Your Guide To Shopping Secondhand Online
What to buy & from where...
This post began with a whole list of all the various online secondhand platforms, but you know what it was LONG and rambling and in reality there are only a handful that I use often and therefore recommend. Over the years I’ve honed my skills of what to buy (and how!), from where, so today I thought I’d share my tips. Yes I know the true bargains are to be had in a more hands-on experience, but as someone who prefers to online shop (I know! I know!), time-constraints and quite honestly, preference, mean that I like to do my preloved shopping online too. So here’s the ultimate guide…
VINTED - my number one choice, especially for specific items and more high-street and vintage finds
If you are a consumer of my content then this probably will come as no surprise. Yes, I have worked with Vinted on various campaigns, but I was a buyer and seller long before that and proudly have 100+ five star user generated reviews that I feel like a proud mum about (and is half the reason why I’m trying to slow the speed of consumption this year!!). I’ve even made a video before on my top tips for buying on there..
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
There are two ways that I like to use it.
BE SPECIFIC - This is how I was reunited with my Topshop snakeskin boots that I sold and had buyers regret five years later. I did a search for ‘Topshop Snakeskin Boots’ - filtered by size and condition and found exactly what I was looking for within about two minutes. This is really handy if you know exactly what you’re after, or you’re looking for a specific item that might be sold out that you never managed to get your hands on. I always filter for my size to avoid aimlessly scrolling, and filter for condition too, then set the filter from new to old. If I can’t find what I want on there then I will go to Depop as my second choice, and then eBay as my third.
MAKE YOUR OWN FEED - This is a fun way to scroll if you have an itch to shop, but are trying to make more secondhand purchases over new ones. Go to the search tab and then just filter from there. I usually go ‘womens’, then add in brands I love to the 'brand’ tab - think Toteme, St Agni, ARKET - whatever you fancy - then I add a filter for ‘size’, ‘condition’ and again filter from ‘new to old’. This creates a feed that’s personalised to you. Next to the search bar at the top there’s a little bookmark icon, select that and it will save your search and your filters, so next time you enter the search bar it will automatically come up.
VESTIAIRE COLLECTIVE* - if I’m looking for something high-end then this is where I head
I’d say that if you were to total up all my purchases over the years, then Vestiaire is only slightly behind Vinted. In my eyes they occupy different spaces. If I was looking for something more high-street, mid-price or vintage then I’d go to Vinted, but if I was looking for something designer then it’s Vestiaire (although Vinted have started to offer authentication, which would really make it the one-stop platform for me then!). From a Toteme coat that was half of the original price, to many (many!) long discontinued Celine hobo bags, it’s been a place of great browsing pleasure for me. Here’s my advice:
If you reside in the U.K., then set up the ‘from U.K’ filter as you will get charged taxes and duties over any purchases made outside the U.K over £135. One good thing if you do buy out of the region is that Vestiaire calculates this cost for you and it’s included at checkout so there aren’t any surprises when it arrives at your door.
Set up alerts! If there is an item that you’re really hunting down then do a search for it, set up your filters and then set up an alert. You can set up the frequency of these alerts and whether you’d like to receive them by email or mobile notification. They come in really handy if there’s something in high demand that you’re looking for.
Ask the seller questions. I sometimes find that important information about sizing, or composition is missed out from listings and sometimes the photos don’t show exactly what you want to see either. So feel free to ask the seller questions - I usually find people to be really quick to respond on there.
The other alternative to Vestiaire when you’re searching for something designer is The Real Real*. I’ve purchased a few things from there, but I don’t find the browsing experience as satisfying and they don’t include their duties and taxes and they are instead collected at delivery, so that’s just something to keep in mind if you’re making a purchase from the U.K from them. Side note: if you’re looking for a Celine hobo bag I find the market for them is less hot on TRR over Vestiaire, so you’re more likely to grab one from there!
Those are my two big platforms where most of my money goes, but there are some great independents too. These are my favourites:
The Hosta - SO MANY GREAT BAGS. I’ve purchased from there and I LOVE my buys. The sourcing is brilliant.
Curate + Rotate - The suede jacket from the photo above? Curate + Rotate. For a neutral palette of higher-end and vintage pieces, this is where to head every Sunday evening at 8pm.
Retold Vintage - I don’t think a high-end designer vintage selection gets better than this. Pieces sell out FAST.
Eleven11 Vintage - my favourite Depop seller. I’d say that the selection tends to run a little too small for me, but regardless they’ve got a great eye.
The Nines - for vintage jewellery drops. Gorgeous chunky pieces, they do exactly the kind of jewellery that makes a statement and I love to wear.
Feel free to drop any of your favourite sellers down below - I’m ALWAYS on the hunt for more. And yes I’ve got a brown suede jacket on the brain - can you tell?
Anna x
YES to this! I would add for your US following — Dora Maar (curated by “Muse” — could be influencer, editor, or just a hard working individual who loves clothes, like moi). Also — for all eBay-ers … that on eBay you can use a free service called Auction Sniper (auctionsniper.com) to bid for you and snipe at your set price or under at the last minute! And high praise for Japan on eBay - their Hermes resell game is really trustworthy and thriving! 😘