6 Tips to Keep in Mind While Shopping Secondhand

I can’t wait to share with you, the 6 tips to keep in mind while shopping secondhand! But I want to be honest with you, I haven’t always enjoyed secondhand shopping.

When I was a kid, my parents would go to yard sales, flea markets, and discount stores often. I mean after all, raising children isn’t cheap. And I was okay with things from these places, until I hit middle school. You see, middle school is where I learned what name brands were. Up until then, I thought everyone shopped at the same places my parents did and of course, Walmart.

Once I learned about name brands and that all the so called, “cool kids” we wearing them, I wanted them too. But my family couldn’t always afford the name brands, and that was fine. It wasn’t like I went without, I just didn’t always wear Mudd Jeans or Sketchers sneakers (now I’m really telling my age!).

When I hit high school though, I started realizing just how expensive clothing, shoes, and accessories can be. And that’s when I discovered that I could find brand name items at huge discounted prices at Goodwill, thrift stores, discount stores, and yard sales, places that my parents had always shopped at. My shopping journey was coming full circle.

So, since I’ve been shopping at these places for well over 15 years, let me share with you, 6 tips to keep in mind while shopping secondhand.

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1. Always look for the more expensive items to save money when shopping Secondhand.

Coats

I didn’t start this until a few years ago, but I now buy basically all of my winter coats secondhand. Usually they haven’t been heavily worn, and I have found some great brand name coats like The North Face and L.L. Bean that were in great condition for under $10! Other items to look for are shoes, purses, formal wear, etc.

Formal Wear

When I used to attend Marine Corps balls, I began searching for formal dresses secondhand because I knew I’d only wear the dress once, and I didn’t want to spend a fortune on just one dress. I believe I paid around $30 for a gorgeous purple sequins dress for one ball that I found online and I paid around $10 for a black one another year.

We all know that formal wear is basically only worn once or twice and that’s why I highly encourage anyone looking for formal wear to shop secondhand! The savings will be incredible and the money you save on the dress you can put towards cleaning and tailoring, if needed.

Books

Books are another item that I love to purchase while shopping secondhand. I couldn’t tell you the last time that I purchased a book at retail price. Secondhand stores and yard sales are great places to find lots of good books. And most of the time, they are in really good condition! I also love purchasing books from Ollies. It’s a store that sells new items for deeply discounted prices and they have a huge selection of books, I’m talking popular, expensive books.

Children’s Items

If you have children, please save yourself some money and shop at yard sales for kid’s items! It seems like every yard sale I go to has some sort of children’s clothing, toys, etc. I don’t have children of my own but I know kids grow quickly and trying to purchase new clothing and shoes can get expensive. By purchasing these items secondhand, parents can save so much money! And since kids grow so quickly, a lot of times, the clothing and shoes you find secondhand have barely been worn, and sometimes are still new. I’ve also seen larger items like toys and strollers and purchasing those items secondhand can also save parents money!

2. Use the discount bins for DIY projects.

Some secondhand shops have even further discounted items. Goodwill specifically, has bins full of adult shirts that I always look through to find project shirts. I have a Cricut Maker cutting machine and I love creating new designs for shirts. But sometimes during the trial and error part of designing, well, errors happen. That’s why I like to purchase inexpensive shirts to play with while crafting. If the shirt turns out like I want, great! If not, then I’m not out of too much money.

The same goes for any item really. Secondhand stores are great for DIY projects! Love a dress you find but can’t wear it? Repurpose the material as a skirt or pillow! Maybe you’re just learning how to sew. Find cheap clothing items and create something new or update an old piece of clothing. The possibilities are truly endless!

3. Look over every inch of every item.

With any item, it’s good to make sure that what you are purchasing is free from any flaws, or that you are at least aware of them before buying. Some things are still worth buying, if you know how to fix their flaws. With secondhand items, make sure you go over them thoroughly since of course, they’ve been around a little longer than new items.

Look for rips, tears, stains, loose threads, holes, and broken pieces before purchasing.

When looking for shirts, I always look at the armpits. There, you can tell how much something has been worn and if there are stains.

4. When shopping secondhand, try on everything you plan to buy.

After you’ve looked over the item you want, you need to try it on, shoes, clothes, coats, etc. I can usually eyeball shirts to see if they will fit or not but when I see a dress, skirt, or pair of jeans that I want, I always try them on!

Now when the pandemic hit, basically every dressing room in every store was closed. That made shopping at secondhand stores for clothing items so difficult! You can always try on the shoes, I would just recommend wearing socks while trying them on. I also still tried on jackets right there at the rack. And I always try on jackets, because clothing company’s sizing all differs (along with other clothing items). Am I right, ladies?

5. Before buying electronics, make sure the item works properly.

Secondhand stores are not only a great place to find clothing and accessories, but electronics as well! For a while, I had been wanting a Blu-ray player but knew I wouldn’t use it often, so I didn’t want to buy a brand new one. Then, while shopping at Goodwill, I found a Blu-ray player! I found a wall outlet, plugged it in, and it seemed to work. So, when I went to check out, I made sure I knew the refund policy on electronics and the cashier ensured me that I could return it within 7 days if the Blu-ray player didn’t work.

I went home, tried it out, and it worked great! The only thing missing was a remote for it. But after a quick search on Amazon, I ordered a remote for it and it’s been working ever since. For under $20 (including the remote purchase from Amazon), I now have a nice, functioning Blu-ray player, including a remote!

Recently, while in the checkout line at Goodwill, I spotted the top of a blender. My sister was with me so I asked her to go check it out.  It ended up being a Magic Bullet blender with all the attachments, minus the recipe book, for just $7.99! I was shocked no one had snatched it up yet! So of course, I had her grab it. I bought it (after double checking about the refund policy), took it home, and it works great! Honestly, I don’t think it had really ever been used.

6. Always ask about their refund policy when shopping secondhand.

Always learn about each store’s refund policy so you’ll know if you can return unwanted items. This was especially important again, while dressing rooms were closed. You had to leave the store, try on the clothes, and then return them if they didn’t fit. I did get sort of ripped off with Goodwill’s refund policy, so another small tip is to always add up your items to see what the general price should be and make sure you remember that number when checking out. If the cashier’s total price is different than yours, question it!

I got over charged at Goodwill and didn’t realize it until later on. I brought back my receipt and items and they would not give me back the difference for their mistake. Instead, they gave me a credit and I had seven days to use it! With this logic, cashiers could over charge anyone and then only give credits out, and in turn, making Goodwill more money for their mistake.

Again, just thoroughly understand refund policies and the cost of each item you purchase.

New Items for Discounted Prices

Now if you don’t want to buy everything secondhand, I understand. But I still want to save money when I can, so I shop at stores like Ross Dress for Less, T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, and Marshall’s. I absolutely love checking out any of these stores to see what they have and wow, do they have a variety! You can find food, clothing, toys, pet items, pillows, shoes, electronics, everything, and at a discounted price. I personally love shopping for home décor, leggings, and shoes there.

I recently purchased a pair of Gottex leggings that I’m obsessed with from T.J. Maxx for $16.99. When I looked up the brand online, the leggings were over $70 on their website! Now, the leggings are fantastic but I wouldn’t have spent $70+ on them. However, places like T.J. Maxx and Marshall’s allow you to purchase quality items like the leggings I found for a much more affordable price. So again, if you don’t feel comfortable purchasing everything secondhand, try shopping at these discounted stores for some great deals.

So just to quickly recap:

• Always look for the more expensive items to save money.
• Use the discount bins for DIY projects.
• Look over every inch of every item.
• Try on everything you plan to buy.
• Before buying electronics, make sure the item works properly.
• Always ask about their refund policy.

 I hope these 6 tips for shopping secondhand come in handy during your next shopping trip! And If you’ve never shopped secondhand, try it! You never know what you’ll find!

If you want to see items that I’ve found secondhand, you have to check out the reels on my instagram! I’ve found so many great items!

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