As I walk into the fluorescent lit room, palms sweating, my worn down $2 sandals scuff the ancient lime green lino. A small crowd of ‘junkies’ turn to watch me enter, as my sponsor pulls a hard, plastic chair into the circle for me to sit on. I park my backside onto the chair and as I sit, the zip of my 50c skirt stabs me in the lower back. Eight expectant faces stare at me. As I open my mouth the saliva suddenly drains away. “Hi, my name’s Almaz and I’m a secondhand junkie”.
At this point in the daydream I shake myself awake, refocus my blurred vision and head towards the counter of my friendly neighborhood Salvation Army to purchase that ‘must have’ cardigan that screams ‘previously owned by an 85 year old man’.
It may seem extreme and unreasonable to suggest that secondhand shopping may be just as addictive as drugs, but in my case, and in the cases of an ever growing population of New Zealand bargain hunters, secondhand shopping is proving to be a habit we just can't shake.
So where has this addiction come from? Who is responsible for this new generation of bargain hunters who will stop at nothing to save a few dollars? Who is the ‘drug dealer’ in this scenario? Believe it or not, second hand shopping is not a new concept. It was around long before Facebook, IPhones and even before the birth of Shorty Street. If we look back to our grandparents generation, it is clear that long before our time they were doing pretty much the exact same thing as us; selling their soul for a bargain. Back in a time where shops didn’t open on Saturdays, the classic Kiwi garage sale dominated the Saturday morning social scene. Mum and Dad would rug the kids up, chuck them in the back of the station wagon and spend the morning going from garage to garage in search of nothing in particular. Returning home only happened when the entire boot was full of a whole load of stuff that Mum and Dad were bound to get sick of and sell in their own garage sale a few months later. This Saturday morning tradition stuck with Kiwis through the years, and even though the golden days of the garage sale left us with the old millennium, garage sales do still happen every weekend around New Zealand.
As modern New Zealanders we have inherited our bargain hunting tendencies from our grandparents and therefore cannot be blamed for our seemingly alarming behavior. However, addiction to secondhand shopping is an increasing problem in New Zealand due to one thing; Trademe. Our grandparents generation had one day solely devoted to fulfilling their junkie cravings, but with the birth of the internet the new generation no longer have to wait for the weekend to get our fix. We are able to access thousands of secondhand listings at the click of a mouse, seven days a week. Nowdays, where ever internet can be accessed, so can secondhand shopping; and let’s be honest, the internet can be accessed pretty much anywhere. With Trademe being so readily available, addiction forms and we start to find ourselves on the computer for hours, watching other ‘undeserving’ people attempt to outbid us on items that truly are destined to be ours.
Along with Trademe, there are of course the traditional form of secondhand shops - you know, the actual real life shop kind. The Salvation Army, St Vincent De Paul, and Savemart, just to name a few, are the ever popular family favorites when it comes to getting a quick, effortless bargain. Basically anywhere you go in New Zealand you’re bound to come across one of these stores that, to be honest, probably contain some of the nations most valuable treasures. Whether it’s that 50c pair of jeans direct from the 1980’s, or that floral vase that looks identical to the one that Aunt Marge used to have, these shops always prove to be a treasure trove for anybody from the first time secondhand shopper to the self confessed junkie.
Which ever way you look at it, secondhand shopping seems to be an important part of Kiwi life that most likely will always remain so. It’s in our blood, our hearts and… our internet favorites list. For many modern New Zealanders secondhand bargains just seem to follow us around wherever we go; and to be honest most of us really don’t have the willpower to resist. I’m a prime example of this new generation of secondhand junkies. At my tender age I’m proud to say that around 60% of the things I own are secondhand. It’s a rare day that I don’t wear or use something that has been previously owned by only God knows who, and that’s just the way I like it. I’m sorry to say it but I just don’t want to give up the junk for a clean life. I well and truly am a secondhand junkie. And besides, there’s nothing like rocking a cardigan that still smells like an 85 year old man. What more could I ask for?
As modern New Zealanders we have inherited our bargain hunting tendencies from our grandparents and therefore cannot be blamed for our seemingly alarming behavior. However, addiction to secondhand shopping is an increasing problem in New Zealand due to one thing; Trademe. Our grandparents generation had one day solely devoted to fulfilling their junkie cravings, but with the birth of the internet the new generation no longer have to wait for the weekend to get our fix. We are able to access thousands of secondhand listings at the click of a mouse, seven days a week. Nowdays, where ever internet can be accessed, so can secondhand shopping; and let’s be honest, the internet can be accessed pretty much anywhere. With Trademe being so readily available, addiction forms and we start to find ourselves on the computer for hours, watching other ‘undeserving’ people attempt to outbid us on items that truly are destined to be ours.
Along with Trademe, there are of course the traditional form of secondhand shops - you know, the actual real life shop kind. The Salvation Army, St Vincent De Paul, and Savemart, just to name a few, are the ever popular family favorites when it comes to getting a quick, effortless bargain. Basically anywhere you go in New Zealand you’re bound to come across one of these stores that, to be honest, probably contain some of the nations most valuable treasures. Whether it’s that 50c pair of jeans direct from the 1980’s, or that floral vase that looks identical to the one that Aunt Marge used to have, these shops always prove to be a treasure trove for anybody from the first time secondhand shopper to the self confessed junkie.
Which ever way you look at it, secondhand shopping seems to be an important part of Kiwi life that most likely will always remain so. It’s in our blood, our hearts and… our internet favorites list. For many modern New Zealanders secondhand bargains just seem to follow us around wherever we go; and to be honest most of us really don’t have the willpower to resist. I’m a prime example of this new generation of secondhand junkies. At my tender age I’m proud to say that around 60% of the things I own are secondhand. It’s a rare day that I don’t wear or use something that has been previously owned by only God knows who, and that’s just the way I like it. I’m sorry to say it but I just don’t want to give up the junk for a clean life. I well and truly am a secondhand junkie. And besides, there’s nothing like rocking a cardigan that still smells like an 85 year old man. What more could I ask for?
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