More than a decade ago second-hand shopping was not socially-accepted yet, but those days are gone. Today, almost every one of us has done bargain shopping at least once. Some sites are popular for bargain-shopping like Cubao, Bambang and Evangelista St., but most stores are well concealed around the Metro, waiting to be discovered. Each store houses different brands from the other. But one thing is for sure: with ukay-ukays you’ll never get the same thing twice!
If you like dressing up but don’t have the money to support your fashion urges, you should definitely check those ukay-ukays out.
Here are some tips I have gathered based on personal bargain shopping experience from the past 5 years:
1. You could always haggle. Or “tawad” in Tagalog. If you think 500 php is a bit expensive for a second-hand bag, or 250 php is too much for a pre-loved blouse, you could ask for a discount. Meet halfway with the seller’s price. You will be surprised with how much is the seller willing to scratch off from the original price.
2. Bring smaller bills or barya. How can you convince the sales clerk to give you a discount when you are carrying bills in 500php or 1000php denominations? The main trick of the haggling game is to make sure that the seller sees you as a broke fashionista looking for cheap fashionable items.
3. Dress for the “occasion”. Don’t go in an ukay-ukay looking like someone who “has all the money to spend”. Forget about wearing make-up and jewelries. As I’ve mentioned earlier, you should act and look like a struggling fashionista so you could convince the sales clerk that you really deserve a discount. Wear clothes that you are comfortable with, 'cause you will be spending some time sorting through racks and piles of clothes.
4. Always check the quality of the item. Check for any damage like discoloration, stains (especially at the underarm areas), missing button, jagged zipper, and even the tiniest hole in the pocket. Most ukay-ukays strictly observe a “no return, no exchange policy”.
5. Make sure the item fits you perfectly. Like what I said above, they observe a “no return, no exchange policy.” Dressing rooms are always available. If you don’t feel comfortable changing your outfit in a makeshift dressing room with curtains that serves as partition, I suggest you just wear the outfit of your choice over the clothes you’re already wearing.
6. If you’ve decided to purchase an item, then purchase it right away. You cannot ask the sales clerk to reserve an item for you. Remember: the items for sale in an ukay-ukay are of one quantity only.You don’t want to be disappointed when you go back the other day only to find out that someone else has bought that piece you have wanted to buy in the first place.
7. Ask yourself if you really need/want this item. Not because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s not a waste of money. If you think there’s no chance that you would ever wear that item, put it back and leave it for someone who would actually love it.
8. Befriend the sales clerk. Once you’ve found the ukay-ukay that has clothes that suite your taste, make sure to be friends with the sales clerk, and ask for their contact details so you could get updates on the arrival of the next batch of hand-me-downs.
9. Be patient. Be really, really, patient. Shopping at ukay-ukays could be time-consuming, and tiresome. But, I am certain that you’ll like something out of the thousands of items up for sale. And it feels really fulfilling after you find a piece that you like, it’s like finding a needle on a haystack.
10. Kill those bacteria. If you could notice, items bought from ukay-ukays have this striking, distinct odor. It is the disinfectant poured into the clothes before putting it up on sale. But it doesn’t mean that the item you’ve purchased is totally free from bacteria. What I do is rinse the clothing with vinegar (upon research I’ve discovered that it could eliminate bacteria). Some says that boiling it slightly will also do the trick, but I haven’t done it myself yet.
So there you go; 10-tips that’ll lead to a successful ukay-ukay experience. Equipped with this battle-plan, I’m sure you’ll survive bargain-shopping.
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