"People just want something a little bit different, that other people don't have. It's a quality thing, too. People want something that's going to last, with a bit of personality about it," he says.
Teaz says customers visit the 2nd Ave op shop to furnish modern apartments.
"You never know what you're getting, the shop just keeps changing every day," he says.
Collectible books, including first editions, old puzzles, shoes with leather soles, kitchen utensils, especially Tupperware, original art prints, and old picture frames were being sought out, Teaz says.
Handcrafted linen and books on handcrafts are also popular.
"Work you just cannot buy at normal retail now."
ReStore also receives lots of inquiries about old tools. "They were made to last in those days. Now you buy it, use it for a year and throw it away," he says.
Manager of Waipuna Hospice Shop on Fraser St, Olwen Sorrenson, has noticed a resurgence in op-shopping.
The store averaged about 200 customers last month, compared with 195 last July.
Sorrenson says she uses the internet and books to research collectible items, pricing them slightly below market value.
Among the recent retro donations were a 1950s toy kitchen, a Seiko watch, china, silverware, porcelain dolls, art and books ranging from Noddy to one on the Queen's coronation in 1953.
"We've had lots of books that are collectible or unique," she says.
Sorrenson has also recently sold three fur stoles, complete with heads, for $40 each. The store had a former music shop owner who selected our collectible vinyl LPs.
"People collect all sorts of things - crystal, china, art, vintage clothing," she says.
Sorrenson agrees some shoppers were purposely avoiding chain stores, some seeking a gift for the person who has everything.
"I think people are looking for something just a bit one-off and unique," she says. "A lot of younger people now are getting into it."
Manager of the SPCA op shop in Greerton, Pam Bassett, says customers frequently inquire about furniture suitable for upcycling. "Retro clothes are so popular, dresses, crochet.
Anything crochet just rushes out the door," she adds.
She agrees shoppers are looking for better quality goods. "They last longer than the plastic stuff of today," she says.
Retro kitchenware is popular, particularly brightly coloured Tupperware.
Shoppers setting up houses also want items that will last, she says.
Manager of the Tauranga Salvation Army Family Store, Graham Wood, says the shop has a very high turnover of items, but does label some items as retro and prices them accordingly.
"The supply of it is too infrequent to have a retro section," he says.
"It's more to do with quality than specifically retro. If something's in near-new condition you can get a better price for it." Solid timbers, rather than veneer furniture, commanded a better price, he says. However, the store often sells bedroom furniture as retro.
Meanwhile, nationwide auction website Trade Me has experienced a huge jump in the number of auctions containing the word upcycling, followed by smaller spikes in vintage and shabby chic since 2011.
Data on searches in the "Home and Living" category over the past month showed "retro" made an appearance in the site's Top 20 list, and the search term "vintage" sat just outside the Top 50 searches.
Trade Me spokesman Jeff Hunkin says listings with vintage in the title were the clear winner, at 2.1 per cent of total furniture listings in June, up 22 per cent on June 2011.
"Retro" was next, at 1.4 per cent of listings in June, and "shabby chic" was at 0.2 per cent of furniture listings, up 11 per cent on June 2011. "The real success story, however, is "upcycle", coming from only 20 listings in June 2011 to well over 2000 listings in June 2014.
"It's still relatively minor in the whole scheme of things, at 0.03 per cent of listings, but it's certainly one to watch," Hunkin says.
