Secondhand Gift Guide
Welcome! Buy your loved ones something with history to it. Featuring everything from art to bookends to pottery. Gifts for all ages, from £1.99 to £340.
I am an eBay addict. There is no greater feeling than winning a bidding war over a lamp you’ve been watching for weeks, dreaming of which lampshades will pair perfectly with it. Or lining the drawers of a new, to you, chest of drawers in the perfect grain of wood, that may have previously lived in multiple other homes. And it’s possibly the thing I am asked most about over on my Instagram - what are your search terms??? How did you find that???
So I wanted to try something new and something I found terrifying - after a few months of massive change in my life. New house/new environment/new job/new argh! For my first newsletter (the eBay edition I will do monthly) I have compiled a round up of secondhand finds you could gift to friends and family this Christmas, or, dare I say, yourselves.
I hope you’ll subscribe and join along. This is free to read, but I do use some affiliate links - which cost nothing to you, but if you buy something I might get a few pennies kickback. This email will also likely be too long for your inbox, so do enjoy the online version for all the goodies.
If you’re looking for something for your home, wardrobe or as a gift I’d love to help you find it. So let me know in the comments, or send me a message, and I’ll add it to my list for next month.
Let’s begin:
The perfect marble bookends, with braided edge. £80
A small ice bucket, for your bar. £19.99
Horned soap dish - can you tell I’m very into silver at the moment? £15
I would split these up in the home (or for more than one person…) - grapes on a mantle piece, apple on a shelf, pedestal in the kitchen. Onyx fruit bowl, just over £40
A marble corbel doorstop (say it three times quickly). Need I say more? £145
Cheating a little bit with this one as I have shared it on my Instagram before, but how is it still available? Do I need to buy it? I will if you’re not careful. The perfectly shaped footstool, £120
The goes-with-everything Murano vase, just over £100
A tray you can style on an ottoman or sideboard, £45
I’d use these as styling trays too! Or you can stick to their original use, desk tidies, £60
Keen on a polka dot, these colours are so satisfying. Dotty tea set, under a tenner
Imagine full of shells from a beach walk you took together. Cute! £35
I think the perfect coat hooks, just under £60
This little piggie deserves a lovely wall to hang on, £65
A very chic tablecloth, £26
Note that this is miniature, but so, so charming. Ideal for a busy bookshelf, £75
I think about this lamp often. Gifts for men can be hard, this would be perfect, no? £295
The colours in this are magical. Art doesn’t have to be super expensive sometimes, £75
I found some great mirrors! I love the foxing on this, just over £65
Your dressing table is calling out for this! Bear in mind the mirror is actually oval, the photographer has just wanted to avoid appearing on the People Taking Pictures Of Mirrors Facebook page, less than £60
On the more expensive end of my finds but boy oh boy do I love her, £340
Since moving to the countryside I have had a newfound realisation in the importance of a boot jack. This is, by far, the best I’ve found, £16.15
The most elegant farmhouse swan egg cup, £10
Dinner party guest this festive season? Take these! £8.99
Magpie for anything shell shaped - this silver dish would make a lovely gift. Pop something delicious inside for extra points, £21
Wrap some candles in a bow to go with this. Excellent for a mantle piece, £31.90
Continuing the candlestick theme, this one winds up as your candle gets smaller. So satisfying. Buy for a design nut, just over £40
If ever in doubt, always get a vase. This one doesn’t need anything in it to be impressive. Love the colours, just over £30
Super pretty, even prettier with a great soap wrapped on top. £5.93
Charming painted wooden soldier skittles from the fifties, for a lucky stocking owner, £29.50
These might be top of my wishlist, out of everything I found, £24
Mid-century coffee cups that I would probably never, ever use but would sit beautifully on a shelf above a kitchen worktop. So the best gift, £26.70 for the lot
I dare you to scroll through all of the pictures of this nutcracker and not smile. SO fun, £26.70
Three gifts in one, how many aunts do you have again?! £18.99 for the lot
Unlikely my husband will have scrolled this far luckily, as this is the exact type of lamp I’m buying him this Christmas. Excellent home office addition, £80
Suns are always a winner, especially when they’re only £13
Blue and white and so, so reasonable. If I ate eggs it would be from this, £1.99
I have a few crown tealight holders like this and they bounce the glow around so beautifully. Anyone would be thrilled with this, less than a tenner
One of my long time saved searches is of Polly Pockets from the nineties. I don’t know why I ever got rid of mine, they are so nostalgic and I’m desperately awaiting my daughter being old enough to appreciate them. This stables one is fun and £6.42, those colours!
Full of pinecones on the sideboard. Lovely, less than £30
The details on this are incredible, it’s so, so, so good and should be a lot more expensive. £65
Forever on the hunt for a dolls house I can force my child to enjoy one day. This storefront with a roof terrace is delightful, and currently at £20
I am in the market for log baskets myself and these iron ones are my favourite, £22.99
Have I told you I moved to the countryside yet? Really been keeping that quiet…farm puzzle, less than £20
Really into the colour of these, £12.99
I could have included another 12 brass lamps, but limited myself to two. The ball details on this are super satisfying. Less than £75
I think I do want a bin? For Christmas? Maybe save this one for the interiors obsessed sibling, £60
The Fleur de Lis on this is so lovely, and you could go all out on a lampshade as the base is a great neutral. Just over £30
The perfect party guest brings cocktail sticks and a ready mixed cocktail. These are so fun, £24.99
A wintery scene for a wintery wall, £80
I wanted to end on something vaguely festive, and this kitsch reindeer is super cute. She would light up a festive mantle. £15.08
If you made it this far, thank you. And I’ll do another next month for you, full of things you need going into the New Year and some tips on how to find the good stuff.
I’ll also include here a quick reminder to support your small businesses this Christmas, especially our vintage sellers and independent sellers. Here are a few of my favourites:
Sydney Piercey’s Les Six
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Wow I need to purchase the footstool immediately
You have a great eye! Love all these finds ❤️