Are you too precious for a preloved Christmas?

This one is bound to split opinion and I know the #TimpsTribe isn’t backwards in coming forwards so I want to hear your opinions on this topic in the comments! Buckle up, hop in the sleigh, we’re off….. love Antonia.

You don’t always associate purchasing preloved with Christmas. To be honest, when I first started in the world of resale some 10 years ago, it used to be seriously hush-hush. People used to run in under the cover of darkness and hide their “guilty pleasure” from all their friends. Now, however, the circular economy is something to be celebrated. Thanks in part to celebrities such as Emma Watson championing the #GreenCarpet movement and advocates of the circular economy being found in even the highest echelons of fashion society. Today I am here to persuade you to step even further out of your comfort zone and consider a Preloved Prezzie this Christmas.

I am going to let you slightly off the hook by offering you options at either end of the re-“cycle”. The first option is purchasing or receiving a preloved present. The second alternative is that you can choose to sell something that you have an excess of in January. Perhaps if we might be so bold as to imagine….Father Christmas finally knocked it out the park, bought you the perfect gift in
your ACTUAL size and after 20 years of polite smiles 2019 was a genuine grin.

Purchasing a present preloved has quite a few merits. Firstly, and quite frankly what most people are most conscious of at this time of year, it’s a very budget-friendly option. The first error people make when thinking of preloved is assuming that an item is used - this is quite often not the case. Indeed you can often pick up brand new items in boxes for 30% less than their new counterparts. This means it’s not only great for those bigger presents such as beautiful bags and expensive pieces of jewellery but it’s also fantastic for stocking fillers: beautiful small leather goods and
designer key-rings never fail to raise a smile come Christmas day.

Christmas aside - there is very little I don’t condone buying preloved, but I’m a long-standing treasure hunter and there are a few things that work better than others when looking to gift. Simply put - pieces that fit everyone is a good place to start. That would be a beautiful cashmere scarf, an elegant watch, an investment handbag or a fine piece of jewellery. As I mentioned earlier, smaller trinkets such as a designer keyring or beautiful new wallet also go down very well. We have picked out a beautiful leather Prada wallet as the perfect option for a secondhand Christmas present.

Beyond being economical it is also very environmental as well. I can honestly attest to seeing some of the world’s most fantastic wardrobes and to date I’ve never heard a fashion lover exclaim “my work here is done”. There’s a joy to finding the next perfect item to add to a collection of beautifully curated pieces over the years. However, I think just beyond that romanticism there is something innate in most people that drives them to want “more”. More money, more love, more
attention, more clothes. Whatever your weakness, and we all have one, it’s important to be honest about this flaw in human nature and do our best to combat it as best we can. One way is by purchasing preloved in order to lessen the environmental impact our consumerism is having on the world. The next “new thing” always feels that bit more special than the piece you’ve looked
at for years. I‌ dare you to make it just “new to you” this Christmas and let me know how it feels!

One of Timpanys motos is “we have history”. It means so much to me that every item I sell has a story. It’s sometimes necessary for us to protect the identity of our sellers, so we can’t always give away the whole history of an item, but often it’s just that that gives it immeasurable worth. Perhaps it was a dress that was worn by a celebrity on her first red carpet or maybe a client is giving all their proceeds to the charity they support for really personal reasons. All our one of a kind, items come with a rich heritage and by purchasing something preloved you’re choosing
to weave in your own personal story with that of another.

Right, enough of the whimsical romance. I know you’re a practical preloved prezzie purchaser, so I’ll hit you with the real stuff. Returns - the nemesis of the modern Christmas but the emergency get out of jail free card that many a Santa needs to play on the 27th of December. Most of the time, purchasing preloved means that you do forgo that returns right - however not at Timpanys. We offer a no quibble 7 day returns policy for all of our online purchases and we are going to extend this to 14 days for store credit over the Christmas holidays! To be honest, if you’re purchasing from other major brands in store such as Gucci, you’re not able to return for cash anyway so it’s a pretty level playing field. Failing that, if you were a savvy Santa and picked up some serious steals in your sleigh this year, your lucky recipient may even make a bob or two back if they choose to sell their pieces in
January rather than return!

It’s fine, none of us seasoned second-hand pros are going to judge you! Just get involved in January - sell you’re unwanted gifts and pick up your brand new with tags Vaara workout gear for a fraction of the cost! (Click here to find out how.) Everyone’s a winner.
Merry Christmas #TimpsTribe - 2019’s been a blast - love A x