The owner of a ‘unique’ shop selling used goods for everyone has described the value in ‘everything’, and the irony of selling prosthetic legs before an amputation.
Simon Hall, owner of the Second Hand Shed alongside his fiancée Joanne, has seen a difference since they moved from Pen y Bryn to Wrexham town centre in November 2021.
Simon has been in the business for around 15 years and has sold many weird and wonderful items over the years.
He said: “If it's big and stupid often I’ll end up buying it, hence why we ended up with a full-sized horse.”
The horse, which was not real, was popular in the town and people were disappointed when it sold for £500.
Now they have a 6ft fiberglass chef standing guard by the door instead, for £275. Other unusual items that have been sold include a 7ft gold buddha and an American coffin.
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Over the years he has also sold prosthetic legs, and 18 months ago he had his lower left leg amputated. This was following 40 years’ worth of trouble after an accident where his brother stood on his foot when he was 7. The accident led to an infection in his tibia bone, called osteomyelitis, which came back but moved up the bone, so Simon chose to have the amputation.
He said it was the best decision he ever made, having not needed any hospital visits or a doctor since two weeks post-op. Though, he thinks maybe he should have hung on to one of the prosthetics.
On the different items, Simon explained: “I never see it as unusual, everyone else thinks that. We have loads of weird and wonderful things I suppose.
“We scour the country; we go all over. Now and again, there will be a distinctly American theme here because I go to America, and I import American vehicles, but I fill them full of American collectibles and antiques as well. Wednesdays are our day off and we spend the day travelling everywhere.”
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Times have changed, he explained, and people no longer want objects in pristine condition and the value is in their current condition.
Being in the town means for students and teenagers younger people looking in, with vinyls and vintage clothing is popular amongst younger people.
Simon said: “It's forever evolving. We remind everyone, antique collectors and dealers, was the original recycling.
“What’s amazed me in the last ten years is people’s imagination and what they do with the stuff. It’s not necessarily what we’d think it would be used for and the amount of stuff being turned into lamps is just amazing, like the old-fashioned hand drills.”
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Simon also gave some of his wisdom. He said: “Stop throwing things away. There’s a value in everything.
“If you’re thinking of clearing a shed, come see us first because most of the houses we go to, we end up buying more out of what they’re calling their rubbish pile than the stuff they think is good.”
An example he gave was an Old Nintendo games box, which he thought would come useful if he later got a console, but the box sold for £65 empty.
The Secondhand Shed can be found at 24 Lord Street, Wrexham, LL11 1LR.
Their Facebook page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/thesecondhandshedwrexham/
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