Ukay-Ukay Shopping on eBay

I have been buying and selling on eBay for years and I know a few big eBay stores selling ukay-ukay (thrifted goods). I love a good bargain (who doesn't?!) and I have nothing against buying or selling ukay-ukay. I just prefer to pay a low and reasonable price for them so I have completely dismissed buying from those big ukay shops on eBay and opted for the small, less popular ones where I got this Forever 21 tee, for example. Excellent condition, carefully packed, washed and it smelled of perfume - a pretty good deal for P99.00.

Forever 21 Do Not Care tee, EUC, 99php on eBay

There are currently at least three eBay shops that come to mind when it comes to branded ukay-ukay. They are big stores with feedback of over a thousand. I bought at least 1 item from each shop and here's my assessment:

Shop 1: I like this shop because the owner is nice and I always end up bidding on an item with no other bidders so I get it for a low, and reasonable price. Ex. A Zara dress for P499. The items don't exactly smell strongly of ukay.

Shop 2: I bought a top from them years ago and it arrived smelling like ukay with a hole on the side. I returned it. Return wasn't that smooth but I got my money back.

Shop 3: I bought two dresses and a jacket which smelled like ukay. One looked great in the picture but the thin, flimsy, almost slimy material made it look and feel like a black garbage bag, to be honest. It also had a snag at the back. The other dress was alright. The jacket had a big rip in the lining. I returned the first dress. I got my refund excluding shipping fee (of course) but it was also short around 50 pesos (she probably charged me the bank fee to send the refund).

The last two shops almost always have items that end in really high bid price (P1,000 up). Good for them but I wonder, do they treat those auctions differently? Do they actually wash the items so they won't reek before shipping since they got a lot of money for them?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with selling thrifted items as long as you state it on your listings or if you're omitting this info on purpose, at least wash the items so they won't reek of ukay. Also, always check them for snags, rips, tears and be honest about it on your listing. If it is obviously your mistake that the buyer chose to get a refund, at least, cover the shipping fee. It is only fair.

I love buying and selling on eBay, not only because of the feedback system but also because I feel more secure transacting through the site. I will write about online shopping comparison between sites in the next couple of days.