Thrift Store Spree

[Fireup2020]

Wow - had a great one! Paid $82 and walked out with:

1. Perfect little black dress (only needs to be hemmed - and I sew)
2. Summer dress that is casual dinner AND office appropriate
3. 2 pairs of work slacks/khakis
4. 2 pairs of "trendy" jeans
5. 2 work blouses
5. 2 pairs of shorts
6. Mid weight fabulous fitting coat
7. 2 casual tops
8. One pair of very gently used roller blades! ($7!!)

Was a great way to spend a few hours for Lincoln's Birthday!

Any fellow thrift store shoppers with great success stories?

 

[Sarah in SC]

I used to run one (no clothes) for Habitat for Humanity. My house was filled up with stuff! I finally had to do an intervention on myself and take it all back as a re-donation! We do a St. Pat's party every year where they required dress is "thrift store greenery". There are some impressive outfits garnered at Goodwill!

I need to go more often to the clothing ones--but frankly I hate shopping of any sort, even bargain-shopping! My MIL does great, though, and always gives us stuff at Christmas that she's found at the local thrift. She's funny though, she wraps up the new items she give us, but always has an unwrapped bag of clothes that she got at the thrift and tells us so--never wants to pass them off as new! Which is what I would have done!

You are doing a great job, though--I wish I had the patience! Here's our thrift store Greenery now:

 

[REWahoo]

I used to run one (no clothes) for Habitat for Humanity.

I had no idea nudist thrift stores existed...

 

[Charlotte]

Any fellow thrift store shoppers with great success stories?

I like to pop into the Goodwill store when I can. My last good find was a brand new pair of Levi's with the original tags all still on for $3 (and in my size!). I'm sure glad there are people in the world who donate their never-used things to Goodwill!

Charlotte

 

[dex]

8. One pair of very gently used roller blades! ($7!!)

If you didn't get the crash pads or even if you did this one purchase is going to really cost you - medical expenses.

 

[Fireup2020]

If you didn't get the crash pads or even if you did this one purchase is going to really cost you - medical expenses.

LOL - these are to replace the ones my step-daughter hijacked a few years ago - have just been too cheap to pay $80+ for new ones!

Fortunately, I am a rare one with triple medical coverage (mil on their time, BC/BS and VA Healthcare)

 

[toofrugalformycat]

I wanted another pair of those slacks that convert into shorts by zipping off the legs. I looked at the REI sale and there weren't any in my size. The next Saturday I went to our local SPCA thrift store. On Saturdays all clothing is $1. What did I find but a pair of REI brand convertible slacks that fit me! They were wrinkled but I washed them and they look brand new!
Better yet, the manufacturer's tag said Small, but they fit me and I'm more of a Large - Extra Long. It's probably why there were at the thrift store. The tag was wrong. One dollar for good travel slacks that make me feel slender - can't beat that!

 

[Nords]

It's our #1 store. I do all my clothes shopping at Goodwill, and we raised our kid there too-- kid's clothes of all ages, school dresses, Hallowe'en costumes, toys, shoes, school supplies, boogie boards, snorkel gear, skateboards, even a couple bicycles. Coffee mugs, insulated frosty-beverage mugs, Corelle dishware, plastic containers,kitchen utensils, 50-cent paperback books for traveling & leaving behind, old CDs & cassette tapes... it's amazing what people will get rid of. We've even seen retail overstock on the shelves.

Spouse satisfies her shopping urges there and at garage sales.

Anyone who's going to the Mainland in winter, especially for college, shops for winter clothes at Goodwill first. Winter wear is a little difficult to find in local retail stores.

Sometimes you find more uniform articles at Goodwill than at the Navy Thrift Shop. They might even have a military discount or a military day.

I don't think we've ever scored big there, but a woman got in the cashier's line behind us with a Lladro figurine that was listed at $10. We looked it up on eBay and Lladro stores where it was listed at $150.

 

[Keim]

I used to manage a thrift store. And, my wife is probably in Goodwill on a weekly basis. I am happy to pay low prices for the great stuff they have. Love'em!

 

[Khan]

In the last 3 months I've bought a wool sweater vest, a zippered fleece vest, a zippered acrylic long sleeve sweater, an all cotton fitted sheet, 2 all cotton flat sheets, a chair throw, several handkerchiefs. A good place for towels and sheets if you aren't picky about colors.

 

[RonBoyd]

We have shopped at "thrift" stores for years (40+). In fact, I have come to depend so much on those people who buy NEW that I shudder whenever someone brings this up for fear they will discover something wonderful.

My most recent "find" was a like-new Bell & Howell Super-8 projector. (I have a bunch of old movies to convert to digital.) I had (mentally) committed to spending a couple hundred dollars and have been putting it off. $5.95 (plus tax) took that load off my mind.

The way I look at it is (in the case of your $82) this is like spending $500 in "real" money. Therefore, I am actually a multi-millionaire (after that leverage) in real terms. In any event, we have a wardrobe that is the envy of all our friends... if they only knew.

 

[Fireup2020]

There is nothing better than the look on someone's face when you get complimented on your outfit - say thank you, and then he/she questions where you got it...and I say, "thrift store" - Priceless!

 

[jazz4cash]

Im hooked, but never bought clothes...usually tools, electronics, and furniture, especially bookshelves. I donate a load or two per month of stuff we don't need and usually browse while I'm there. I started using turbotax it's deductible program last year and found out I was underestimating the value of my contributions. My other bargain spot is the pawn shops...amazing stuff in there.

 

[simple girl]

There is nothing better than the look on someone's face when you get complimented on your outfit - say thank you, and then he/she questions where you got it...and I say, "thrift store" - Priceless!

I so agree! I'd say at least 25% (if not more) of my clothing is from thrift stores. Not only is it a great deal, but it makes me feel better knowing all the energy that went into making an item of clothing, etc. isn't just going to be thrown in the trash.

We do a St. Pat's party every year where they required dress is "thrift store greenery". There are some impressive outfits garnered at Goodwill!

...Here's our thrift store Greenery now:

LOL, I wanna party with you! What a great, fun idea!

 

[dex]

My other bargain spot is the pawn shops...amazing stuff in there.

I never went into a pawn shop until I got to GA. I haven't seen many bargins though. I'll have to give them a try again. What items usually are the best bargins.

 

[maddythebeagle]

We like garage sales better esp. when they have city-wide ones....I find the thrift stores full of a lot of junk and too high...

 

[Nords]

What items usually are the best bargins.

High-end power tools (contractor grade), VHS VCRs (a disappearing format), DVD/CD/MP3 players, videos & DVDs (especially kid's stuff), jewelry, musical instruments-- and in Hawaii, surfboards.

I've seen scuba gear in a pawnshop, too, but I'm not sure I want to know how it got there...

 

[Caroline]

Where to begin? We shop almost exclusively at thrift stores and can't understand why anyone would do otherwise.

Clothing -- I got a pair of zip-off pants like yours, toofrugal, for $3. A vintage, hand-stitched Kimono and "occupied Japan" bent-bamboo handbag -- $5 for both.

Housewares -- everything we own. The latest find was an almost complete set of Denby hand-thrown English dinnerware (the Castille pattern) for a little over $20. It's lovely stuff and one PLATE costs more than $20 on ebay -- about twice that in the stores.

I picked up a silver mug for 45 cents -- the hallmarks are English and from the late 1700s.

The stuff people throw out just blows my mind.

As regards furniture, my best find ever was a six-foot-wide burlwood wardrobe -- vintage art deco -- for $100.

I'd better stop ... this is making me want to go shopping.

 

[Achiever51]

A very high end consignment/resale shop recently opened near my daughter's house and I visited it with her several weekends ago. While we were there, the owner told us about a large consignment she was tagging for sale and she offered us "first look". Turned out to be about 100 pairs of women's designer label jeans, all in my daughter's size, many of which still had the original sales tags on them. The woman who brought them to the shop is a well-known socialite, married to one of the wealthiest guys around. The shop owner told me that this lady shops almost daily, using "retail therapy" to fill her days and she brings many of her purchases to local resale shops.

My daughter walked out of the shop with four pairs of jeans for a total of $30...the original price tags totaled more than $670!!

I guess some people DO have more money than brains...

 

[MooreBonds]

My daughter walked out of the shop with four pairs of jeans for a total of $30...the original price tags totaled more than $670!!

I guess some people DO have more money than brains...

Or...in some cases...they just have money.

 

[Coach]

This is a delightful thread! It's a great example of how some people become millionaires -- and how some millionaires stay that way. Thomas Stanley, author of The Millionaire Next Door, would be proud.

Coach

 

[Walt34]

I guess I'll have to look around more. All the yard/garage sales I've seen had little more than children's clothes, children's toys, beat-up furniture, partial dinnerware sets, odd glasses, etc. Ditto the thrift stores. Just someone else's junk, to me.

Although I did buy a pair of two-drawer file cabinets at a yard sale once for $5.

 

[travelover]

A very high end consignment/resale shop recently opened near my daughter's house and I visited it with her several weekends ago. .........................

I guess some people DO have more money than brains...

I second the consignment shop for women's clothes. Much of the merchandise in our local shop has never been worn - just too lazy to take it back!

 

[TromboneAl]

At a rummage sale recently I got seven pairs of LL Bean cargo pants for $2 each. They are identical except for color, and just the style and size I wear. All in great shape. Someone must have gained weight.

DW had to hem them all (I offered to learn how to do it). So I won't need to buy pants for about 10 years.

 

[Moemg]

I second the consignment shop for women's clothes. Much of the merchandise in our local shop has never been worn - just too lazy to take it back!

or in some cases the person died