Seriously Bargain eBay Purchases

We’ve been in the renovation game for around five years now and we’ve certainly learnt a lot along the way, including how to make our money go further. Our biggest money saver? Going second hand.

I know so many people who turn their noses up at those two words.. “second hand” and yet, I don’t know why. Why must we insist of having everything brand new? I think people assume second hand items are items of junk; broken cabinets, cheap flat pack furniture, worn out clothing, you get the idea. But actually, this is so far from the truth. Lots of people actually have a throw-away attitude – if something is simply out of fashion or they’ve just gone off it – it’ll go to a charity shop. Whether thats a sofa thats barely been sat on, or a designer handbag they bought a month ago and decided they actually didn’t like – you really can get all kinds of amazing bargains second hand at ridiculously low prices. And more often that not, some of these items have never even been used.

eBay isn’t a charity shop, but it does cater for the same second hand items, only the sellers hope to make a few bob back. I’ve found some amazing items off eBay – visited some stunning (and insanely large!) homes on collecting said items and I can honestly say, there really is nothing to turn your nose up here. It’s a great place to save on furniture, fixtures and fittings, even raw materials. eBay has everything you’d ever need for a renovation project and going second hand is a big money saver!

So – I thought I’d share some of my top bargain eBay purchases to date…

1 Year Old Rangemaster £350 (RRP £1400)

This is my most ridiculous bargain purchase of my life (possibly)! We’re yet to actually use this item as we still need it plumbed in and wired up – but I stole this Rangemaster from the seller for just £350. The seller only bought this one year ago and said she was a terrible cook and had simply bought it for show. In fact, one of the two ovens has NEVER been used. Completely and utterly brand new. This model sells at retailers for around £1400, so by going second hand I managed to get a discount of 75% – What a bargain.

Computer Desk £5

When I bought my iMac last year, I desperately needed a desk to put it on – With money lacking and a bathroom renovation underway, I took to eBay to solve my problem. And of course, it did. Just a few miles away, I managed to pick up this desk for just £5. The seller lived on a farm, complete with electric gates, ridiculous amount of land and one of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever seen. Second hand items do not come from trashy homes.

Ladders £30

Brand new these do not come cheap – you can expect to pay anything from £75 onwards! Less than a mile away, we managed to bag a bargain on some 6m ladders at just £30. They were in great condition and have come very much in handy with all our high-to-reach needs and we’ve loaned them out to friends a couple of times too!

Standpipes £10 (RRP £115)

One of my favourite purchases, has to be some standpipes for the bathroom. Brand new, Victoria Plum sell these for £115! Which I truly could not justify spending, as quite simply… They’re purely decorative and have little purpose other than providing a stand for taps, which could otherwise have been mounted to the bath. I was determined to play the waiting game on eBay until someone was selling some. And of course, it paid off. I managed to purchase some brand new standpipes (from Victoria Plum!) for just £10. That’s something like a 90% discount. Amazing.

Chrome Towel Radiator £30

Another bathroom purchase was this chrome towel radiator I bought for grants parents. Brand new these are £100+ (this one was from Bath Store retailing at £150) – it was brand new, never used, the seller simply couldn’t be bothered to have it fitted, so decided to sell it on. I travelled about 20 miles to go pick this up, but the saving was well worth it.

Old Rangemaster Cooker £10

Finally, it’s another cooker! This one was in our first house, which we picked up for just £10. I watched plenty of these sell for a little below £100 mark at the time. They’re quite old models (I think 90s!) but still quite sought after (although the green versions less so!). The seller put this on eBay as a buy-it-now for a quick sale. I think it had been live for less than an hour before I stole it away. It was in really good condition for an old cooker and worked a treat. Where else can you find a cooker (Rangemaster too!) for £10 I ask?

What’s your most bargain eBay purchase?