Confessions of a 2nd hand shopaholic

First it was Depop, with its enticing red logo just screaming at me to press it, press it, press it, hunt down the bargains (!!!!) – like a bright red danger button. I should’ve known it would take over my life.

After a few successful ‘would you take a fiver for this Nike jumper rather than 20’ and feeling tres’ good about myself for flogging a couple of old t-shirts and some ill-fitting jeans that were cluttering up the wardrobe (as my BF, Ollie, repeatedly liked to tell me) - I was hooked.

I’d spend days scrolling the app like it was some type of new social media platform. Fascinated by the kind of stuff people were selling and how much others would be willing to pay for it. Other people’s trash truly can be your treasure. (And at a fraction of the price).

Being a bargain hunty is a well-documented personality trait of mine. I blame my (gorgeous) mother. Janina is the OG bargain-hunter. (In her own words ‘I save your Dad money every-time I go to the shops’). Since we were little, Mum used to drag my sister and I around (the most sacred, most high halls of) TK Maxx with her.

There I developed a habit and (not to toot my own horn but) particular set of skills for finding the real bargains. The genuine cut-price treasures hidden amongst racks of oddly fitting Calvin Klein sequin tops and weird knock off Ralph Lauren ‘Royal Polo club’ gilets. There are few things I find more enjoyable (sorry Ollie) in my life than when someone compliments an item of my clothing and I can proudly say, “got it in TK – only a tenner”.

Amusing side note: I recently went to a stand-up gig with some lovely pals who persuaded me to sit in the front row (I know, we were asking for it). I, wearing a neon green sweater vest (that I got on Depop obvis), was an immediate target. From the opening act’s opening line - I was rinsed. But it was his first retort that really got me and my pals laughing because of its pointed accuracy. It went something along the lines of this…

“Some of us here could’ve made more of an effort tonight couldn’t we, like this girl at the front [points at yours truly] – looking like she only shops at TK Maxx” [queue much laughter].

But little did he know, rather than insulting me – he had, in fact, just paid me a giant compliment.

I pride myself on my inherited knack for very rarely paying full price for anything. So, when the world of second hand shopping opened up to me in the form of Depop you can imagine my joy. It was like guilt free, sustainable, online TK Maxx shopping! Does it get any better than this!? I didn’t think it could. That was, until, I met the new love in my second hand shopping life – Vinted.

Very much like Depop, but with less polished photos and 0 seller fees. Vinted items are cheaper to buy and save you the postage costs (they’re all done through the app). It quickly became my new obsession. I scroll away happily on there for hours. Since joining, I’ve nabbed a brand-new Zara jumper for £3(!!), managed to get Ollie (/force him into wearing) a Batman Halloween costume for a mere fiver and sold over £200 worth of stuff I no longer get any wear out of. And I’ve only been on there for a matter of weeks. If I can convince you only to visit Vinted or Depop for one purpose, let it be silly costume pieces or things you know you’ll only wear once – help put an end to the needless spendathon on new plastic tat made by shockingly treated and criminally underpaid factory workers that’ll end up in landfill after one use - and just buy it guilt free on there for half the price instead.

But though I am most certainly a huge fan of second hand shopping (if you couldn’t tell). It isn’t entirely without its dramas…

Items arriving in conditions that are (to put it lightly) not quite as they were described. Misleading photographs. Sellers taking 5 years to post something they promised they’d ‘send first class the next day hun!!!’…But it’s these kinds of dramas I live for.

The other absolute highlight of the world of second hand shopping are the hilarious conversations that arise between buyers and sellers. I’ve had a few myself. But you’ll find the most well documented account of these HILARIOUS exchanges on @depopdrama. (If you don’t follow them yet, ur welcome). I’ll leave you below with some golden nuggets.