Guest written by Katie Anderson, owner of pre-loved Instagram shop Pine & Treasure – @pineandtreasure.
The buzz of second hand shopping has arrived and it is here to stay! Now more than ever, people are proudly discussing their pre-loved and rented outfits, or showcasing an incredible vintage furniture piece they found for their home.
The secondhand market is expected to grow 127% by 2026 and 59% of those who bought secondhand for the first time in 2021 said it gave them bragging rights (thredUP Resale Report 2022). Even Love Island has ditched its fast fashion sponsor for eBay.
As a pre-loved and vintage seller, I search high and low to source clothing, accessories, furniture and homeware pieces which I sell on Instagram via @pineandtreasure. I’ve been running the account for over 3 years now and have shopped at charity shops and car boots for as long as I can remember. Here, I’m sharing my 6 top tips for how and where to find the best pre-loved pieces…
Tip 1: Discover your local charity shops.
Most people instantly associate charity shops with secondhand shopping – they are everywhere! Your towns and cities are filled with them and your local village most likely has one too. Despite being a charity shop regular, I had gone years not knowing about the ones in my surrounding villages. Scoping out the charity shops nearest to you or your workplace means you can quickly pop there on a lunch break or first thing on a Saturday morning.
Find the closest charity shop to your house or work – the more local, the more often you can pop in. Once you get friendly with them, ask if there are certain days they refresh their stock so you can look out for the new items being added.
Tip 2: Consistency is key.
It is so easy to go charity shop shopping once and completely lose hope, enthusiasm and the will to live. Some charity shops are quite messy and chaotic, but don’t give up! Rummage, rummage, rummage and I guarantee that you will eventually find a hidden gem. The best thing I’ve ever found in a charity shop was a Fendi trench coat. These scores do not come around often, but the shop was so old school that they hadn’t even realised it was a designer piece. It’s worth all the time, effort and consistency just for these incredible wins. Don’t let a first, second or even third bad impression of a charity shop put you off.
Katie hunting for treasures at a car boot sale.
Tip 3: Head to your local car boot.
Car boot sales are part of my Sunday (and often Thursday) morning rituals. The early bird really does catch the worm at a car boot, so set an alarm, grab a coffee to go and enjoy it.
The saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” rings absolutely true at a car boot sale – there is literally something for everyone. So, whilst I shop for treasures, my husband is drooling over the sound of a cranky old chainsaw being fired up… it just works for the whole family.
Google your local car boots – there will be so many more around you than you even realise – the get there early to get the best pick of the treasures.
Tip 4: Shop via pre-loved and vintage sellers on Instagram.
Ok, so maybe you have absolutely no time to be gallivanting around charity shops and cannot be bothered with a 7am start at the car boot – that’s fine! Let a professional reseller do the leg work for you.
Instagram is rife with small businesses whose job it is to find you the absolute best pre-loved clothing items or vintage homeware pieces out there. At @pineandtreasure, I source everything from gingham midi dresses to Italian travertine coffee tables, vintage trench coats to bamboo furniture sets. Professional sellers like myself have the time, patience and connections to do regular sourcing, ensuring that we can find you the best treasures that are out there. Start following the accounts that match your style and taste. It’ll make your life easier to shop this way and you can do it in your pants. Big win? Yes!
The brass bath Katie found on Gumtree and restored.
Tip 5: Find furniture on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree.
Warning – if you like a bargain, you could get addicted to Facebook Marketplace! It’s so good because there is an insane amount of choice right on your doorstep. I personally think Facebook Marketplace is best for picking up furniture items. I set my search radius for about 10 miles of my house and extend it further depending on how willing I am to drive out to collect an item.
I recently bought a 4 seater chaise longue IKEA sofa for our new house from Facebook Marketplace for £300 and it was in immaculate condition. Shopping second hand isn’t all about vintage, even if you want IKEA furniture or something off Made.com, check Facebook Marketplace first as you’re likely to find it at a fraction of the retail price.
Don’t forget about Gumtree. It doesn’t have as many options as Facebook Marketplace, but this means there are some hidden gems, as it’s the people who don’t use Facebook who list on Gumtree. My best Gumtree buy was a brass freestanding bath which we restored to its former beauty after it had practically rotted in a rainy back garden. Like I said, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
Tip 6: Browse Vinted
I don’t actually use Vinted much myself, but I had to add this in at the end as more and more of my friends are raving about how good and cheap it is, especially for picking up kids clothing. Something I liked about it which you can’t do as easily on Instagram, is search the likes of “wedding guest outfit” and you’ll receive a plethora of results to browse through.
Of course, there is Depop and eBay too, but without sounding too biased, I still prefer to shop clothing via sellers on Instagram as the effort that goes into the sourcing and styling makes the options easier to browse.
So, there we have it, 6 top tips on how to shop second hand! Shopping this way saves you money whilst saving the planet, so what’s not to love?!
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