Information, not advice. This is general information, not tax or legal advice and no substitute for it. Figures, thresholds and deadlines change with every tax law — check them for your year or ask someone who is licensed. Wherever money or liability is involved, the text says so.
There is no secret source. There are five everyone knows, and the difference lies in who works them regularly.
| Source | Price per piece | Where it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Charity shop, second hand | €2–8 | Time; good pieces go fast |
| Flea market | €1–5 | Early mornings, weather, lots of rejects |
| Buying by the kilo / bales | €3–7 per kg | Large quantities, high reject rate, storage space |
| Classifieds, house clearances | €0–3 | Collecting, sorting, often unwashed |
| Family and friends | €0 | Finite; good for starting, not for growing |
The only number that counts
It is not the purchase price that decides, but the price per piece **sold**. Anyone who buys twenty pieces for €40 and sells eight of them has paid €5 per piece, not €2. The rest is storage space.
How to tell in the shop whether a piece is any good
- Read the label: brand, size, material. No label means effort and a return risk.
- Check armpits and collar — that is where the stains sit that won’t come out.
- Work every zip and button once.
- Hold it up to the light: holes and thin spots.
- Smell. Smoke is hard to get out, mould impossible.