Tom makes a profit by reselling bargains he finds
A shopper visited charity shops in “rich” areas of London and found a haul of valuable clothes – including a celeb’s hand-me-down – and sold one lot on eBay for a £1,000 profit. Tom Scott spends plenty of time browsing for bargains, but his luck was in when he decided to check a string of shops in Chelsea, Marylebone and Parsons Green.
The 24-year-old found a tailored tweed jacket believed to have been made for actor Hugh Laurie, plus designer goods worth thousands of pounds. From one trip alone, he made £1,000 in profit.
Tom, from Northumbertland, said: “In London every charity shop is full of high-end brands. I usually shop in and around Newcastle, and whilst I do get some great finds, they are getting rarer these days.”
The best items he found during the recent trip include a Ralph Lauren shirt for £29.99, a pair of Salomon trainers for £15, a Lock & Co. fedora for £35, and an Engineered Garments blazer for £58. Tom also nabbed a Kjus ultra-lightweight golf jacket, priced at £14.99, which he sold for £150.
And the star of the show, according to Tom, was a pair of loafers from designer brand Loro Piana, which he snagged for £30 and resold for £336. He said: “The Loro Piana shoes were an incredible find. I took them to a local shoe surgeon who freshened them up beautifully and added value.”
Tom’s business, Tweed & Tailored, sells men’s tweed jackets and bespoke tailoring, found from places, including charity shops. Tom said: “It’s great to see people being enthusiastic about spending their money in charity shops. It is a fantastic way to shop – sustainable, affordable and fantastic for so many UK charities.
“I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic about charity shopping if I knew there wasn’t going to be the odd complete bargain like these!”
In the past, Tom has snapped up a range of other deals in charity shops too – including a Savile Row jacket for £160, which he believes was owned by actor Hugh Laurie in 2006 due to a label inside the garment. The label reads: “Hugh Laurie Esq” and dates it as 26/10/06.
Tom went on to sell it online for £750. He also found a bespoke overcoat from Huntsman Savile Row for £175 in a charity shop, which he sold for £995. Tom’s flair for charity shopping dates back to his teens, when he found a leather jacket with a cashmere lining in a local shop while out with his dad in North Shields.
He bought it for £8 and went on to sell it for £650. He said: “That was my first ever massive charity shop profit!” Now, he sells clothes full-time, adding, “I wouldn’t say how much I make, but it’s a fantastic lifestyle. I love what I do,o and I make enough to get by!”
