The Grahamstown community have found new ways to buy and sell second-hand items through social media platforms, and not everyone is happy about it.
The Grahamstown community have found new ways to buy and sell second-hand items through social media platforms, and not everyone is happy about it.
Facebook groups such as "Second-hand Grahamstown" and "Digs sCrap", where people can purchase and sell everything from clothing items, appliances and furniture, have become very popular not only amongst students, but a lot of members of the community.
This interest is echoed in the huge following these groups have generated.
"Second-hand Grahamstown", where unwanted clothing can be bought, sold or bid on, already has a following of over 3 300 members.
“I did not have enough space for all my clothing, so I stumbled onto the group on Facebook and decided to sell my unwanted and old clothes,” said student Anika Kirsten, who has been selling her clothes on the site since July.
Kirsten has already made R3 610 from selling her items.
“I do not see it as a loss to sell the items for less than I paid for them. A lot of the items I sold I still had from 10 years ago,” Kirsten added.
Many eager second-hand buyers and sellers have even taken their own initiative, creating jumble sales on their doorstep and inviting the community into their cupboards. Pop-up second-hand sale markets at the Arch and Car Boot Sales have also become quite popular.
Many buyers say that because Grahamstown does not have a wide variety of clothing stores, the second-hand group creates an opportunity for the community to buy clothes that come from all over the world at a very affordable price.
One Grahamstonian not happy about the craze for buying used clothing is Sunflower Hospice shop manager Carl-Heinz Queisser.
“It deprives the shop of second-hand clothing that we would normally get from the Rhodes students and secondly, it then stops us from serving the underprivileged community that we serve,” Queisser said.
"The income that we do generate from that goes back into the community with us looking after terminally ill patients.” Queisser explained that the Sunflower Hospice shop does have a very active following on their site while also advertising on the local Grahamstown Parent’s Network and in student papers such as Activate, Oppidan Press and also Grocott’s Mail.
However, Queisser said that the Hospice shop does need help from the community in order to help others.
“If we don’t have product coming in, if we are unable to sell second-hand clothing and generate an income, it’s the community that is actually losing in the end,” he said.
