Home & shopping
Shops and setting up a home
Kmart, Bunnings, JB Hi-Fi, op shops and Marketplace — where to buy what a new place needs without spending a fortune.
Updated
Arriving with nothing and needing everything is the standard script when you move. The temptation is to buy it all new on the first weekend — and it’s the fastest way to burn your savings before the first payday.
What I’d do again, in order: the cheap essentials at Kmart, winter clothes at an op shop, and furniture off Marketplace. It’s ready within the same week and costs a fraction.
What nobody tells you
Furnished rooms are common in sharehouses. Before buying a bed and a wardrobe, confirm what already comes with the room. Plenty of flatmate listings include everything.
Working holiday runs in cycles. Every few months people leave and sell their entire setup — mattress, desk, fan, even a bike — for almost nothing. Joining the Brazilian and backpacker groups in Perth puts you at the front of those lists.
Haggling isn’t rude. For electronics it’s expected, especially if you show a lower price on another site. Awkward the first few times, then it becomes a habit.
Factor in getting it home. Without a car, a cheap Bunnings shelf can get expensive in an Uber. Check delivery, or arrange a lift with someone from the house.
The short list
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Kmart
Cheap What I useThe Australian answer to "I need everything and I have no money". Towels, pots, hangers, sheets, fans, storage — cheap and good enough. If you just arrived and need to fit out a room, start here.
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Big W
CheapVery similar to Kmart, sometimes with a better range of basic electronics and stationery. Worth comparing when Kmart is out of stock.
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Target
StandardA step above Kmart for clothing and manchester, priced accordingly. Good during end-of-season sales.
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Bunnings
StandardThe hardware and garden warehouse, enormous and everywhere. Tools, paint, shelving, bulbs, extension leads. On weekends there's usually a sausage sizzle out front — a few dollars, and genuinely part of the culture.
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JB Hi-Fi
StandardGeneral electronics — phones, headphones, laptops, cables. The sticker price is not the law: asking for a discount in store, showing a cheaper competitor listing, works often. Never buy without checking the same item online first.
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Officeworks
StandardStationery, office gear, printing and some electronics. It has a price-beat policy, which is useful ammunition when negotiating elsewhere.
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Vinnies, Salvos and Good Sammy
Cheap What I useThe charity op shops. Winter clothes, crockery, tables, chairs, books — all for a few dollars. I landed in Perth in winter and sorted out a jacket this way on my first Saturday.
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Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree
Cheap What I useWhere the real furniture is. Working holiday people leaving the country sell everything at once and cheap. Arrange to see it in person, take someone with you, and pay on pickup.
Prices, plans and rules change fast — and I am one person with one experience. Treat this as a starting point, not as official advice.
