Charity begins at home

Most people on a strict budget have discovered the charity shops as a source of cheap clothing, household items and books. Whether looking for jeans with lots of wear still in them to replace jeans with no wear left, household goods for a rented flat, or books for pleasure or study, these shops often become the first port of call.

However, I have found that there is still one fairly easy way to make a small amount of money to help stretch a tight budget. It involves visits to the charity shops but if you tend to drop into them on a regular basis this is not an arduous task. The areas that still offer up real bargains if you know what you are looking for are those of women’s clothes and accessories. I have found that a flick through the rails, shelves and baskets on the day or days when items are put out into the shop, can provide the sort of goods which can be sold for a profit. I aim to make an average of £50 a month. Not a lot of money, but then, I don’t have to do a lot to get it. I love going into the charity shops, and I am interested in fashion generally, and good clothes labels and fine workmanship in particular.

My approach involves finding any local second-hand clothes shops and then visiting the charity shops in order to source items which can be sold on through the former. There are one or two tricks of the trade which make this a viable proposition. Firstly, it is important to know what type of clothing each second-hand clothes shop takes. One which I sell through will not take in clothes over two years old. Another will not take M&S clothing, only designer labels or the occasional, very usable ‘vintage’ item. If you are lucky enough to find a real vintage bargain, try seeking out a vintage shop (in London if necessary) in order to realize the best price for it.

It is quite difficult to actually make money from buying cheaply from a charity shop and selling on nowadays. TV programmes such as Antiques Roadshow and Flog It have made everyone (those who price the goods as well as those who buy them) much more aware of the worth of items which show up from time to time. Added to this, more and more people set out to make money by selling at boot fairs rather than handing their belongings over to charity. True antique items, collectible curios and first edition books no longer appear very often. Those who pick a specialist area such as books or old LPs and buy from local sources to resell on Ebay require a great deal of time and patience and so this is not a money-making venture for everyone.

 

Secondly, you have to be aware of what percentage of the sale is kept by the shop. You have to make a profit after the second-hand shops have taken theirs. Nowadays, most seem to ask for 50%, so if you buy a charity-shop coat for £2 you need to know that it will be sold for more than £10 in order to make it worth your while. I tend to save up the clothes which I have bought for re-sale and present them in batches which I have estimated will give me a profit of between £30-£40 between the lot of them. This usually works out at about 10 items, each bought at about £1.50 and sold for an average price of £10 (perfectly possible with the right garment placed in the right shop). £50 of the £100 made is kept by the shop, and there is usually upwards of £35 profit to be made after the initial outlay of £15 is deducted. My system allows for some clothes making more money to compensate for others which do not do as well as expected. You will need to rely on the owner of the shop to guide you as to the price she would expect to be able to get for you. I always take advice on this issue unless I feel strongly that I want to try for more initially and reduce if necessary. I usually give an indication of the lowest price which I am prepared to take for something if it does not sell quickly or if someone is interested in it but does not want to pay the asking price. If an item is taking a long time to sell, and I think that it might end up being returned to me, I will aim to get back my money by selling at the price for which I bought it.

 

I think this is preferable to sell at cost price rather than taking something unsold back home with me. However, my third tip is concerned with the need to factor in the cost of items which do not sell at all. The clues to success on this front are: buy as cheaply as possible (always try to get a reduction in price when buying) so that you waste as little money as possible; hold a boot fair once a year to sell off all the items (the clothes, shoes, hats and jewellery) which did not attract attention when they were offered in the clothes shops. If you share a stall with a friend or friends looking to sell unwanted goods of their own you will easily get back your initial outlay and might even make an unexpected profit!

A fourth tip is to make friends with those who work in the charity shops which you visit. It is in the interests of those running the show to sell as quickly as possible. It is not good to have the same goods sitting around in the shop for weeks on end.  I have found that if they know what you are looking for, the assistants will keep an eye out for those items on your behalf and hold them back for you if they know that you come in on a regular basis.

My fifth suggestion has become the key to success for me. I look continually but I keep back anything that I find that is ‘out of season’. Garments made of white linen, for example, can be bought very cheaply at the beginning of Autumn and the same is true of sparkly evening bags which turn up in the Spring. However, both of these sell really well during other times of the year. I have four boxes labelled with the four seasons and white linen goes into the Summer box, sparkling evening bags into the Winter (as there is a great demand for these at Christmas and the new year).      

Tips for success:

1. Look for the best quality and the up-to-date: no cheap high street labels (there is no ‘mark up’ to be had on these). No padded shoulders (at least, not at the moment as ‘80s-retro’ has not yet returned to favour.
2. Be realistic. Look at everything. Old handbags, jewellery.
3. Always clean and iron. DO NOT buy anything which you might have to dry-clean before reselling unless the high cost of the cleaning is likely to be recouped because the garment is worth a lot of money for some reason.
4. Use your eye and develop a knowledge of the labels to look out for. On one occasion I found a Maxmara coat for £5.50 which was resold for £80. A Frederick Fox hat, bought for £4.50 sold for £40. But often the unusual or quirky can be equally successful. For many years I could find old Indian velvet evening bags embroidered with gilt wire for 20p-50p and these would sell at Christmas and New Year for £6-£10 depending on the intricacy of the embroidery.
5. Look out for anything with ‘good’ labels in them. This may seem obvious as most people would notice a ‘Gucci’ or ‘Dolce and Gabbanna’ label. However, there are many well-made handbags with store labels in them which are worth snapping up. Clutches and short-handled bags from the 1940s, 50s and 60s are those which I am looking out for at the moment.
6. Avoid shoes unless in immaculate condition and of particular note (that is, they are a good label (Jimmy Choo springs to mind!) or particularly quirky). With regard to the latter, I once got £15 for a pair of unworn, bronze leather, thick-platformed strappy sandals. I had bought them for £1.
7. Perhaps most importantly, never spend a lot of money in the first place. ALWAYS look for low initial outlay. The charity shop may already have taken the only profit to be had from the item when YOU bought it.

You can also adapt this money-making idea to suit you personally. One of my friends buys throughout the year but sells at a series of boot-fair over the Summer. She shares the stall with a friend. Her approach is worth considering: She wears any items such as jackets, jewellery and hats which can be taken off easily because she found that people often commented on her appearance and wanted to buy what she was wearing. So now, she models items as she mans the stall. If someone buys her coat or brooch she replaces it from her ‘stock’. Her undergarments are not for sale.

The greatest disadvantage of this particular pocket-money project lies in the fact that second-hand clothes shops are usually geared towards women’s clothing. However, anyone with an interest in fashion and a good eye for quality or fashionable quirkiness can use this idea to make money. Go carefully at first in order to find out how to make it work in your area. Test your research by trying to re-sell just one evening handbag or an item of clothing which you think is worth more than the charity shop have put on it.   Remember, what is popular in second-hand clothes shops in Southampton is not necessarily easily saleable in or Edinburgh.

The Do’s of Conserving Hard Cash

How do students save money? You might be a student asking this kind of question with answers you simply want to discover for yourself. If you are struggling to save money, yet are easily lured by a lot of temptations like shopping, going to the pub, watching movies, eating out with friends and partying, then you can never save notes at all.

To get you started on your saving-money objective, here are the following tips and helpful hints:

1. Set a timeframe. This works for people who are planning to save money but are having a hard time making it possible. As a student, the best thing you can do is to make a journal of all your expenses on a daily basis and how much money is left in your pocket. Afterwards, set a specific date along with a desired amount that you wish to save. This record and timeframe will help you push through with your saving objectives in no time.

2. Set your goals and purposes. Why are you saving money? Is it for your mom’s birthday or a present for yourself for being an A student? You must have an objective and purpose why you are saving up. This will help you motivate yourself to save more and spend wisely.

3. Open a savings account. Even at an early stage of life, students must know how to open a bank account and generate the practice of depositing saved money, extra cash from parents, earnings from a part time job, and everything that is needed to be saved should be saved.

Make Your Student Life Easier

It’s hard being a student at times. You’re practically forced in to debts, and to be honest there’s no way to avoid them. You can however be smart with your spending, and hopefully come away from University with as little debt as possible.

NUS Discounts

Students live life on a tight budget, and as a result many companies offer student discounts. A lot of these companies don’t advertise this so the best thing to do as a consumer is to ask. There’s no harm in asking! A good card to have in your wallet is the NUS Extra card. You have to pay for it, but it offers some excellent discounts.

Budget

It’s important to know how much money you have coming in. Most of it will be from loans, which you will one day have to pay back. Be strict, and don’t spend more than you have. Think through all of your purchases, and make sure you’re always getting the best deal. Shop around, flash your NUS card, whatever it takes to save some money.

Booze Money

No ones going to deny the fact that students know how to enjoy a drink or two. A large proportion of your loan will be spent on partying, but money can still be saved. Set yourself a budget of how much you’d like to spend in a night. If you’re one of those people who gets drunk and winds up spending far more than they wanted to then simply leave your debit cards at home. Make the student union and student bars your frequent drinking holes as they sell drinks at great prices.

Get a Job

If you’re struggling with money you should avoid borrowing more. You don’t want to come out of University with more debt than necessary. The best way to find work is to get your foot in the door before anyone else. Apply for jobs over the summer when everyone is back at home, or move in to your place earlier. You don’t want to find all the jobs have gone when you arrive. You should also try to organize yourself some work through the periods when you’re not at University and get some money saved.

Do you have any other advice for students on how to save money? Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Buying Text Books Cheap

With a new term upon you, one of the things new students are going to need is text books. It can be a very expensive process, so try following these tips on how to buy and sell your student text books.

Make no mistake about it, publishers do not aid students very much and your text books will be a hefty sum from your beer money if you are not careful; college bookstores are often overpriced too! Be thankful that we now live in the age of the internet and, with a little time spent researching, you can save yourself a bundle.

Step 1 - Research

Many students rush into purchasing text books as they leave things to the last minute. Try finding out in advance what your course reading involves. Emailing your professor is worth the time and effort in the long run as they will usually have your reading prepared. Failing that try the secretary at the department. Getting ahead is one step closer to saving your student cash.

Step 2 - Buying Cheap Student Text Books

The first place I would recommend looking is Amazon.com. Using your advance knowledge, look for used copies of the books. You will find that a lot of students are now selling their books at the end of the semester in order to regain some of their spending. Don’t forget to factor in the shipping costs too!

Check student notice boards, or online classifieds like gumtree.com and you might find that you can strike a deal with a private seller from the same course as the one you are about to embark on.

If all this fails to meet your budget then you could also try buying an older edition of the book. If you intend to do this then do be careful. Check the table of contents (usually available on amazon) to see if there are any dramatic changes. You can sometimes get away with this as every couple of years the professors bring out a new edition and the University bookstores stop selling the older version - a good racket if you ask me - but whatever you do, NEVER buy an edition more than one edition out of date.  So if the latest edition is number six, do not bother with anything other than edition five.

Step 3 - Selling

Ok, so you will not have to do this for a while, but by keeping the books in as good a condition as possible you will be able to recoup some money when it comes to your turn to sell. Wherever possible, try to avoid marking the books - use pencil and avoid highlighters. Don’t use them as doorstops and keep the cover and binding in good condition.

Sell your books at the beginning of the semester when there are more people looking to buy, but don’t wait too long as you will be stuck with them. Try selling them back as used books on amazon, it is easy to set up an account and you will find that if you have stocked up on enough reading you should come out with enough money for a good night out to celebrate you passing your exams!