Oxfam

This place is expensive! I know that they need to pay rent and make some money, but £450 for a used couch, they got for free is a bit much! Much better buying something decent on eBay and donating the money you save to charity.

Situated on Smithdown Road, this large branch of Oxfam has a pretty good selection of secondhand books, magazines and music. Authors range from Stephen King and J.K. Rowling to more subversive writers like Dave Eggers.
The real reason the shop is so popular however, is for it’s staggering range of secondhand furniture. There’s cheap sofas, dining tables, chairs and coffee tables for the lounge, 50s units, fridges and washing machines for the kitchen and secondhand beds, wardrobes and chests of drawers for the bedroom. Popular with local landlords and students, the majority of stuff is rather old fashioned but occasionally, they get more contemporary furniture in stock.
Personally, I’m waiting for them to start selling more kitchenware as I’d love some 50s cocktail glasses and a milk glass cake stand!

This branch of Oxfam is quite unique in that it mainly stocks furniture. It is a huge store which is filled to the brim with excellent affordable furniture. They do not accept anything that is too shabby or doesn’t have the right safety marks, so everything here is of an excellent quality.
They have 3 piece suites, dining tables and chairs, bookcases, wardrobes, bookcases, beds, chests of drawers, washing machines, fridges, tumble driers, ironing boards, lighting and much much more. They also offer to deliver the furniture for you, which is very useful for us non-​drivers. I’ve picked up a few items from here and been very happy with my purchases.
They will also collect any furniture you wish to donate free of charge, which is brilliant.
As well as the furniture there is also a good selection of books and gifts.

The book selection here has everything you could wish for. Yellowing, well-​thumbed paperbacks and musty 70s hardbacks line the shelves and take ages to browse. One thing I always love to do is see how many Jeremy Clarkson books there are. Without a doubt, every charity shop in Britain has at least three of his published whinges on its shelves. You know the ones, those books where he’s gurning miserably on the front surrounded by pictures of foxes and speeding cameras. Unwanted gifts, clearly.
Although in one way it’s sad they don’t get sold (i.e. Oxfam is losing out on a few pennies) a much larger part of me is always tickled by Jezza’s growing charity shop omnipresence. Soon they’ll have to open whole stores selling nothing but his neglected books.

Couches, Ironing Boards, Big Comfy Chairs, Chests of Drawers, Washing Machines, Tumble Dryers, Retro Lamps, Curtain Rails… NEED FURNITURE? Why pay the full whack?
This place is absolutely great; it’s an Aladdin’s cave of affordable furniture about 5 minutes drive from the city centre. As students we used to have loads of fun checking out all the retro fittings that you could purchase from this branch of Oxfam.
Although Oxfam is one of the more expensive charity shops going at the moment, the stuff is always good quality and this place really does stock amazing quality furniture. It’s perfect if you’re moving into an unfurnished flat on a tight budget!
If you’re on an even tighter budget, Gumtree Liverpool is a fantastic place to find free or cheap furniture, as is Freecycle Liverpool. These are all outlets that you can give your furniture away too! Failing this, check out Bulky Bob’s if you want rid of furniture; they’re local and will pick stuff up for free!

There is a large furniture focused Oxfam shop on Smithdown Road. I’ve never seen charity shops selling such large home items such as beds, sofas and arm chairs but Oxfam seem to be proving different in this branch. It also sells the expected collectables and books, which are definitely worth a browse through the two highlights of which being a complete copy of Shakespeare’s works in slightly tatty but perfectly serviceable condition for £2 and a banksy style collection of artistic graffiti through high quality photographs, again in slightly tatty condition but perfectly fine for £4.
The furniture side of things is definitely a clever idea for the surrounding student area, where people need sofas without the huge outlay of a purchasing from new. They have a surprising amount of stock and are certainly worth a look at when wandering the area.

This Oxfam is amazing. It’s more of a home and furnishings store than the Bold Street Oxfam, which specialises in vintage clothing, and is advertised as having three floors of furniture… three whole floors!
And it’s not just tat either. If you’re looking to furnish your flat on a budget I’d recommend at least popping in here and having a mooch!
They had a polished wood dining table with 6 chairs in decent condition for £150.
They have a stash of lamps and sofas and the usual book collections and also tons of vinyls and CDs so if you root around a little, especially on the upper floors, you might stumble across some good little bargains!

This Oxfam used to be a clothing shop also, but over the last couple of years became mostly a furniture/​ornamet shop. I would say that the prices are good and there are some great finds. I did not rate the manners of the staff the last time I visited though!