How and Why to Shop Secondhand
Secondhand Shopping 101: How I Saved $4,500 Buying Secondhand Furniture
Shopping secondhand can be a tremendous win-win and way to align our spending with our values. We save money because buying secondhand is often much cheaper, it’s better for the planet, and we’re not supporting companies and industries that exploit women. For some, the process can also be really exciting when you search and find something great.
How I saved $4,500 by buying secondhand furniture.
When we first moved into our new apartment, we wanted to buy a sofa bed for my office since it also doubles as our guest room. It was a big purchase so we spent a lot of time trying out the various sofa bed options. Most weren’t really comfortable (think lumpy mattresses with springs and bars) and they weren’t cheap. They cost $1.5-3K new.
Then we found the American Leather Sleeper Sofa and fell in love. It has a tempurpedic mattress that didn’t have springs and actually felt like a real bed. The only issue (and it’s a big issue) was that it cost $5-6K new.
We couldn’t stomach that price, but we weren’t ready to settle for something less comfortable. We decided to watch Facebook Marketplace and Craiglist to see if anyone was selling one secondhand nearby. We’d get so excited when we’d see one available, but I wanted to wait for the color I wanted. This would be a purchase we’d have for many years.
After a couple of months, we found it! A woman nearby had one she hardly used and wanted to buy something new. We drove over to see it and she sold it to us for $350! We rented a U-haul for $50, had the sofa professionally cleaned for $100, and all-in were able to get the exact sofa we wanted for a 90% discount ($4,500+ in savings).
It also felt good to reuse rather than buy something new. It’s one of my proudest purchases to this day!
Start small with an item or two to try it out.
This was my first foray into the secondhand market and I was hooked. The sofa bed was a great place to start because it was really worth it to me and the good experience got me excited to do it again.
You don’t have to go from buying everything new to buying everything secondhand. There might be an item or two that inspires you to look secondhand.
Wait for what you really want.
One of the reasons the sofa bed purchase went so well is because I was patient (even though sometimes it was really hard!) and waited for exactly what I wanted. A lot of the American Leather sofa beds came on the market that were in the wrong style or color. Although they wouldn't have worked as well or made us as happy, I was tempted to buy them in the moment because I just wanted to be done and have a sofa bed.
It can take time to find treasures. As someone with more of a type A personality, secondhand shopping can be really hard. If I focus on enjoying the process - the joy of the hunt - it’s easier to wait.
Support BIPOC and women-owned secondhand sellers.
When we’re shopping secondhand, there’s an additional opportunity to align our spending with our values. Yes, we’re already making the greener, more ethical choice, but we can take it a step further by also supporting BIPOC and womxn-owned secondhand stores and sellers. This might be a store with a physical location or can even an online storefront within a site like eBay or Poshmark.
As you find sellers you enjoy working with you can come back for repeat business and treasures. You can even build a relationship and share the types of items you are looking for and they can help you find them or look out for them to bring them into their stores.
Sell things to earn money.
The other side to secondhand shopping is to sell things second hand. So many members of our Fiscal Femme community sell items they are no longer using or wearing to make some additional cash. Whether it’s a full on side hustle or just a way to clean out your closet, it’s a great option to earn some money for the things you don’t wear or use while making sure they go to another loving home instead of a landfill.