Shopping at Thrift Stores

Just wondering how many folks like to shop at Salvation Army, Goodwill and other thrift stores. My friend and I love to make a day of it together, lunch and the thrift stores. Most of my wardrobe comes from the Hospice store and other thrift stores. I wear them until I get tired of them and then take them back.

We have one that never really has anything good and some antique mall/craft/thrift stores (since they sell newer and handmade stuff, too). I am not good at clothes shopping to begin with so I'm at a bit of a loss how some people can go find nice, newer, things that fit them. ... Plus it seems like everyone is a size 8-10 with short legs here.

I do go pony hunting at any thrift stores or garage sales I find, though. And I love used books.

I love it though a friend of mine finds things to fit many of us without even being there shopping with her... In my area we went from 4 thrift stores to 20 in 18 months ...

Well, there are thrift stores, and then there are real thrift stores.

I no longer donate to Goodwill and I don't shop there much either. The nearest store here was a pretty nice place. Obviously not good enough. They decided they had to build a SUPER thrift store. It's very nice, if you like paying more for a used, beaten up piece of merchandise than it cost originally. Then they have this habit of remarking items to avoid discounting them. Picky, I know. That said, I love thrifting, I just don't love Goodwill. I find them somewhat greedy for a place that sells items they receive for free.

I have 5 or 6 other thrift stores I shop regularly. I also make my donations to these same places. They serve a purpose beside providing me with the occasional lowcost treasure. People who can't afford to shop elsewhere can get decent clothing and household items at a reasonable cost. They fund animals welfare organizations, programs for the homeless, etc. I especially enjoy buying stuff that can be rebuilt, repainted...turned from a piece of junk to something really nice.

I used to when I lived in LA... Melrose street has some awesome ones... I never found any here in Dallas...

I have tried shopping at thrift stores, I have a friend who always shows me what she got at thrift stores and I love the things she finds, but when I go I can't find anything I like I just don't know what it is, because others clearly find awesome things....Maybe the thrift stores I go to aren't great- I go to salvation army and goodwill but maybe the area I live in gets bad donations.

I'm not into other people's clothes. I'm too picky. Plus my I think it has something to do with my mom forcing me to wear hand me downs and used stuff my whole life. I can afford new stuff now, so I buy it. Of course I have NOTHING against people who shop at those places! My friend shops there all the time and alters stuff and makes them cool. It's cool.

I like to go there my friends and I make days out of it too. Sometimes you make great finds other times nothing. Its still somewhat entertaining to make an event out of shopping instead of just going out and buying things. We spend half the time making fun of some of the stuff you couldn't find us dead in... I wonder if that makes us bad people...

I love looking at Plato's Closet, Goodwill, and Salvation Army! You never know what you will find

Call me cheap, but I love those stores. You have to hit them at the right time, however.

Clothes? Well, if you know your brands, etc., you can get some real bargains. Furniture and other stuff can really knock you over.

I absolutely LOVE thrift stores. 90% of my waredrobe is from thrift store and I get complemented on my outfits all the time! I also can afford to buy new, but I figure the money can be better spent elsewhere (like on my kitties or the fosters ) plus I love the fact that at thrift stores I can get so much MORE for my money!

In fact I went thrift shopping yesterday! I found a gorgeous, stylish, dressy pant suit, a red sweater, a black and white dress shirt, a pair of grey dress pants, an adorable little dress, a pair of spring shoes, and a super cute t-shirt. All for $40! The suit alone would have been over $100 new. Everything I bought looks brand new as well. LOVE it.

I used to check those places out, but could never find anything that fit properly. You see I need a size 10 or 12 top, but a size 8 for pants and skirts.....it's impossible to find a nice dress or suit that fits properly at a mall store, let alone a thrift-type shop. I do shop for books and can sometimes find some good ones.

First, I hate shopping. Second, I wore hand me downs my entire childhood, often from the goodwill box, which means I was wearing classmates discarded clothes, which, let me tell you is a HUMILIATING experience when you are a kid.

So no, I don't go into thrift shops. When I need something (I restock rather than shop because my clothes needs are not varied) I go online and order three of them at a time. New, never worn before clothes.

The disadvantage of course is by the time I need to restock they've changed it.

Currently, I haven't bought new clothes in years. In fact the last new (to me) thing I bought for myself was Caterina, my car, we just celebrated our one year anniversary together.

Most of my money"disposable" income (after necessities like food, rent and gas) goes to vet bills.

I could spend hours in a good thrift store, just looking at all the stuff. But the reason I go is for the books. It's hard to keep up a reading habit like mine, and if I was buying all my bookd at retail it would cost a fortune.

I had to stop buying books, there is no more room for them! I only buy favorite authors that I plan to keep now, and none have done anything new in several years.

I have a terrific library system. It consists of 52 libraries in a four county area. All I have to do is go online and find the books I want, and they are delivered to my local library. Of course often I don't KNOW what books I want, but my local library is well stocked too. I take out 10 books at a time, because the odds are out of 10 at least three of them will be something I want to read!

My family was poor and my dad was trying to raise three girls with the help of Grandma. So I always wore hand me downs too, mostly too big. But I still love thrift stores. I find the secret in my area is to visit all three often. Sometimes I find things and sometimes I don't. One of my best finds was a cashmere sweater with the tag still on it for fifty cents at the end of the season. I do find that Goodwill stores are a little pricie too.

By the way, one thing to remember about Goodwill is that it is actually a business. It employs a lot of people who repair/refurbish donations and do a number of other jobs. They are a significant employer, providing work for many otherwise unemployable people. That's why their actual name is "Goodwill Industries." Their thrift stores and donations are just a small part of their business; they provide employees in a number of other businesses, too.

One trivia fact: From 1995-2000, Fred Grandy ("Gopher" on "The Love Boat") was president and CEO of Goodwill Industries.

I buy a lot of books at the thrift stores as well actually. I also go to United Bookstores where you can trade books which comes in really handy where I read quite a bit.

Mom and I went thrift shopping again today. I got a bunch of tops, a cute pair of black shoes and an adorable summer halter dress. Now I need to go find room in my closet...

I love a good thrift store, but unfortunately have not found one here. I just found out about one on Camp Lejeune that I am going to as soon as I get up there and get a few minutes to stop in.
Kansas City, MO has the best ones I have ever been in. I found much cool stuff while I was out there.
I don't mind wearing clothes from a thrift stores, and found several vintage lava lamps for my collection in thrift stores.

Originally Posted by krazy kat2

I love a good thrift store, but unfortunately have not found one here. I just found out about one on Camp Lejeune that I am going to as soon as I get up there and get a few minutes to stop in.
Kansas City, MO has the best ones I have ever been in. I found much cool stuff while I was out there.
I don't mind wearing clothes from a thrift stores, and found several vintage lava lamps for my collection in thrift stores.

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When I go down to Jacksonville, I always am to busy going to Hilda's to eat, Sams to shop, and also the Marshall's store that I have never looked for thrift stores there. Is there anyone in this area who knows of some for us to shop at?