Thrift Stores.

I buy a lot of things second hand, but I buy them online. I don’t like thrift stores and the reason why I am not a fan is because the majority of the thrift stores are cluttered.

I have entered thrift stores with an idea in mind of something specific I wanted to buy, but the  racks are packed to the max, it makes browsing really hard.

Or I have entered stores wanting to be surprised with “let’s see what I can find in this place?” in my mind, but leaving empty handed because everything is cluttered.

I understand many of these stores are charities, they have volunteers with no retail experience in stores, they might struggle with storage, etc. I get it, but ultimately their objective should be to sell as much as possible, to help their cause.  If a customer goes in and feels overwhelmed by all the items in display and gets out, all their work is useless.I wish they could see this and improve their retail experience.

I mostly use Ebay to do my thrift shopping, where you can search for a specific brand, size, colour, etc. Overall my experience has been positive, there have been a few negative experiences, where the item hasn’t arrived, or the item was not accurate as described on the advert, but they have their Money Back Guarantee policy that helps a lot. So far, I recommend it.

Everytime I think of something I would like to buy, I always search Ebay first. If you know your size, if you know your measurements, if you know a specific brand and you know that size will fit you, search it on Ebay. 

Most of my tennis shoes are second hand. I refuse to pay £100 for a pair, when I can buy them for less than £20. My most recent purchase was a pair from Adidas by Stella McCartney. If they are sports shoes, you can easily wash them before using them, but I also use an antifungal shoe spray, which is a  shoe disinfectant for hygienic care of the inside of your shoes.

I have bought a couple of pairs of sports bras, also from Adidas by Stella McCartney and from DKNY.

Lately I decided to adventure and buy me some jeans and skirts. Some have arrived, some have not, I’ll keep you posted 🙂

Buying second hand is nothing to be ashamed of, we have to fight back the stigma. We should do everything we can to avoid more shoes and clothing ending up in landfills. Reuse, upcycle, do i! And obviously, I get a huge kick of having the item I wanted, for ¼ of retail price. $$$$$$$$ in bank account, yyesssss!!!!!

I am Franca and this is personal!