How to shop second hand online
When I first started falling in love with fashion, I would pour over eBay dreaming of all the things I had hoped one day I’d be lucky enough to have. Never did I even bother walking through a luxury department store - there weren’t many available to me, plus I think the price tags just scared me away. I was still saving just to get something second hand! And eBay really was my gateway to fashion, I even named my first blog after it! eBay is my boyfriend - a silly name looking back, but the idea was that it brought me so much joy and I had been in a relationship - buying and selling - on their much longer than any romantic relationship I’d had.
Perhaps the idea of second hand puts some people off, not really knowing what the true condition of an item would be. There was also a lot of skepticism around the authenticity, since there was no verification of what sellers listed or checks before it was sent to you. The second hand market has come a long way since then! In over 10 years there are now sites that specifically sell luxury fashion, authenticating it as an extra level of protection for buyers.
No matter what site you use - second hand shopping is an incredible way to save money and factor a more sustainable ethos to your shopping.
Where to start
So, you are interested in shopping second hand online. Do you know what you want? That will be key to you unlocking the treasure trove of these sites, where there is so much to sift through. Even if you know what brands you’re interested in, that’s a great start to pull together a more structured plan.
If you just browse regularly, you will sink a lot of time and maybe not get a lot back. What I recommend is to set alerts around what you like or what you’re looking for, and make it specific if you can. I have about 10 alerts on both eBay and Vestiaire Collective at all times, and those alerts send me daily emails when they are highly demanded pieces that I’m sure other people want to! Once you start getting those alerts, then you get a feel for how much comes onto the market and how frequently, which allows you to also adjust your criteria or expectations.
Don’t accept the first offer
When it comes to price, the advantage of these sites is that the concept is more fluid. If you want to make an offer, you can! If something is slightly out of your price point, you can message the seller to see if they are flexible. Of course it’s possible that they aren’t flexible, but it’s always worth asking. Watching items for a while that still have not sold gives you a bit of leverage if the seller is eager to complete a sale.
eBay and Vestiaire are quite different in that eBay has auctions, buy it now and best offers, but Vestiaire is just buy it now or best offers. The difference with auctions is that the time constraint and open market activity means you are competing with other buyers. I can’t tell you the number of nail biting auctions I’ve been in where you definitely need to have a strategy to ensure you keep the price as low as possible and give yourself the best chance of winning.
My bidding strategy has always been to rely on the automated bidding that eBay implements. You want to be able to get in there last minute but with enough of a buffer to know that if anyone else has a maximum bid in, then you should be able to outbid them before they have enough time to act. It sounds like a sport - and I know my mom would tell you that it is! Back in 2010 it was about being on two computers at once and making sure you had the strongest wifi signal.
So if you’re ever bidding on the same item as me, then ignore all the below - because I want to win! But otherwise take this approach for your best bidding;
Know your competition by reading the active bids and the number of users. If someone bids twice in a row, you know they’ve put in a higher maximum
Determine your absolute maximum price to be sure you don’t go over in the heat of the moment
Bid your maximum in the last 20 seconds by inputting you max into the field and watching the clock countdown before actioning. Don’t worry about just bidding the minimum because the automated bidding will take care of that - putting your max means the system will bid for you if there is a bidding war!
Easing your concerns
There are some common concerns I’ve heard over the years - the excuses people might make for not going through with a purchase on eBay or Vestiaire Collective or The Real Real. There was a time when I did 80% of my shopping on eBay, so let me clarify what I can through my own experience.
How do you know if it fits?
Appreciating that this is dependent on your body shape, as some people are closer to a “standard” size than others, the secret to mitigating the fit risk is knowing your measurements. This would really be the same issue if you were shopping online and weren’t able to try something on, but the difference is that most sellers don’t offer returns. So if you don’t ask for measurements if you’re not sure, then you will be stuck reselling something if it doesn’t fit. You can even ask the person selling it for their measurements and any fit advice (small to size, large to size, true).
If you’re buying something you have access to try on in a store, I’ve also done that in the past! Find out if it will you and then save buying it second hand.
Is it authentic?
There is always a risk that something is fake - and I’ve actually had three instances where I believed what I was buying was authentic and only discovered it was fake upon receipt. The good news is that these sites offer protection to their buyers, so you can file a claim if you have received an item different to how it was described - that is, if the seller is not cooperating and won’t take a return. Other than the hassle of that extra work, it does give you a bit of a guarantee. I’d also recommend shopping for smaller brands where it’s less likely that fakes exist in the market.
Is it hygienic?
The final obstacle, and the one I think that stops most people shopping second hand, is hygiene. If you can’t get over the fact that an item has been in someone else’s closet, then second hand probably isn’t for you. But key to remember that there are plenty of items sold brand new with tags! Think of the things in your own closet that you’ve never worn - what if someone thought there was something wrong with it just because you’ve owned it before? Some people even return things to store after they’ve worn them… not that I’m encouraging that!
Anything you do buy, it never hurts to send it for a dry clean or put it in the wash. Shoes are probably the one exception, but it’s a main reason why second hand shoes tend to sell for much less.