying second hand is great for landfill but terrible for the economy.

Yes I do. I bought my Christmas party dress for £12 a few weeks ago on Vinted. It was a worn once Coast dress. I was thrilled with it! At the moment I couldn't justify spending full price on a new dress, but I've always loved a secondhand bargain. Most of my clothes are second hand.

I buy in either charity shops or TK Maxx these days because I like quality. I have never been a fast fashion sort and wear stuff till it dies. If I didn’t it would also mean a round trip of about 25 miles to go in to the city and I just can’t be bothered. The cost of parking plus petrol and the risk of not finding something isn’t worth it.

Buying secondhand helps the planet. Fast fashion is really damaging -

Stella McCartney calls for overhaul of incredibly wasteful fashion industry

I've been an avid charity shopper for years so have always found it difficult to justify the prices charged in the shops. That being said if it is something I really want I tend to buy rather than hold fire - I'm thinking of things in our smaller independent shops rather than the big chains where I wait for the sales.

I was in Bluewater on Friday and I couldn't believe some of the prices now, especially when the majority of stuff was polyester.

I only tend to be select things new now - mostly Shoes (because I have tricky feet following surgery), trousers (awkward hip to waist ratio) and undies (obviously). Everything else I tend to get on Vinted.

I don't resent paying full price if it's something I really want/need. But I'd just rather not use up additional resources by buying new.

I've had some good stuff off Vinted. Got a NWT White Stuff jumper on there for £12 last week.

I buy a lot of second hand but I take AHelpfulHand's point. The main reason I do it is because it's the only way I can afford to buy the kind of clothes I like (e.g. I have a Margaret Howell habit). If I had more spare money, I would buy new to support businesses that are still trying to produce well made clothes in ethical conditions.

I find secondhand browsing and sale browsing makes me impulse buy items that don't find with my existing wardrobe or colours and then leads to other, unnecessary purchases.

I usually buy new, with an idea in mind of what I'm looking for and then I look online until I find the exact right item and pay the price, sometimes waiting for a reduction and always looking for a promo code.

In the long run, this saves me money.