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Lurkers' Week: What's been your best bargain?

(37 Posts)
LaraGransnet (GNHQ) Fri 13-Mar-20 09:31:28

I picked up a beautiful red coat in my local Oxfam which fit beautifully and was in brand new condition. Looked it up online afterwards and they retail it close to £200. I got it for £10!
Doesn't have to be charity shop related but what is your best bargain? Could be a cheaper version of an expensive product that works just as well?

Madbird Fri 13-Mar-20 10:30:22

A large brown suede and leather bag in M&S which I got for £5.00..reduced from £95. I had been looking for a brown bag for ages so this was a particularly good bargain.

Patticake123 Fri 13-Mar-20 10:31:09

A press iron for £30.00 from a charity shop. Bought brand new, I suspect it was too heavy for the person who’d donated it. Absolutely brilliant and cost £200 +

marpau Fri 13-Mar-20 10:32:11

I bought a coat from eBay still had tags on wore it a couple of times by the following winter I had lost weight so put it back on eBay and it sold for twice the price I paid!

Angelwings Fri 13-Mar-20 10:32:12

I bought two wingback 1930s Parker Knoll chairs in original fabric from Facebook for £20 the pair.
I’ve replaced the seat foam, given them a steam clean, touched up the wood and they now sit proudly in my conservatory until I’m ready to let them go to another new home.
They have sprung seats so are ultra comfy too.

GrannyGravy13 Fri 13-Mar-20 10:37:16

Knee high L K Bennett boots for £95 down from £495, the one and only time it was an advantage to have teeny tiny tootsies grin

Nortsat Fri 13-Mar-20 10:38:32

I bought my partner a beautiful Mulberry leather coat on EBay for £15 and I paid £50 to have it cleaned.

It’s really beautiful, wonderful quality and he loves it. When I looked them up on line, they cost hundreds of pounds.

redsue Fri 13-Mar-20 10:39:41

A beautiful mother of the bride silk dress and jacket in a charity shop sale cost me £4. It was from John Lewis and i saw the jacket in the actual shop in the sale for £99.

Neilspurgeon0 Fri 13-Mar-20 10:42:31

My kilt, my size well once I had slimmed down to where I really ought always to have been my tartan, and my length, I am a bit of a stumpy one. I don’t dare tell my best mate, a verra canny Scot, but it cost me just £5, he paid several hundred for his.

Northernandproud Fri 13-Mar-20 10:47:39

A brand new cath kidston dress on ebay it had tags, came in carrier bag, with receipt and i paid the grand total of £1.90 plus £2.95 postage
Its my one and only bargain i normally hear about other peoples bargains but never find them x

Holidayenthusiast Fri 13-Mar-20 11:11:19

I was going to afternoon tea at a posh hotel and needed an appropriate dress. I found a lovely dress in the House of Fraser sale for £13.00. I got a few positive comments on my new dress but didn’t let on how much of a bargain it was.

rowanflower0 Fri 13-Mar-20 11:11:53

Brousing Ebay for a break for myself and teenaged son, I saw a cruise for two weeks, to the Canary Isles, leaving from Southampton just one month later. It was for a twin inside cabin and had a starting price of £ 1 300. I bid £ 1 600, but no-one bid against me so got it for £ 1 300. Royal Caribbean Cruises had put it on themselves, as it was a late cancellation.
Great Holiday - but never seen another like it!

Hilltrudger24 Fri 13-Mar-20 11:49:25

Years ago with 3 teenagers and no money, we bought a good quality oak kitchen that had been removed from a new house as the buyers did not like it. Units, worktops , sink and tiles for £100, my husband fitted them and they served us for 10 years!
I looked up the make for an extra door front to hide our boiler and this was over £100. Absolute bargain!

Leah50 Fri 13-Mar-20 11:57:48

I've just noticed my giant (3ft) circular bathroom mirror has a little bit of silver spotting. So disappointed as it cost me the huge sum of 50p at a car boot sale nearly 30 years ago. I pushed it home on my bike & got some very strange looks from passing motorists.

GreenGran78 Fri 13-Mar-20 12:03:28

I have had some great ebay deals from www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/local-ebay-deals/
It filters out your local items which have to be collected, and you can specify the distance you are willing to travel.
My best bargain was a full pallet of new bricks for only £12, just a couple of miles from my home. It took me 5 journeys to ferry them all to my house, but I now have a lovely double garden wall, full of daffodils right now.
I have also bought a huge, new garden planter for £5 and an almost unused breadmaker for £10, among other things.

dkdd Fri 13-Mar-20 12:28:37

A sofa on ebay for 50p that came with a £1 lost down the sides!

CherryCezzy Fri 13-Mar-20 13:22:39

A quite heavy, thick bottomed 1930s cast iron frying pan. It was (and is still) in immaculate condition and is quite regularly used. I bought it in a jumble sale in 1991 for 10p.

Kaggi60 Fri 13-Mar-20 13:35:20

I brought a piggy bank out of the charity shop was really dirty so I gave it a real Good wash found it was a Dolton. Only £2.50.

AlysonH Fri 13-Mar-20 13:45:32

Found out a couple of weeks ago that Ryan Air were starting a service to Copenhagen from Newcastle. Books flights for £20 which I considered a bargain. Sadly not sure we will get to use them now!

4allweknow Fri 13-Mar-20 13:53:29

Was on holiday and live spending time browsing charity shops. Saw a lively white and black soft toy dog. Just loved the look of it and was for sale at £3. A few months later had a visitor with a 1 year old so brought the dog out. Visitor exclained I must be rich to have that soft toy as it cost £80. in shops. Love the toy even more. PS I don't collect soft toys; it just had so much appeal.

harrison53 Fri 13-Mar-20 14:23:28

I wanted a matching bedding set I’d seen at Dunelm Mill, but didn’t buy as it was so expensive. I had a look on Ebay instead to see if I could find anything in a similar pattern and saw the exact same set I’d had my eye on. I placed a bid and hoped for the best. A week later the auction finished and no-one else had bid against me. I ended up with a matching double quilt, bedspread, 6 pillow cases, 2 cushions and a pair of curtains - all brand new, still in their packaging for the princely sum of… £12.50 including postage! It would have cost me £236 from Dunelm Mill. Best bargain ever!

Flytothestars Fri 13-Mar-20 14:27:18

A year or so ago I bought a beautiful, soft, black leather swing coat for £5 in a local charity shop AND it was reduced from £10.

Ziggy1914 Fri 13-Mar-20 17:05:24

My husband bought a trilby from a boot fair for £2 50 it had inside a label with Lock & Co Hatters st James street London we found out it was worth £350 00

Fernbergien Fri 13-Mar-20 19:20:44

Wanted a particular colour hat for son’s wedding . Went into local store and saw a hat from afar a decided it was for me whatever price. Fitted perfectly and loved it. Looked at price a it was £7.99 reduced in sale from over £50. I felt great in it.

Marydoll Fri 13-Mar-20 19:28:43

A M&S gent's cashmere jumper reduced from £99 to 99p in the M&S outlet.