Used clothing

[Les]

Hi

I am trying, for eco and budgetary reasons, to buy used gear. I find it really difficult to trawl through Ebay/Vinted etc to find specific items. Does anyone have any tips for how to use these sites effectively, or places that are better to look.
Thanks

 

[demented dale]

Hi

I am trying, for eco and budgetary reasons, to buy used gear. I find it really difficult to trawl through Ebay/Vinted etc to find specific items. Does anyone have any tips for how to use these sites effectively, or places that are better to look.
Thanks

ok. ebay. put in what you want. there is a condition button. press used. then press auction or buy now. In the right hand column you can put your max price and even the color of item you want. Ebay will filter all the stuff out for you. You just have to tell it the specifics. Other than that charity shop.

 

[MrEd]

Hi

I am trying, for eco and budgetary reasons, to buy used gear. I find it really difficult to trawl through Ebay/Vinted etc to find specific items. Does anyone have any tips for how to use these sites effectively, or places that are better to look.
Thanks

I do the same, I find eBay a bit easier than vinted to find specific items tbh but I have had some right bargains on vinted and in most cases when I have bought something that when it arrives doesn’t fit or whatever I have generally been able to move it on for what I paid for it, occasionally more

 

[Pattree]

I wonder if it’s worth banging the old eco drum again on this one.

ANYTHING that you buy second hand, whatever it is made of, is better for our environment than anything that you buy, whatever it is made of, to replace something that is still useable.

I have come to thoroughly enjoy Freecycle and exploring charity shops, something that I would never have done thirty years ago.

There are very few items of clothing that I would buy new today - they don’t appear in charity shops anyway!

@Les:
There are charity shops and there are charity shops depending on where you live. It’s probably worth a bus ride if you find one or two that suit you.

The ones close to my youngest daughter near Oxford tend to sell very fashionable clothing that isn’t that old but it’s still not cheap. You won’t often find pots and pans there.
Many of the ones around here in Shrewsbury tend to be small, very mixed. The probability of finding what you are looking for is low.

However there are some big ones like the Salvation Army and the Severn Hospice Superstore that are well worth a visit when I’m in the vicinity.

If you get to know the staff perhaps they will text you when something that you are looking for comes in.

Edited to add:
If ever you are in Keswick there are some great ones that often have outdoor gear at very good prices.

The research and exploration are fun in themselves.

 

[hughtrimble]

The trick with Vinted is you need to save the brand, and then base for search from there. Often the only way to save the brand though, is to find an existing listing and click on the brand name there, as otherwise Vinted sometimes won't recognise it (it's a pretty shambolic search system they have). After that, it's a case of putting in terms you think the general public will use to describe the item you're after. I was after a Marmot Driclime Ether, but knowing that a lot of people have no idea what they own and the fact that Marmot like Montane write absolutely nothing useful in the labels (why?!), had to search within the Marmot brand for things like 'fleece', 'jacket' etc. eventually found one but only after looking at a lot of listings and seeing if the garment had the exact features I knew were on the version I wanted.

It's also worth asking naïvely what they use to wash the clothes. If it's a piece of technical clothing and they say anything about fabric softener, you know they have zero clue and that the garment is probably wrecked.

 

[hughtrimble]

I wonder if it’s worth banging the old eco drum again on this one.

ANYTHING that you buy second hand, whatever it is made of, is better for our environment than anything that you buy, whatever it is made of, to replace something that is still useable.

The OP is specifically talking about buying used gear? Not sure you need to bang the drum when the OP is already on it.

 

[Limaed]

Hi

I am trying, for eco and budgetary reasons, to buy used gear. I find it really difficult to trawl through Ebay/Vinted etc to find specific items. Does anyone have any tips for how to use these sites effectively, or places that are better to look.
Thanks

Don’t forget your local car boot sale. Over the years I’ve picked up lots of amazing gear for very little. You do need to go regularly and early in the morning (be there for 0700!) but it’s worth the effort. Don’t expect to just pick up what you need, just be open to surprises. I recently got a Terra Nova tent for £5 not bad when they are £350.

 

[Tengu]

Found a HH jacket in a local charity shop but it was bright red.

 

[TeeDee]

I wonder if it’s worth banging the old eco drum again on this one.

ANYTHING that you buy second hand, whatever it is made of, is better for our environment than anything that you buy, whatever it is made of, to replace something that is still useable.

I have come to thoroughly enjoy Freecycle and exploring charity shops, something that I would never have done thirty years ago.

There are very few items of clothing that I would buy new today - they don’t appear in charity shops anyway!

@Les:
There are charity shops and there are charity shops depending on where you live. It’s probably worth a bus ride if you find one or two that suit you.

The ones close to my youngest daughter near Oxford tend to sell very fashionable clothing that isn’t that old but it’s still not cheap. You won’t often find pots and pans there.
Many of the ones around here in Shrewsbury tend to be small, very mixed. The probability of finding what you are looking for is low.

However there are some big ones like the Salvation Army and the Severn Hospice Superstore that are well worth a visit when I’m in the vicinity.

If you get to know the staff perhaps they will text you when something that you are looking for comes in.

Edited to add:
If ever you are in Keswick there are some great ones that often have outdoor gear at very good prices.

The research and exploration are fun in themselves.

So what has essentially changed in you from where you are now to the person you were 30 years ago? What was your thinking then

 

[TeeDee]

The only thing I've noticed with 2nd hand clothing for men is possibly that men tend to take a piece of clothing from cradle to grave - meaning we will tend to nurse a new piece of clothing through all its stages of wear and tear to a point where its fairly unusable.

I have looked around charity shops and free cycle type shops mostly whilst waiting for a partner whom wants to have a look themselves - they tend to come out with several pieces of clothing because they have been handed in whilst they still have 'life' in them- ie they look like you can still wear them , colours are still strong and no ripped , torn or worn areas.

Most mens clothing Ive seen in charity shops and freecycle seem frankly to come from probate disposal. Which if its your thing is fine I guess.