Second-Hand Shopping

My obsession began back in the sixties, when I was a young bride with a student husband and with little money. Someone pointed out that if we couldn't afford good furniture, it was better to buy inexpensive, used items that could be replaced in a few years. That made sense, but I soon discovered other virtues of buying second-hand items.

We were living in Chicago, at that time a gold mine of old oak furniture that was no longer stylish. I found some things in a Salvation Army shop that not only was a gigantic warehouse, but even offered free delivery. Since then I have furnished several apartments and houses as I moved from Chicago to New York and on to the San Francisco Bay area, selling and replacing things as needed.

My greatest successes have been with century-old buildings where used furniture can be passed off as antiques. By the time we bought a rundown Craftsman in 1995, we had a respectable collection of restored used furniture and inherited antiques that looked right at home in their new surroundings. Today, following an estate sale and considerable downsizing, I am furnishing a small home in the Sierra Nevada foothills that was built in 2005. This has been a major challenge, as the house calls for modern furniture.

Anyone can profit from buying used items, but young people can do best; they will have many years to replace bad buys, change their tastes, and let good investments increase in value. An oak glass-fronted bookcase that I bought for $40 in the sixties and refinished moved with me around the country. There was always a place where it was useful and attractive. Decades later I sold it for several times what it cost.

Though it is good to keep an open mind about what you may buy, you need to have a general plan before venturing into a thrift shop or estate sale. Otherwise, you can easily become confused, spend too much, and end up with a jumble of mismatched items. You should think about your color scheme (a favorite painting can give you a good idea of what colors can be successfully combined) and the style of furniture you are looking for. In general you should avoid looking for current styles, because they have not yet made their way to used shops—instead, try to think in terms of classic styles such as Craftsman or Scandinavian Modern. When in doubt, remember the sage advice of nineteenth-century designer William Morris to “have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” This may limit your purchases severely, but it is better to buy too little than too much. On the other hand, if you fall in love with something unusual, maybe that tells you something unexpected about your tastes. If you have not already invested heavily in another style, you can revise your plan.

Shopping for wood furniture and small decorative items can be done relatively efficiently; you can tell at a glance if something is right for you. Buying clothing and other fabrics is harder, because most shops have large arrays, with little indication of size or style. My approach is to move along the racks quickly, looking only at the colors and fabrics, then pulling out any that look promising for closer inspection.

You can find second-hand things everywhere, especially in the current economy; to make the best use of your time look in the richest sources:

·               Garage sales are rarely good, but if you can look at one conveniently, go early in the day.

·                College towns can be good places for shopping, especially for books, office items, and miscellany. Wasteful students may throw out valuable things to avoid the bother of moving them; you can take advantage of their improvidence.

·               Upscale areas are another source. The residents may get rid of good furniture or appliances just to buy for a new trend.

·               Thrift shops can be good or poor sources. Usually there is at least one outstanding thrift shop in an urban area.

·               Estate sales are by far the best source I’ve found; the furniture tends to be of higher quality than elsewhere, and the sellers are motivated to sell at reasonable prices. (I once bought an entire mahogany dining room suite for $200. It was in mint condition.)

·               Antique and consignment shops are sometimes surprisingly affordable. In addition, shopping in them will help you learn what good furniture should look like.  Often an antique is a better bargain than a new item, and will eventually increase in value.

I keep a notebook containing floor plans, fabric swatches, measurements for windows, and so forth in my car at all times, and carry a tape measure in my purse. Being able to measure items or compare colors can save making ill-advised purchases of items that can seldom be returned.

            Usually whatever you bring home will need some cleanup or minor repairs (which may make an astonishing difference). You can be prepared by always having on hand important items like Murphy’s oil soap, Old English scratch remover (both dark and light), sand paper, and ammonia.

Always be looking for something—you may or may not find it, but you are likely to run across other useful things in the process. Serendipity is part of the fun.

As a frugal consumer, I have found second-hand buying both profitable and enjoyable, but there are other, more important benefits: When you buy something that has been previously owned, you are not using wood or other resources that would have been consumed for making it new. You may be saving an item from going to a landfill. In most cases, you are contributing to a charity or to a seller who needs the income.