4 Second Hand Shopping Tips - Broke in London


4 Second Hand Shopping Tips

I’ve cleaned my closet, now what?

by Afro (follow her on Twitter: @foustoon)

Get rid of unwanted items, do something new & be rewarded for it!

Are you finishing your studies in August and being kicked out of your accommodation by the end of this month? Is your plan summarized by “crash on a friend’s couch for a few days and then go to the next one until I find a job that can pay my bills”? Yeah, that was me a couple of years ago. It was the end of July and I had just realised
A.
I had to get out of my room in less than 2 weeks
B. During my MSc I had accumulated loads of stuff I did not need
C. None of the dresses I had could be described as business dress code
Therefore could not be worn in any of my interviews, and I would not get the job, what a vicious circle! When you have to live out of one suitcase indefinitely, you don’t need all the extra stuff. What are your options? What can you do with a close-to-zero balance in your student account? Here are 4 shopping tips for you to get you started:

#1 Charity shops

Work both ways: you can donate any unwanted items even books and cutlery (and gain some karma points!) and you can find shirts and skirts at bargain prices. If you just arrived in UK and it all sounds Greek to you, Oxfam Online Shop, British Heart Foundation and Scope are probably some easy signs to look for when you are on the street. There are hundreds of charity shops out there – do your research!

Shopping Tips

Pic taken by aboutmyarea.co.uk

#2 Car-boot sales

Again you can either choose to sell your own stuff or search for hidden treasures. The biggest one is probably Battersea’s car-boot sale on Sundays, though there are a few around London. Remember to get there early enough as good items sell out quickly!

Shopping Tips

Pic taken  by batterseaboot.com

#3 H&M

H&M have launched a campaign where for every bag of unwanted items you drop in a box like the one below, they reward you with a £5 voucher off your next buy. Visit H&M’s webpage to find more information and a list of participating stores.

Shopping Tips

Pic taken by hm.com

#4 Swap parties

One person’s garbage is another person’s treasure. These are the steps you have to follow to get in Mrs Bear’s: pack a bag with any unwanted items (up to 7) in good condition, clean and ironed. Give in your bag as you enter the party and pick up items –similar in price range to the ones you gave- on offer. Check the upcoming events.

Shopping Tips

Pic taken by timeout.com

Find more posts by Afroditi.

You may also want to check our post about Cashback Websites.







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