People are tired of unsustainable fast fashion and fleeting trends.

There’s also a move towards upcycling and reusing to reduce clothing waste, alongside a retro-chic revival and nostalgia for the ‘good old days’ when clothes were crafted instead of mass-produced.

All of this has contributed to the thrifting revolution, where second hand and vintage stores have become the place to shop. It’s in thrift stores that you’ll find the unique items, retro treasures and designer brands that you won’t find anywhere else.

South Africa has a few good spots to thrift, but we’re relatively new to the thrifting game. If you really want the good stuff, you have to look overseas.

It’s here that you’ll encounter some problems. Plane tickets and visas are a little too pricey if your only reason for going overseas is shopping.

There are also online stores, but they don’t usually ship to SA.

Those in the know (or those South Africans who lived on a tight budget in London for years) will tell you that Oxfam’s thrift stores are legendary, and if you’ve ever wandered through the doors of an outlet, you may only emerge hours later.

You’re sitting in South Africa, though, and their online thrift store doesn’t ship to South Africa, so what comes next?

Well, that’s where Postbox Courier comes in.

Postbox Courier is the groundbreaking service that gives you a shipping address in the US, UK and Hong Kong. So, if you’re buying products from somewhere like Oxfam, that doesn’t ship to SA, then just give them the UK address, which Postbox Courier gives you.

As soon as it is delivered there, Postbox Courier will grab it and bring it to you in South Africa in three to five days.

Added bonus – they have somebody who ensures your goods clear customs, which saves you an almighty headache, and it ends up delivered to your door.

With this invaluable info in mind, we gave ourselves a challenge:

Visit the UK Oxfam online thrift store and find three high-end vintage designer coats that can be shipped to South Africa at a fraction of the cost of buying them new.

Once we found what we were looking for, we sent the details to Postbox Courier, who did what they do best and broke it down for us step by step.

Here’s the result:

Vintage Aquascutum men’s padded jacket with signature club check detailing

£35 (R630 at R18 to the pound)

Aquascutum is the preferred brand of jacket for British royals, who are notorious for wearing the same item of clothing for years before swapping it out for something new.

If you wanted to buy an Aquascutum jacket new, you’re looking at dropping anything between R7 000 and R17 000, before shipping. This vintage classic will only cost you R630.

According to Postbox Courier, using an exchange rate of R18 to the pound, you’ll be looking at the following:

Jacket:                   GBP35 / ZAR630.
Shipping:              GBP22,95 / ZAR413,10
Clearance:             ZAR125
Duty                       ZAR283,50
VAT:                       ZAR198,45
Disb:                       ZAR24,10
Total:                      ZAR1 674,15 (or GBP93)

If we take the R7 000 new coat as a measure – excluding shipping, which will no doubt cost you a fortune –  and subtract the amount you’d pay to buy and ship the vintage coat with Postbox Courier,  you’re getting an original Aquascutum coat for R1 674.

That’s a not-too-shabby saving of R5 326.

We used the same method to work out the overall price of the following two coats.

Ralph Lauren beige tailored jacket 

£39.99 (R719)

This classic Ralph Lauren jacket evokes safari and military styles in a fresh wheat colour. It’s made from a combination of jute, silk and hemp for ultimate luxury.

If you want to buy something similar, new, you’re looking at roughly £519, or R9 343 before shipping.

Ralph Lauren Jacket:        GBP39.99 / ZAR719,82
Shipping:                             GBP30,91 / ZAR556,38
Clearance:                            ZAR125
Duty:                                     ZAR323,92
VAT:                                      ZAR167,36
Disbursement:                    ZAR24,56
Total:                                    ZAR1 917,04

Drum roll, please! That’s a saving of R7 426 for an original Ralph Lauren coat.

Yes, it’s second hand, but each item comes with a description of the condition of the item. In many cases, they are listed “as new” or “very good”, so those are the ones to keep an eye out for.

Burberry, women’s black double-breasted cropped trenchcoat

£50 (R900)

This classic double-breasted style makes this coat a staple in any wardrobe that will last for years.

If you had to buy something similar new, you’d pay in the region of £1 450 – that’s R26 108 before shipping.

Burberry Jacket:                 GBP50 / ZAR900
Shipping:                              GBP30,91 / ZAR556,38
Clearance:                             ZAR125
Duty:                                      ZAR405
VAT:                                       ZAR209,25
Disbursement:                     ZAR30,71
Total:                                     ZAR2 226,34

You’re going to want to sit down for this one, because that, my friends, is an astounding saving of R23 882 on an original Burberry coat.

I repeat –  R23 882 SAVED.

Again, it’s second hand, but you know you could flog that for a pretty penny at one of Cape Town’s many vintage shops.

Hey, if you’re thinking about turning this into a business, you be sure to invite us to the opening of your store.

We probably won’t show up, but it’s just nice to get an invite.

As an added bonus, ordering through Postbox Courier means that you don’t have to deal with any of the messy stuff. As you can see from the above, they work out shipping costs, VAT and so on.

They also deal with customs for you so you can sit back, relax and await your high-end thrift find, delivered directly to your door.

Visit their site to find out more and become the ultimate thrift boss.