Ukay Manila

One of the perks of having your own online store is that any unsold inventory goes straight to your closet. Some of the clothes I wore yesterday were items that used to be at the Ukay Manila Store, which I eventually appropriated for myself – because I can, mahahaha. The pink espadrilles were part of the first collection I released but save for the green lacy flats, the shoes weren’t selling. I’m guessing it’s either people are more iffy about buying thrifted shoes, or maybe they just didn’t like what I had. I figured it’d be more of a waste if the unsold items just sat there gathering dust in my closet, so I took the pink espadrilles for a walk one day and decided to take them off my virtual store shelves when they fit me perfectly.

Somebody bought the rose babydoll top a couple of weeks ago, but it was too faded for her liking so I offered to have it refunded. I personally thought the worn look added charm to the top, but I guess not everyone agrees with my tastes. In any case, I actually got compliments from friends when I wore it out last night! (Or maybe they were just being nice?)

The ruffled lace bag is my latest ukay purchase, and a lesson in learning to buy the first ukay item I fall in love with, no questions asked. I first saw this bag selling for P350 or P380 at Fashion Delight, but for some reason I felt cheap that day and decided I didn’t need yet another bag. Really, as if women will ever have too many bags, even if they’re not bag people per se. I saw the bag still hanging on the racks when I went there a week later, and yet again did I remind myself that my closet is overflowing with purses I don’t use a whole lot. Only when it got sold did I start experiencing cheapskate’s remorse, i.e. when you completely hate yourself for that moment of cheapskateness and hesitation because you apparently liked that bag more than you thought. When you really come to think of it, P350 isn’t a whole lot of money for an item that’s unique and one-of-a-kind. Kinda too late for that little epiphany though… or was it?

Last week, the ukay fairies gave me a second chance, as well as a lesson in being too smart a shopper. I was poking around other ukay-ukay stores at Cubao when I saw the exact ruffled lace bag hanging at their Selected Items section! I couldn’t believe my luck – the chances that you encounter the exact same item at two different ukay-ukay stores so slim, it’s never happened to me in all the years I’ve been buying at thrift stores. Without a moment’s hesitation, I grabbed the purse and went straight to the counter, only to find out that they priced it at an exorbitant P700. This is what I don’t quite like about this particular row of ukay-ukay stores – the nicest items are ridiculously overpriced, and the employees don’t let you haggle much for the regularly priced items. After ten minutes, I managed to bring the price of the bag down to P500 by pointing out that it doesn’t have a tag nor a brand like the other purses in the Selected Items section (that’s another thing I don’t get – Filipinos’ obsession with brand name goods). It’s 150 more than what I would have paid for at Fashion Delight, but that’s not as bad as paying double the price of what it should usually cost.

Perhaps being an impulse shopper can actually save you more money in the long run, but I suppose this rule only applies to the ukays. Lesson learned.

Tags: ukay, Ukay Manila Store, Ukay-ukay   Posted Bags, Shoes, Tops, Ukay Manila Store |