will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

Hi, we are shortly moving to NSW and some of our furniture to be frank will not survive a move. We need to be careful with our cash to start with and I was wondering wether it is possible to buy decent 2nd hand stuff easily or not?
Thanks in advance:)

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

Yup, Op Shops all over the place. Also log on to Freecycle for the area you will be living in - our local Freecycle is very active and you could pretty much furnish a house for nothing if you were so inclined.

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

I read here somewhere ages ago, that in some areas it's customary to leave unwanted large items of furniture & such on the pavement for collection by the council. It's apparently okay for neighbours to help themselves if they see anything they need....wish I could find the link for this now :)

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

I've been working overseas and out of State for years and became sick of the trouble and the expense of moving my furniture into storage every time I took a contract.

Then I discovered the Salvation Army stores. Our local store has a good selection of furniture and the stock changes almost every day, so if you're prepared to wait and go in almost every day, you can probably find exactly what you are looking for.

They have almost everything there that you will need to start your new home, including crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils.

My local store charges $20 for delivery, that's per load not per item and best of all, when you no longer need the furniture, just call the store, tell them you want to donate the item and they will collect it for free.

I'm surprised that more new immigrants don't make use of the 'Sallies' store to set-up their new home, until they know for sure that Australia is all they wanted it to be. rather than bringing out whole containers of stuff from UK and then possibly having to ship it all back again.

Personally I wouldn't buy a second-hand bed or bedding, but apart from that you could probably furnish a whole home for about $500. Much cheaper than the cost of moving your furnishings from UK.

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

Don't get too excited at the prospect of Salvos. It's great if you like blue velour sofas and bright orange pine wardrobes but the reality is that most of the stuff is just junk.

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

thats great thanks, I saw a thread on here the other day where someone was saying that they thought it was great they could kit out the house for $15,000!!!!!! I was hoping for more like $1500 so that sounds right up my street. I use freecycle here so will look into it as soon as we get sorted. Once again thanks for all your help, this place is brill :thumbsup:

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

yes bulk rubbish is great for picking up unwanted stuff which can be in good shape, obviously though most is broken down rubbish and you are in competition with blokes in vans who go round for the second hand shops

vinnies, salvos, op shops all exist some are very small and have minimal furniture.

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

garage sales are very popular here. there,s always loads on at weekends. Often entire house contents

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

As others have said - the Freecycle network is flourishing here!! I have been given and given away HEAPS of things! It's fabulous.

It depends on your area as to how active they are, but you can join the ones in your surrounding areas too. I am a member of 3!

Love

Rudi
x

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

You been donating then:D

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

I've got a semi already - where? Where?

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

Not sure if you'll be in or near Sydney but there is this place: http://www.bower.org.au/

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

We will be near Sydney so that is great thanks, will look into it :D

Re: will I find thrift/2nd hand stores
 

The other place that's good to check out is the Sydney Gumtree website - heaps of stuff on there & fast turnover.