AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND — Op Spot is a free map-first app for finding op shops, charity stores, vintage sellers and community reuse centres. Available on the web, iPhone and Android, it shows shoppers what is nearby, what is open now and what has recently been spotted in store — so they can decide which places are worth the trip before setting out.
As at 1 September 2026, Op Spot covers more than 5,000 locations across New Zealand and Australia, including more than 1,200 in New Zealand. Shoppers can search the map, check opening hours and shop profiles, plan a run, and save the shops and finds they want to remember.
The release coincides with Oxfam’s Second Hand September, which encourages people to choose pre-loved instead of new for 30 days. Op Spot is not affiliated with the campaign, but Byrne says its message closely matches the practical problem the app was built to solve: making second-hand shopping easy enough to become an everyday first choice.
“Second Hand September gives people a brilliant reason to try shopping differently,” Byrne says. “But a month-long challenge is much more likely to become a lasting habit when people can quickly find the right shops, see what is open and turn the hunt into something genuinely enjoyable.”
Founder Claire Byrne built Op Spot after repeatedly seeing people ask the same question online: “Where are the best op shops in Auckland?”
“The problem is that ‘best’ means something different to everyone,” Byrne says. “One person is hunting for genuine Y2K clothing, another wants handmade wooden toys and maternity clothes, and somebody else is looking for football boots. There is no single right answer.”
“Op shops range from carefully curated designer resale stores to community reuse hubs and dirt-cheap bargain basements. On a conventional map, they can all look much the same. Op Spot is designed to help each person find the shops most likely to be worth the trip for them.”
A product built from lived experience
Byrne’s regular visits to the Manurewa Community Recycling Centre near her South Auckland home showed her how practical and valuable reuse can be for families.
“Since my son was born, both of us have needed new clothes several times a year. On one income, that put real pressure on us. At the recycling centre we could get what we needed at very little cost,” she says. “We treat it like a community library: you find what you need and, when you are finished with it, you pass it on. For him, ‘new’ does not only come in a brightly coloured box.”
The launch follows the first Aotearoa New Zealand Reuse Impact Study, presented at Parliament in July 2026. The study estimated that, in one year, the charitable reuse sector:
- reused 46.9 million items;
- diverted 41,300 tonnes of goods from landfill;
- saved New Zealand households an estimated $844 million;
- reinvested $78 million into social and community services; and
- supported 1,322 paid staff and more than 1,550 full-time-equivalent volunteer roles.
“People op shop because it is affordable, because they can find unique, good-quality things, and because it is a fun day out that almost anyone can enjoy,” Byrne says. “At the same time, every good item kept in use can ease pressure on a household, support community services and avoid becoming waste.”
What comes next
With the core discovery platform now live, Op Spot is being shaped by feedback from shoppers and op shops. The team is also exploring a donation and reuse directory to help people find the right home for useful things they no longer need.
“Finding somewhere to buy second-hand should be easy,” Byrne says. “Finding the right place to pass something on should be just as easy.”
Byrne is an Auckland-based digital product founder with 25 years’ experience building online businesses and technology products. She previously founded one of New Zealand’s first large online florists and DonateNZ, a marketplace connecting useful goods with community organisations. Op Spot brings that experience together with her own life as an op-shopper and parent.
Byrne has used AI-assisted development and automation to bring Op Spot to market as an independent founder. “AI has made it possible to move faster on administration and development, while I stay focused on the product, the shops and the people using it,” she says.
Op Spot is free for shoppers and available now at opspot.me, on the App Store and on Google Play.