THE THRILL OF THE HUNT

DESIGNLIFESTYLE
March 26, 2021 / By / Post a Comment

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been someone who enjoyed a good treasure hunt. Raised by two antique-loving parents, many of my childhood Saturdays were spent perusing antique shops and flea markets. Over time, I too, grew to love it as my own hobby - even sourcing out a beautiful mint-condition mid-century sofa for my *future home* while I was still a teenager. During high school and university, I loved hitting up second-hand vintage and thrift shops to find the best vintage clothing. I found some truly incredible pieces over those years, including some highly sought after 1950s Hawaiian dresses that I was able to sell for quite a bit more than I paid for - helping me pay down my student line of credit at the time. I even sold the vintage sofa later on - after realizing that while I loved the aesthetics of it, it wasn’t truly comfortable for my style of lounging.

Over the years, I’ve been able to supplement my income by not only saving on some beautiful pieces, but also later down the line when I resell those items myself. I certainly have found some success over the years - and I don’t even do it as a business.

Nowadays, I’m usually out hunting for home decor and furniture pieces for my heritage apartment. While I still love haunting thrift stores and antique shops, I really love setting keywords and notifications on Kijiji for specific items I am looking for - meaning I can scope out those awesome finds pretty much 24/7 if I want to. I’ve been using it for years now for both buying and selling and because of this,I am thrilled to be partnering with Kijiji over the next year to share my experiences with the second-hand economy.

Kijiji just released their 4th annual Kijiji Second Hand Economy Index 2018 Report in which they study and detail how Canadians are using the second-hand economy, why they are using it and other super interesting facts on how people buy, sell, donate, lend and swap second-hand items across the country. It is so fascinating to me how the second-hand economy generates so much income for people all over Canada while at the same time promoting sustainable methods of reusing and recycling. It is super thorough including everything from the top categories of items sold to how it is impacting the Canadian economy.

For example, in 2017 85% of Canadians participated in the second-hand economy and $28.5 billion was spent on second-hand items. That number alone is so impressive and makes me happy to know that so much waste is being averted by people selling and buying second-hand items. For my fellow Calgarians, average earnings are estimated to be around $659.19 per year in Alberta. Between all of the different outlets I use to participate in the second-hand economy I probably made around $750.00 selling off my second-hand items in the last year.

For the year ahead I have some big plans in the works for using the second-hand economy to both buy and sell. I’m planning to sell off some things that I no longer need - it is always great to do a big spring clean and I’ve already identified all of the things that are just taking up space and not serving a purpose. As I’m always keeping my eyes open for new and unique finds I’m also looking forward to buying some new pieces for my home - including prepping my balcony for the summer. It is currently set up just for my son Jack and I to relax and hang out but I would love to make it a bit more functional to have company over to enjoy the summer days and nights. Kijiji is fantastic for finding furniture so it is no surprise that it is one of the top five categories in the second-hand economy, so I’m confident I’ll find the perfect pieces to make our balcony summer ready.

There are so many ways to participate in the second-hand economy and I’m only really just scratching the surface of what Kijiji can do for you in terms of generating cash flow, protecting the environment, finding amazing treasures and giving new life to old items. I am looking forward to sharing more ways to utilize the second-hand economy and join 85% of Canadians who are already doing it.

This post is in partnership with Kijiji Canada however all words and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting such an amazing brand like Kijiji here on The Archives of Cool.

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