I SAVE money through buying second hand clothing, the ukay-ukay. Those who have not ventured into these ukay-ukay you’ll be surprised to discover a lot of awesome clothes and other items there, including designer clothes at incredibly discounted prices. It helps a lot of you dig in.
When I have the luxury of time I usually rummage in the ukay-ukay stalls in Claveria, Magsaysay Avenue and in Bankerohan with no intention to buy anything but usually I find a lot of stuff worth buying at such low prices.
I would willingly overturn a big mountain of ukay-ukay upside down over and over again simply to kill time, or for just the sheer enjoyment as other customers would watch and pull whatever items took their fancy.
Ukay-ukay prices nicely fit my budget. Who would have thought that t-shirts priced at P150-P300 at department stores could be bought at P35 each, or 3-for-P100.
I’m not particularly brand concious but I’m particular about the appearance of the clothes-they must not look over-used, no stains, no tears, and most of all, wallet-friendly.
In the past I would often buy clothes and items I really don’t need but put them up for re-sale to someone whom the clothing would suit, earning a few pesos in the process.
In one of my ukay-ukay ventures in the city just recently, I unearthed a white-flowered blue scarf with tassel from a huge mountain of newly-opened (kuno) ukay-ukay. It was about one meter long and except for a small tear in one corner, it looked almost brand new.
It could be used as a blanket, towel, mat, skirt or even a head cover. When I inquired about the price of the scarf, the saleswoman immediately said P35.
Wow! Talk about luck! I hastily dug into my wallet and paid for the scarf in case the woman might change her mind and increase the price when she finds out just how pretty it was.
I was so proud of myself when I left the stall with my ‘find’. Unfortunately, I was just a few meters away from the ukay-ukay stall when a woman came running to me and claimed that the scarf was hers.
“But I was the one who unearthed the scarf from beneath that huge mountain of ukay-ukay!,” I argued.
“Okay you found it, but THAT SCARF is MINE! I lost hold of it while rummaging through the ukay-ukay. Look, there’s even my initials on the bottom of it- C.G., check it!” the woman insisted.
Left with nothing to do, I opened the plastic bag and pulled out the scarf, which by that time I had already considered as mine.
True enough, the letters C.G. which the woman claimed as her initials was scribbled in black ink at one corner of the scarf. We went back to the salesgirl to claim my P35 from her.