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Archive for the 'Fashion' Category

September 5 2008: Retail Therapy: Photo Evidence

As mentioned yesterday, a post detailing everything I bought. A word of warning - this is going to take awhile. Before you start, I suggest you first go to the toilet, make yourself a cup of tea, grab yourself a couple of biscuits, and get yourself comfortable. Prepare yourself!

black dressing gown

The first purchase of the day - a black satin dressing gown by Crystelle. I bought it for $15AUD. It has the most darling elasticised/lacey cuffs, so you get a kind of puffy sleeve effect. Plus, it hides whatever naughtiness I might be wearing underneath. Not that I would be wearing any. Cause, you know, I’m an innocent little girl.
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Filed under Fashion & Money with 12 Comments

August 12 2008: How To Buy Cheap Brand Clothing On EBay

In yesterday’s entry regarding eBay purchases, Jess asked what method I use for finding auctions for cheap, good-quality clothing items. The answer is simple: learn to tailor your searches to what you desire. I personally use the following search on eBay Australia:

  1. Click the “Buy” navigation tab in the top right corner
  2. Under the “Clothing” subheading on the page, click on the “Women” subcategory
  3. Click on “Advanced Search” next to the search button on the auction page
  4. Use the following settings in your search:
    1. Items located in Australia only (to save on expensive overseas shipping costs)
    2. Items listed in Australian dollars only (to save on fees banks can charge for converting currencies)
    3. Items between $0AUD and $10AUD (postage not inclusive. Average postage for an item is about $5AUD, so with a maximum item price of $10AUD + postage charge of $5AUD, $15AUD is my spending limit on clothing items bought on eBay)
    4. Items listed as “New” only (You don’t want to go buying second-hand clothes on eBay as you can’t inspect the quality of the item yourself. DVDs and so on are a different matter.)
    5. And finally: Sort items by “Price + Postage: lowest first” (so you don’t end up buying an identical item at a greater price.)

The above will give you the parameters of your search - everything located in Australia, in Australian dollars, under $10AUD, in brand new condition. You can then tailor the search to your liking by listing brands you’re comfortable with. I tend to search for the brands listed below as the clothes of these labels are generally of good and durable quality, they’re well-known, they retail for over $100AUD a piece, yet the brands aren’t so big that counterfeited goods are a problem (e.g. Gucci, Vuitton): Country Road, Witchery, MNG, Tokito, Cue, Veronika Maine, Wish, Pilgrim, Review, Seduce, Wayne Cooper, Saba, Satch, FCUK, etc. Obviously the above is a list tailored to Australian clothing brands, but you can certainly apply the same logic to other countries as well. For instance, in the U.S, don’t search Forever 21, search Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.

Good brands, of good quality, at less than half the retail price. It’s not hard to do, but the key is not to go overboard with your bidding. Take these tips into account when considering an auction. When you’ve made the decision to bid, ask yourself: “How much am I willing to pay for an item like this?” For myself, it’s generally about $15AUD, so I subtract the postage (e.g. $5.70AUD), and bid the amount left over (in this case, $9.30AUD).

Then you leave the auction. You don’t touch it at all, you don’t check back on your progress. And if you’ve been outbid at the last minute, you don’t start bidding again to attempt to win the item back. By doing this, you rid yourself of the temptation to spend more than you originally planned, and thus eliminate the possibility of shopper’s regret. You stuck to your budget and even if you didn’t win that auction, there’s always plenty more to come. I bid on well over fifty auctions a week, but may only win one…yet the amount I save on that one auction is enough to make the time spent all worthwhile.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you find and win cheap, but good-quality clothing items on eBay.

Filed under Fashion & Money & Online with 6 Comments

August 11 2008: I’ve Succumbed Again To Ebay

I’ve been a naughty girl again, spending much too much time on eBay over the past two months. On one hand, it’s things I can afford due to my increased babysitting income ($280AUD every Sunday in cold hard cash, on top of the $300AUD I already earn working two days in retail - not bad for a university student). On the other hand, it’s money I could probably save for, you know, actual things with lasting value. A home deposit for example, or a trip to Europe.

In any case, the money is spent, and I have bought (among other things):

  1. An aerochuting experience - $110AUD. w00t, parachuting in a chair!
  2. A day of pampering at an exclusive day spa - $125AUD. I blame this on Erin, as she suggested that I relax for once in my life.
  3. Lost Seasons 2 & 3 - $39AUD. A real bargain, Season 2 by itself is retailing for about $60AUD at Borders right now.
  4. My Chris Rock tickets - $150AUD. The experience and belly laughs were well worth it.

And, um, clothes. Lots and lots of clothes. But! All were semi-designer-branded clothes with tags, all at under $15AUD a piece (postage inclusive)…or less than 10% of its actual retail value. Seriously. They’ve mostly all been corporate items as well, so I feel like it’s an investment for my future working career. That’s my justification anyway, don’t try to tell me otherwise.

Filed under Fashion & Money & Online with 14 Comments

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