But it can at the University of Otago’s Shop for Good, and it has had first-time student flatters lining up at the door to buy cheap furniture and clothing for their flats over the past few days.
Fourth-year anatomy student Paris King was among the hundreds of students who went through the shop yesterday, where you could fill a bag with clothes for $5.
"This is not my first rodeo. I’ve been to this event several times because everything is so amazingly cheap.
"I always pick up my text books from here and some clothes. It makes a big impact on my life — it helps my study immensely.
"It’s one of my favourite student events of the year."
Otago University Students’ Association president Quintin Jane said the initiative was set up by the OUSA and the university’s Centre for Sustainability for the first time in 2020.
"It’s helped create this circular economy, which helps prevent waste and rubbish and stops stuff going straight to landfill. And it helps keep North Dunedin clean."
He said the sustainability circle began in November each year when final-year students cleaned out their flats and donated any unwanted furniture, household appliances and clothing to the Shop for Good.
It continued at this time of year when most of that material was sold to first-time flatters.
"It’s an op shop-style event, where students can come along and refurnish their flats."
On Wednesday this week, the shop had furniture for sale — some of which was donated by residential colleges, he said.
"There were very nice couches without any signs of burn marks on them.
"They were sold for $15 a piece and they all sold within an hour and a-half."
There were also desks, beds, wardrobes, dining tables and chairs.
Yesterday, the shop sold clothing, appliances, kitchenware, small furniture like lamps and mirrors, and even artworks to brighten up the dreariest flats.
"We called it the rummage sale and in that, you could fill a bag with clothes for $5, you could buy textbooks for 50 cents — it was anything you could ever need to live in a student flat."
