And now: SHOPPING!

SHOPPING

Raise your hand if you’ve been spending a bit of money online during the Coronapocalypse!

: Feve waves her arms in the air :

*laugh*

Yeah, that’s me. Definitely.

Yes, yes, I know… Rampant consumerism and “you don’t really need that” and all that jazz. But y’know what? I so totally do not care.

The state government, in all their ‘wisdom’, decided that it was okay for pot shops to be open but book stores had to be closed; restaurants were completely closed down for a while and then only available for takeout for.fucking.EVER (with tentative openings for actual dining starting — finally! — last week, but I don’t expect that will last); secondhand stores are a toss-up and estate sales are practically non-existent.

I can’t go out for coffee; I have to cook all the damn time (I hate cooking!); work is still something I do, but somewhat differently and muy uncomfortably when it must be done from home; so if I want to treat myself to a little shopping spree, I’m damn well going to!

*foot stomp*

But, y’know… Money management, and all.

So I’m spending money but I’m doing it in a frugal fashion (if that makes sense).

Here’s how:

Buying New (to me) Does Not Equal BUYING NEW

Not necessarily, anyway.

And buying “used” (secondhand, recycled) does not necessarily mean the items I’m buying are USED, either.

I’ve long been a fan of shopping in secondhand venues. Thrift stores — or what those in the UK tend to call “charity shops” — are a lot of fun, and when you shop at one, you’re doing something good for your community as well as spending in a way that’s easy on the wallet. In the U.S., Goodwill is one of the best (and I mean that on all levels — what they do, how they do it, and the fact that they put 90% of their monies earned back into their NPO to provide more jobs and more opportunities — they really are a good organization!) organizations to donate to and to shop from, and I’ve found some great things there, including but not limited to:

• a never-worn pair of peep-toe INC platform heels
• a 4-ft by 3-ft abstract painting
• collectible salt & pepper shakers (I have a little collection of S&P shakers)
• a swooshy black sleeveless dress (hello, $2.99!)
• a llama cookie jar (I also collect cookie jars)
• two a.ma.zing winter coats — one vintage ’60s and one an ’80s Russian wool throwback (yes, I have a small collection of coats) (does 20 coats count as a collection?) (or as ‘small’?)
• brand new NYT Bestsellers
• scarves, scarves, and more scarves (yep, a collection…)
• a travel backpack
• jewelry (I collect jewelry too)
• a large round white fuzzy rug (bow-chicka-nrow-ow…)
• a TV stand
• DVDs, CDs, and (yes, seriously) VHS tapes, and
• a whole buncha other cool shit

And sometimes?

That donated-to-charity stuff that I buy on the cheap is NEW.

Like, original store tags still attached, never used/worn, in-mint-condition kind of NEW.

It all has to be washed/cleaned, of course. (And really, anything you buy from a regular department store should be cleaned before use too — you don’t have any idea what kind of unhealthy conditions some of those items are made in and/or shipped through!) But I’m down with that.

Especially since I’m paying way less for the items I buy this way than I would if I was purchasing them new from a department store!

Shopping Thriftily Online

In the absence of being able to shop in my local thrift stores for a large portion of the Coronapocalypse (and also being unable to shop my favorite secondhand consignment clothing stores because of COVID restrictions), I started shopping online.

I say ‘started’ because really, for me, online shopping is something I only recently started doing (with the exception of buying on eBay, which I’ve been doing for nearly 20 years) and I’ve only done it because of Armageddon.

BUT

I’ve had some definite wins.

Witness: THE BOOTS.

#amiright?!

And the wins were mostly ‘won’ (though there is no bidding involved, you just buy straight out) through an online resale outlet called ThredUP.*

If you want to try shopping there (or on any similar platform, like TheRealReal or Poshmark or suchlike), I would recommend doing the following:

• know your brands — what they sell for at full retail, how they fit — and stick to what you know is both a good deal for your budget and a good fit for your bod
• narrow your search right off the bat, either via category (i.e., shoes or sweaters) or set limits on size or price point — not doing this leads to Overwhelmsville
• select the option to view ‘like new’ or ‘new with tags’ ONLY (this will save you from getting something that is way too worn to want to wear; how each individual classifies ‘minor wear’ varies, so I’ve learned to just go for new)
• search for discount codes (BEMINE will get you additional discounts through 11:59pm on 2/15) and/or sign up for their mailing list to get discount codes sent to you that way

*this is in no way a sponsored post; I’m just sharing something that works for me

Earning Money Via Thrift

AGAIN, for emphasis: This is not a sponsored post. These are just things that work for me!

In addition to buying in thrifty ways, you can sell to fellow thrifters, either directly (a la eBay, for example) or by selling your no-longer-worn closet goods to an outlet that is in the resale business. ThredUP (as above) has a closet clean-out program, but I can’t speak to how reasonable it is because I’ve not personally used it. There are also nationwide chains like Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange that buy clothing from customers for resale in their stores. It’s different than traditional consignment in that they give you cash straight-out for your items. You don’t have to wait for your items to sell to get a payout, and both of those outfitters are straight-up about how it works.

Plato’s Closet buys clothes on a walk-in basis (I do not think they are set up to do any purchasing online) and they will make you a cash offer for what they take. Mostly they cater to a teens/young-20s crowd (think: fast fashion) and they pay you 20-30% of what they will sell your items for. But keep in mind that they sell their items at approximately 70% off of retail. So what that looks like is:

• you bought a sweater for $49 at American Eagle and only wore it once
• Plato’s Closet will buy your AE sweater with a plan to sell it for $14
• you will get $4 cash for your sweater

Buffalo Exchange is pretty much targeted to ages 18-35, so they take a variety of clothing — somewhat different from Plato’s Closet in that they look for schnazzy jackets and cocktail dresses as well as concert T-shirts and Doc Martens; I find Buffalo Exchange to be much more diverse in their interests — and will give you either {a} 50% of what your stuff will sell for in the form of store credit, or {b} 30% of the expected sale price in cash.

They have a sell-by-mail program for people who aren’t near a physical store. I haven’t used it, but considering how good my luck has been when I take my things to their physical locations, I’d recommend it if you have decent stuff.

You can also check out your local clothing consignment stores and reach out to their proprietors if you want to support a local business and make some money at the same time. I especially encourage people to do that (I have a local shop I work with too — it’s been a little less in the last year for obvious reasons, but it’s my first choice!) because not only do we need to help small businesses all we can right now, but also we need to support women-owned businesses — which most clothing consignment businesses are.

Other Thrifty Shopping Tips

If you love books, try shopping for them via local or Indie outlets that may have trade programs or rewards systems. There are a few stores in my region that sell both new and used books side-by-side on the shelves; this provides a bit of spot cash for people looking to trade in previous reads as well as allowing budget-conscious buyers a chance to pay less-than-full price for a book that’s in great condition.

Powell’s does this, for those of you familiar with the famous Pacific Northwest bookseller. There are also smaller stores all over the country that function this way. Many have been restricted from taking in used stock for the past several months and so are ready to buy as soon as is feasible. Others have set up online retailing for their existing stock. I know one of my local favorites is re-opened (with massive restrictions; I have to make an appointment to go in) but is buying now. Another (not-necessarily-favorite, but frequented) is buying in person and also has online availability for purchasing. (Right now, if you take their little romance quiz you can get 14% off your online purchase. I don’t know how long it’s good for though.)

As for anything else you might want to buy but spend thriftily on…

I’ll leave the comments open for recommendations thus. 🙂

.

Have you been spending money online during the various lockdowns?

What thrifty shopping tips would you like to share?

.