Cheap as Cups
October 6, 2010 4:31 AM Subscribe
My housemate wants to drink from charming vintage teacups. Unfortunately, so does everyone else in East London, so round here they tend to only show up in cutesy-hipster shops at ridiculously inflated prices. Is there anywhere in London where one can still find them without the trend premium?
Ebay would be great, except cups and saucers are awkward to post so the P&P ends up being four times the cost of the item itself. We don't have a car. She and her boyfriend have already spent a couple of weekends scouting round jumble sales they looked up in Time Out, but they tended to have a lot of clothes and little to no crockery. I know this is one of the perils of having tastes which have become something of a cliché in ones geographical area, but I am fond of my housemate and would like her wishes to be fulfilled despite straightened circumstances and the vagaries of fashion.
Ebay would be great, except cups and saucers are awkward to post so the P&P ends up being four times the cost of the item itself. We don't have a car. She and her boyfriend have already spent a couple of weekends scouting round jumble sales they looked up in Time Out, but they tended to have a lot of clothes and little to no crockery. I know this is one of the perils of having tastes which have become something of a cliché in ones geographical area, but I am fond of my housemate and would like her wishes to be fulfilled despite straightened circumstances and the vagaries of fashion.
Plus, it's not in the east end but if you're looking for a good charity-shopping district, I've found that Wimbledon has a lot of 'em, and it's high-quality stuff too as it's a pretty middle-class area.
I've not been for a few months but the Farah was particularly good. Friendly staff playing good music, too.
posted by Ted Maul at 4:45 AM on October 6, 2010
I've not been for a few months but the Farah was particularly good. Friendly staff playing good music, too.
posted by Ted Maul at 4:45 AM on October 6, 2010
Can you use ebay.co.uk to search within a certain radius? With the Australian version, there's a "distance" thing down at the bottom of the right sidebar. Gumtree.com also seems to have search by location function.
posted by Ahab at 5:15 AM on October 6, 2010
posted by Ahab at 5:15 AM on October 6, 2010
I'm not a Londoner, but I believe I saw teacups at the Brick Lane Markets when I was there last year.
posted by embrangled at 5:20 AM on October 6, 2010
posted by embrangled at 5:20 AM on October 6, 2010
Apologies for borking that link.
posted by embrangled at 5:21 AM on October 6, 2010
posted by embrangled at 5:21 AM on October 6, 2010
Find a part of town with good charity shops, and sweep them all in one day. Don't go to any in hipster areas because they'll have been cleaned out - try the shabbier or less young/trendy areas.
I used to get awesome stuff in the shops in Stamford Hill - it's a predominantly Orthodox Jewish area so not the usual place to go shopping for kitsch!*
*see what I did there
posted by greenish at 5:35 AM on October 6, 2010
I used to get awesome stuff in the shops in Stamford Hill - it's a predominantly Orthodox Jewish area so not the usual place to go shopping for kitsch!*
*see what I did there
posted by greenish at 5:35 AM on October 6, 2010
Yeah, try Oxfam, and Brick Lane Markets, but it will take a bit of looking. The antiques & curios market at the Old Spitalfields covered market on a Thursday is the best place I've found for this kind of shit. Hipsters love it and it has lots of overpriced curiosities but also a fair bit of old tat that can be bargained for. I've picked up weird and wonderful things like Victorian magic lantern slides for £2 each. I think even better deals would be had going to the regional antique fairs they feature on all those tedious BBC daytime shows.
posted by dontjumplarry at 5:39 AM on October 6, 2010
posted by dontjumplarry at 5:39 AM on October 6, 2010
You could try asking on Freecycle or any local internet forum whether someone has some they want to get rid of.
posted by emilyw at 5:42 AM on October 6, 2010
posted by emilyw at 5:42 AM on October 6, 2010
I'd get out of London myself, day trip. I spent a few years working out in Reigate and lordy mercy the stuff the curio shops (ye olde, of course) had! Never went after tea cups myself, but I got some amazing silver cutlery and garden decorations very, very cheap relative to London prices.
So get out of London for the day. Charming little villages, lovely cafes and pubs and more than likely some cheap china. What's not to like?
posted by Mutant at 6:18 AM on October 6, 2010
So get out of London for the day. Charming little villages, lovely cafes and pubs and more than likely some cheap china. What's not to like?
posted by Mutant at 6:18 AM on October 6, 2010
I bought some lovely teacups searching the vintage section of etsy.
posted by gaspode at 6:38 AM on October 6, 2010
posted by gaspode at 6:38 AM on October 6, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions, guys, but I could do with a few more specifics about areas with charity shops that are in fact plentiful and stocked with more than just clothes. I know the area where I live, which is no good for this (Brick Lane market is definitely subject to the trend premium and emphatically not the place to get cheap teacups, Spitalfields even more so, and even funny little shops on Bethnal Green road show definite signs of the cool kids' having got there before us. Could try Stratford, but it's outside our travelcard zone so it's a bit annoying to shell out for just on the offchance) - growing up, I was far more familiar with the Chiswick/Hammersmith area but it's been a long time since I lived there, and a lot has changed. A lot of the information on the web is out of date.
get out of London for the day
This would definitely be the best plan if we had a car.
posted by Acheman at 6:51 AM on October 6, 2010
get out of London for the day
This would definitely be the best plan if we had a car.
posted by Acheman at 6:51 AM on October 6, 2010
Honestly, thinking about it - don't come to Stratford. When I said there's one charity shop in Forest Gate, I mean it's the only charity shop I've found in Newham. It's a good one and all, but probably not worth a trip on its own.
Plus we don't want hipsters in Stratford.
The nice thing about Wimbledon is, there must be 6 or 7 charity shops right there on the high street - plus a few more up the hill in Wimbledon village which sell the real classy stuff rich people don't want any more. It's worth a trip, I'd say. Make a day of it and check out Copperfield's second hand bookstore too.
posted by Ted Maul at 6:59 AM on October 6, 2010
Plus we don't want hipsters in Stratford.
The nice thing about Wimbledon is, there must be 6 or 7 charity shops right there on the high street - plus a few more up the hill in Wimbledon village which sell the real classy stuff rich people don't want any more. It's worth a trip, I'd say. Make a day of it and check out Copperfield's second hand bookstore too.
posted by Ted Maul at 6:59 AM on October 6, 2010
Brighton is great for affordable thrifting/antique shopping. I have an extremely low rage threshold for overpricing, and I had a ball last time I was down there. (A Victorian phrenological head for £20? Yes please!) North Laines has warrens of shops and stalls running the gamut from junk to fine antiques. Bonus: you don't need a car, it's a great place to hang out in itself and it's an easy day trip from London.
posted by stuck on an island at 8:28 AM on October 6, 2010
posted by stuck on an island at 8:28 AM on October 6, 2010
Ah, here's the Brighton flea market I had in mind.
posted by stuck on an island at 8:31 AM on October 6, 2010
posted by stuck on an island at 8:31 AM on October 6, 2010
You don't quite need to leave London... try the far ends of the tube lines. You want fairly affluent places. I've heard good things about the charity shops in South Woodford for instance.
You can get the train to many places outside of London - and do you know about the Network Railcard? It gives you a 1/3 of train travel in the south east.
posted by Helga-woo at 9:02 AM on October 6, 2010
You can get the train to many places outside of London - and do you know about the Network Railcard? It gives you a 1/3 of train travel in the south east.
posted by Helga-woo at 9:02 AM on October 6, 2010
Go to a seaside town - you don't need a car! I don't have one. I'm not even allowed to drive one. Brighton will not be significantly cheaper than where you are - it is pretty hipstery - but you should check out Snooper's Paradise. Hastings is good too. I am an experienced charity shopper and unless you know your stuff you will really struggle for anything vintage or retro in London unless you are willing to pay a premium. Shops know how much this stuff is worth to people, and people know how much it's worth on eBay. As Ted Maul says, you need to get out to a suburb, even if it's an extra £2 on your travelcard - take a camera and sandwiches.
I hesitate to tell you this as I don't want the good stuff gone, but Golders Green is great for charity shopping. They have loads of the independent type where you can turn up more interesting things as they don't tend to filter it off to auction rooms or eBay (actually, do you have a local auction house? As in a getting-rid-of-tat one, not Sotheby's.). Don't go on a Saturday, though, as everything will be shut. You want to concentrate on hospice or animal charities in my experience, especially if you are short of cash (you can donate more when you have money). If it helps, when I lived nearer Wimbledon I bought a really nice cashmere cardigan from a charity shop for £4, so it is worth a visit - remember 'the village' is the more expensive/upmarket bit so you have the nicer stuff/higher prices factor. You want to head for the town centre. I want to go back there now to have a poke round as I'm in the process of changing my wardrobe a little!
You'll struggle for more specific advice as stock is so changeable in second-hand emporia. My other tip is to seek out a church jumble sale - keep an eye on noticeboards or the local free paper. If you have no luck, then Wysterialane.co.uk will sell you a nice one for about £10 and it could be her Christmas present.
posted by mippy at 9:44 AM on October 6, 2010
I hesitate to tell you this as I don't want the good stuff gone, but Golders Green is great for charity shopping. They have loads of the independent type where you can turn up more interesting things as they don't tend to filter it off to auction rooms or eBay (actually, do you have a local auction house? As in a getting-rid-of-tat one, not Sotheby's.). Don't go on a Saturday, though, as everything will be shut. You want to concentrate on hospice or animal charities in my experience, especially if you are short of cash (you can donate more when you have money). If it helps, when I lived nearer Wimbledon I bought a really nice cashmere cardigan from a charity shop for £4, so it is worth a visit - remember 'the village' is the more expensive/upmarket bit so you have the nicer stuff/higher prices factor. You want to head for the town centre. I want to go back there now to have a poke round as I'm in the process of changing my wardrobe a little!
You'll struggle for more specific advice as stock is so changeable in second-hand emporia. My other tip is to seek out a church jumble sale - keep an eye on noticeboards or the local free paper. If you have no luck, then Wysterialane.co.uk will sell you a nice one for about £10 and it could be her Christmas present.
posted by mippy at 9:44 AM on October 6, 2010
Get the bus to Walthamstow. There's a million charity shops down the High Street (where the market is) and Hoe Street, down to the Baker's Arms at Leyton, where you'll find yet more.
posted by essexjan at 10:13 AM on October 6, 2010
posted by essexjan at 10:13 AM on October 6, 2010
I agree with Wimbledon - there's half a dozen charity shops in the main part of town, then another 3 or 4 up the hill in the village.
Alternatively, you could use google streetview to check out the scattering of charity shops on suburban high streets - Bromley, Enfield, Finchley, Teddington, Kingston-upon-Thames...
Or from Liverpool Street you could explore places like St Albans or Bishops Stortford. It's a long way to go for some cups, but fine if you make a fun day of it.
posted by sleepy boy at 8:22 AM on October 7, 2010
Alternatively, you could use google streetview to check out the scattering of charity shops on suburban high streets - Bromley, Enfield, Finchley, Teddington, Kingston-upon-Thames...
Or from Liverpool Street you could explore places like St Albans or Bishops Stortford. It's a long way to go for some cups, but fine if you make a fun day of it.
posted by sleepy boy at 8:22 AM on October 7, 2010
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posted by Ted Maul at 4:34 AM on October 6, 2010 [1 favorite]