Something I’ve wanted to write about for a while now is the term ‘Oniomania’. It may or may not be familiar to you, but I’m sure you’ll know what it means if I said Compulsive Buying Disorder. Ultimately, it is very much what it says on the tin.

I myself was identified with this obsessive and addictive buying disorder in 2021 during a course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and it’s an addiction I am still in recovery from. 

Oniomania is relatively new to the accepted disorders list, originating from the Greek translation of ‘for sale’ and ‘insanity’. Which leads me onto my next topic and its adverse effects that has me questioning whether it is circular fashion, or circular addiction?

There’s a not-so-new trend on Instagram where resellers of preloved and vintage clothing hold a Live sale. Something is held up for sale, and then an insanity of “me please” ensues from all the hopeful claimants. These Live sales offer the opportunity for followers to shop secondhand from the comfort of their home, similar to the convenience of an online retailer. 

Yet this corner of internet shopping has a personal host, the clothing is handpicked and it promotes a sustainable approach to buying clothes online. 

From personal experience, I joined this movement to try and resell the mass of unwanted clothing I had accumulated during the height of my shopping addiction. I was admittedly selling it because I'd bought too much in the first place, and this had resulted in financial losses that I was trying to relieve in some form. Not only the storage issues I was facing!

So the elephant in the room is now that there are multiple accounts on Instagram reselling secondhand clothing, that more than likely is a result of compulsive buying, to other people who are compulsively spending. It’s overconsumption feeding overconsumption. Yet it’s being encouraged under the guise of it being sustainable and circular. Don't even get me started on charity shop hauls!

Food for thought: If I am selling an item that holds any regret or shame, then of course I won’t be invested in its value to promote to others. This means I’m motivated to sell it mainly because I need to get it out of my sight, or it reminds me of money I wasted on something I didn’t need to buy. It’s not fair for me to then flog that item off cheap so the next buyer can feel the same negative feelings. I am not here to share regret. 

So I ask myself, do I want to be a part of this somewhat toxic activity of reselling to other people with compulsive buying disorders? Will we all just carry on being within the same problematic cycle if we carry on selling items we don’t fully support people buying from us? 

As a positive interlude to the discussion, the preloved community on Instagram is the most supportive, uplifting everyone that takes part whether you are there to buy or just for the company. It has helped many, myself included, through loneliness, mental health struggles, and chronic illness, forming true friendships between people all sharing the same common interest and life experiences. It's as entertaining as TV, but more expensive!

However, already believing an item is not very good by being comfortable to sell it for only a few quid is part of the problem. It continues to promote the message of unconscious spending habits and throwaway fashion. If I have bought stock that my buyers don’t like, or don’t want to pay the price I expect, that is on me. It is my CBD and I have to take ownership of my error. Rather than selling stuff off for under a fiver, those few extra £s can be added to the truly valuable one-off pieces. I.e achieve the same money overall selling quality unique items, but don’t flog the shit!

Shit = if you don’t believe it's worth much. Not necessarily that no-one out there might like it/buy it. Things are only worth as much as someone will pay for them. That someone is also you. 

The intention is for us to share the love and importance of vintage and secondhand fashion. To make it accessible and circular to those who don’t have the shops in their local area, or don’t have the eye to thrift or patience to hunt down the unique items in their size. Our collective message needs to be that of conscious purchases that instil how worthwhile secondhand clothing is. If items are more special and expensive we place more consciousness in that as a long-term purchase, encouraging slow fashion as a mindset, not only as a sustainable option. 

It is not sustainable if it is a cloak for an addiction.