There was a great post by Simple Mom in my reader this morning titled, 12 Tips for Thrift Store Shopping. I've never been much of a Thrift Store shopper. My brother in law is and finds great stuff. My sister went and purchased snow pants for her entire family one day at a thrift store. But I've never had much luck... aside from the VCR we bought for $7 last year. :)
So I thought I'd ask our readers, "Do you thrift shop? If so, where do you go? How often? Do you go with something specific in mind, or just to look?" There are three thrift stores (that I'm aware of) within 3 miles of my house (I'm in Boise)... maybe it's time for me to delve in? Seeing racks and racks of clothes overwhelms me and it feels like a tedious task to search through hundreds of items, just to find that "great find"! Help me out here ladies... my five year old needs a new pair of church pants and I'm thinking I may go on a hunt.
What are your thoughts and experiences?
Monday, January 19, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
gift
5 comments:
Ok-so I live at the thrift stores. I get all of my kids clothes there. I go on the off season, and get stuff for really cheap. Savers is my favorite. It seems overwhelming, but once you go a few times, and know what sections to look through, you can do it pretty fast. Starting Thursdays, they usually have a certain color sticker that is 50% off. Monday's, I think are still everything 50% off. You can find awesome stuff. I want my kids to be stylish just like everyone else, and I mostly find name brand stuff, sometimes still with tags on. I also like Goodwill. They don't have as big of selection, but usually are cheaper. I just bought my husband two pair of Gap jeans, and a pair of Old Navy jeans all three for $12. Not too bad. Have fun, but be careful......easy to get addicted. :)
There are a lot of department stores that donate brand new stuff to thrift stores, my accountant was telling us that if you donate to Idaho Youth Ranch or a few others that you can write off the donation on your taxes, so maybe that's why there seems to be so many new items at some thrift stores and not so many at others.
I like Goodwill lately, I recently found lots of great brand new items for really cheap to stage a house I have listed. They have colored tags and percentages off certain colors everyday too.
The $.25 sale at Other Mothers on Fairview the last full weekend of every month (starts I think at 10:00am) is a good cheap way to find good clothes if you are there right when they are dumping out the clothes. WARNING, if you don't enjoy a LOT of competitive grabbing and pillaging this sale is not for you. (One of the reasons why I do not attend often)
My all time personal favorite way to buy used anything is garage sales!!! Not too much of that this time of year though.
When it's not garage sale season, I shop the thrift store. Most of what our family wears (with an exception to Ryan) came from a yard sale, thrift store, or hand-me-down. Yes, even the kids underwear! I've found brand new socks and underwear at the thrift store! Shop having in mind what you're looking for, but definitely take a few minutes to scout things out--the surprise deals are always fun to find! It helps to keep a running list in your purse of items you may need or would like to have if the price is right--that way you'll remember what to look for. As you frequent, you'll get used to how a store is set up and learn to browse quickly. Goodwill is my current favorite (close, clean, and I'm used to it--if you happen to buy something that doesn't work, keep your receipt for an exchange within one week) Good luck!
If you are looking for little childrens clothes Other Mothers is a great place to start. On Faview and Five mile Across the street from Savors. That store has some fun stuff!!!
I love thrift stores! One day I was looking through the racks at the Goodwill in Boise and found a really cute skirt. Before I get excited about a find I always check the tag to make sure it is my side and not in the wrong section. When I reached into the skirt to look at the tag I found the original price tag. I was excited to see that the skirt was in my size AND never worn, BUT the best part was the the original price tag had a price of $139! Score! I have no clue who would donate a never worn $139 skirt to the Goodwill but one mans garbage is my treasure! I ended up paying 3.99 for that skirt. The trick to thrift stores is to be patient and look at every item. Don't go when you are in a hurry and with children. Over time you get "thrift store eyes" and can scan the racks quickly and find the things you want.
Post a Comment