$10 for a table and eight chairs: why tip shops are Australia’s DIY treasure troves

Besides the trove of bargains, Ellie Auskelis says the Armidale tip shop was also ‘not like home, not like work, but an extra place where people went and socialised’, playing an important community role. Photograph: Simon Scott/The Guardian

Ellie Auskelis’s kitchen table came from the tip shop. So did her bicycle, and her children’s bicycles. And the kayak strapped to the roof of her car.

“I think [the table] cost me $10 with eight chairs,” says Auskelis. “It’s beautiful and wooden. It’s extendable, and it’s just glorious.”