Badass Thrift Store Shopping

[oneday]

Sturdy & roomy backpack for $7, to replace an over-shoulder bag I've been using to go to the gym. It's heavy! And my one shoulder aches after carrying it, especially if I've taken the bus. This also will allow me to ride my bike instead of take the bus. Payback: less than 2 round trips!

[Trudie]

I’ve purchased so many garden tools and supplies at thrift and the Habitat store — especially t-posts, chicken wire, used wood (for gates)… the list goes on. Also, I purchase lots of clothes at thrift. Have people not heard of washing machines? I live in a university town that has a big community sale each summer when the student leases turn over. I’ve purchased lots of kitchen stuff, including a fancy toaster and an unused upright cart (for taking on the bus). I buy almost all of my crafting and gift wrapping supplies at thrift.

And when I’m done with something that’s in decent shape, I quickly move it right out the door, back to thrift.

[theninthwall]

Free desks! Once again the trash area at our apartment complex has manifested perfectly good furniture to decorate our house with. These retail for $440 new. There were actually four there, we kept the best two and we are going to donate one. We left the other one there as it was wobbly.

[Weisass]

Nice desks! What a score!

[Loretta]

I used a buy $50 save 30% coupon to purchase 5 dresses at my local Savers…. These dresses rang up as summer dresses and all were way overpriced without the coupon.  They had more visible security than normal also….not a good sign. 

I donated a vase and some knickknack gifts on my way inside.   

[K_in_the_kitchen]

I haven't done much thrifting lately, but I did find 8 placemats for $5 (our table needs placemats to protect the wood), and then on vacation I bought a tea pot and cookie jar in the pattern of my holiday dishes for $15 total, which is a pretty cheap "souvenir".  I didn't need a t-shirt or coffee mug, but I will always think of this trip when I bring out the holiday dishes.

I also bought a set of vintage ironstone dishes for $75 from Facebook Marketplace.  I'd been scouring the local thrift stores and either they didn't have anything I liked, or what they did have was overpriced and incomplete.  This is service for 16 with dinner plates, salad/dessert plates, coupe soup bowls, cups and saucers, plus two each of serving platters, serving bowls, butter dishes with lids, salt and pepper shakers, sugar bowls with lids, creamers, gravy boats with saucers, and tea pots with lids.  With over 100 pieces, it was less than 75¢ per piece, which my local thrift stores can't touch.  Even if I'd gone the mix and match route at the thrift store, I wouldn't have gotten these kind of prices.

[Erma]

After looking for several months I finally found a cot with adapters for our old stroller for 60 CHF including delivery instead of the new price of 160 CHF. It still looks very new, I am very pleased with this purchase.

[Dicey]

This one's kind of accidental. We happened to be close to the new Saver's store yesterday. We tried to visit last time we were in the area, but it was a Saturday there was zero parking. This time there was parking and a donation bin in front. I had something in my car that was earmarked for Goodwill, so I put it in their bin just to save a trip to GW. Once inside, I noticed a sign that offered a 20% discount if you bring in a donation. Sweet!

I was looking for something else (no luck), but passed by a nice selection of puzzles. I found two that were germane to the upcoming Magical Moab Meetup. Despite being the same brand, artist, and number of pieces, one was 2.49, the other was 4.49. Still more were 3.49. I asked the cashier tending the self-service kiosks and they said to simply scan the lower price puzzle twice and then the coupon. Uh, okay.

Two 500 piece Dowdle puzzles in great condition came to $4.36.

Despite this score, I doubt I will visit there often. Savers is NOT a non-profit, and their presence in the community is siphoning donations away from thrifts who are. Further, because contributing to a cause is not their primary goal, they can spend a LOT more on rent for a huge building and fancy inventory tracking systems. Because they have a paid staff, they are also open more hours. Bah.

[TomTX]

Strollers can take a lot of wear and tear, but there are a myriad of reasons you should purchase a new one when you have a baby. The biggest concern is safety, as items may have been recalled or outdated and without the manual you'd never know.

Don't you just hate it when you're reading the manual to your brand new stroller and it tells you it has been recalled and you need to return it for a refund? Ugh, such bad journalism.

Yea, that one was pretty dumb, especially in this day and age. We had 2 strollers:

1) Freebie from an acquaintance. Great condition, but it did have a recall - which was super easy to find out about. Emailed the manufacturer, they sent the free extra padding piece to prevent a potential pinch injury. Worked great until we no longer needed it.

2) Trash-picked a jogging stroller. Condition wasn't as great - it looked like it had sat outside for awhile and sun faded. No recalls, worked great until we no longer needed it. Pretty sure I sold it for $20.

[Sugaree]

I assume that the recall thing is more of an issue with that whole "travel system" thing that makes it so that the kid never have to be taken out of the baby pod from house to car to stroller.  We never had one of those, so I never worried about whether the umbrella stroller that I paid $15 for had been recalled (to be fair, the consignment sale that I bought it from is fairly thorough with their recall checks).  I wore him until he was almost three so our stroller usage was fairly minimal anyway. 

[Dicey]

We're going to Colorado and the forecast is pretty chilly for us CA sissies. Found a cute Lululemon vest at the thrift shop for $7.00. Layering score!

Also scored a brand new Uno deck for $2.00. Cheap grandkid fun!

[jeninco]

We're going to Colorado and the forecast is pretty chilly for us CA sissies. Found a cute Lululemon vest at the thrift shop for $7.00. Layering score!

Also scored a brand new Uno deck for $2.00. Cheap grandkid fun!

Feel free to make up additional rules that amuse the players!

[Dicey]

We're going to Colorado and the forecast is pretty chilly for us CA sissies. Found a cute Lululemon vest at the thrift shop for $7.00. Layering score!

Also scored a brand new Uno deck for $2.00. Cheap grandkid fun!

Feel free to make up additional rules that amuse the players!

The two-year-old will be an easy mark. The almost seven-year- old is much savvier. This is where old age and treachery come into play.

[Freedomin5]

Found a jacket for $10. Went to pay and discovered that it was 75% off. Paid $2.50 Canadian for an awesome jacket to replace the one I’ve been wearing, which my husband found while hiking 13 years ago.

[jeninco]

Found a jacket for $10. Went to pay and discovered that it was 75% off. Paid $2.50 Canadian for an awesome jacket to replace the one I’ve been wearing, which my husband found while hiking 13 years ago.

We call that kind of clothing "roadkill", whether or not it's literally picked up on the side of the road!

I went into a local place to drop some stuff off yesterday, and checked for sweaters for me (nothing I liked) and non-icky-colored shirts for the DH. (somehow, all his collared shirts have become ugly brown, or grey, or brown-grey...). Came out with 4 lovely shirts (2 polos in actual colors, two short-sleeved button ups: he'll wear both kinds) for $13.04. Even if one is too small, that's still a decent win.

[Dicey]

We're going to Colorado and the forecast is pretty chilly for us CA sissies. Found a cute Lululemon vest at the thrift shop for $7.00. Layering score!

Also scored a brand new Uno deck for $2.00. Cheap grandkid fun!

After this post, when in CO, we discovered a place in Pitkin County called The Motherlode Mercantile. It's literally at the dump. People drop off good stuff and then its sold for super cheap. Our Son-in-Law leases a ranch and has an outfitting business. We scored so much great stuff there for very little money and had a complete blast doing so. I think we went five times in eight days. The woman who runs it (Natalie ❤️) is totally cool and prices everything to move, move, move!

[SunnyDays]

Found 3 aquatic themed pillow covers for .50 each.  Regular price online is supposedly $66 each, but on sale for $26.  They’re nice, but not $26 of nice.  I might have gone up to a buck apiece.

[Freedomin5]

Two pairs of Columbia quick dry shorts for $5 each. Also got a tank top for $3. DD found a pair of quick dry shorts for $1.

[cleverscreenname]

Thanks for the link, Dicey. I love thrift shopping. It's so cheap that I often have more clothes than I need, and spend much less on stain removers since I can just retire clothing into car-work-rags, and move on to newer clothing.

[BicycleB]

Ptf

[Dicey]

Thanks for the link, Dicey. I love thrift shopping. It's so cheap that I often have more clothes than I need, and spend much less on stain removers since I can just retire clothing into car-work-rags, and move on to newer clothing.

Funny, I found a spendy brand t-shirt in a pretty light green color just before the last trip. I washed and dryed it in a commercial machine mid-trip and the armpits turned black! I brought it home and soaked it in The Frugal Girl's pit stain remover and it's good to go again. Whew!

[Nutty]

Amazing what you find at a thrift store.
Last month I found wool dryer balls in the original bag/packaging.  Looked unused, so I'm using them.
Classic fishing reels for cheaper than ebay.  Not that I need more classic reels, I got the nicer ones and they will be used.
Hooks and organizers are cheaper than new.  I'm always on the look out. 
Best deal is still the German Kitchen knives.  I doubt I would have tried them if not for the thrift store.

[LaineyAZ]

The local kids consignment shop is having their semi-annual sale.  A number of clothes, shoes and toys are marked down to $1, and this weekend will be further marked down to 2 for $1.  It's literally cheaper than the Goodwill in the same shopping center.
So this is a friendly reminder that there's good deals to be found at consignment-type and other stores that are not chain thrift stores. 

[K_in_the_kitchen]

Not thrift store buys, but I recently got two items through Buy Nothing and wasn't sure where to share them.

1) Vintage metal made in USA fan -- totally unsafe for use around children or curious cats with the metal blades and huge openings, but it fits the house and I plan to mount it in the kitchen -- we've been talking about putting a fan up in one corner for several years now.

2) Large 48x76" teak veneer bookcase, mid century, made in Denmark.  It's in great shape except someone made a hole for a cord to go through, and not a nice round hole, but no one will ever see it.  Oldest kid needed a bookcase, and getting a nice one for free is a bonus.

I've been staying out of thrift stores as my goal has been for far more things to leave the house then come in.

[AccidentialMustache]

Do the various "[Amazon/etc] returns outlet" stores count as thrift? If so, DW pulled a $100+ air purifier for under $10, even after buying a new dust-sock for it. Happy about that given more expected Canadian wildfire smoke this summer. :-/

[NotCreativeName]

I would say it counts - good score!

[Dicey]

Yesterday I dragged DH to REI while we were in the area. He needs some hiking shoes/boots to fit his post-surgical, extra wide feet. While we waited our turn, I checked their website. Surprise, they have a wide mid-height boot in their own brand, and it was on clearance for 50% off, and they had his size. When it was our turn I whispered to the clerk that price was no issue, I just wanted DH to find boots that fit. He only had two styles in extra wide width, and one of them was the clearance boots, which actually fit, yippee! I also found a pair for me for half price. The hard part was not buying anything else while we were on a roll, but we did it.

Today was my volunteer day at the thrift shop. I found three brand-new looking L/S t-shirts. Two Land's End Super T's for DH and a Lululemon tee for me. It was Senior Day, so they were $3 each. I succumbed to the Siren Call of a 1,000 PC. White Mountain puzzle for $3 as well. It's stilling the original, unopened box, so it could become a gift.

[Dicey]

This is pretty badass, because someone put the word out for Life Vests for the Magical Moab Meetup, and the Thrift Shop Gods (fake TM) served up these two beauties, on sale for about $7.00 each.

[Nutty]

After finding a one pint sauce pan and 2 quart Le Creuset dutch oven in enameled cast iron, in red (why red?) I was hoping to find a larger one.  I did! complete with crack down the side and passed on it, also in red.

Finally found a 5.5 quart Tramontina enameled cast iron dutch oven in excellent condition for $10 versus $50+ for a new one.  In deep, dark red.  I left the cast iron skillet for the next person.  I have a complete collection and this one is recent make.

The white enameled 5 quart I've had for a decade is chipping on the inside in a couple of spots.  Not overheated (unless the kids did it) and the brand is Olive & Thyme.  Made in China and found at a discount store, so I'm not heart broken. 

What is there to do with chipped, enameled dutch ovens?  Planters?  I have enough decorations.

[Dicey]

After finding a one pint sauce pan and 2 quart Le Creuset dutch oven in enameled cast iron, in red (why red?) I was hoping to find a larger one.  I did! complete with crack down the side and passed on it, also in red.

Finally found a 5.5 quart Tramontina enameled cast iron dutch oven in excellent condition for $10 versus $50+ for a new one.  In deep, dark red.  I left the cast iron skillet for the next person.  I have a complete collection and this one is recent make.

The white enameled 5 quart I've had for a decade is chipping on the inside in a couple of spots.  Not overheated (unless the kids did it) and the brand is Olive & Thyme.  Made in China and found at a discount store, so I'm not heart broken. 

What is there to do with chipped, enameled dutch ovens?  Planters?  I have enough decorations.

If it's still serviceable, maybe give it to the thrift store?

[Nutty]

What is there to do with chipped, enameled dutch ovens?  Planters?  I have enough decorations.
If it's still serviceable, maybe give it to the thrift store?

I'm still using it, so yes.  I don't want to find chips in my food though and don't trust it or scrape the bottom while serving.  I inspect it closely.  Giving to thrift may help someone.

Rice doesn't stick as bad to the enamel as the regular dutch ovens.  But it still sticks.

[Dicey]

What is there to do with chipped, enameled dutch ovens?  Planters?  I have enough decorations.
If it's still serviceable, maybe give it to the thrift store?

I'm still using it, so yes.  I don't want to find chips in my food though and don't trust it or scrape the bottom while serving.  I inspect it closely.  Giving to thrift may help someone.

Rice doesn't stick as bad to the enamel as the regular dutch ovens.  But it still sticks.

Yeah, I made some in the IP yesterday. The rice turned out perfectly, which means it's stuck all over the liner and still soaking in the kitchen sink.

[Nutty]

Yeah, I made some in the IP yesterday. The rice turned out perfectly, which means it's stuck all over the liner and still soaking in the kitchen sink.

Which means you should make soup right after the rice is done.  LOL.
My family hates when I do that.  They say I'm cooking in a dirty pot.  In truth, I'm highly efficient and the soup needs rice anyway.

[Dicey]

Yeah, I made some in the IP yesterday. The rice turned out perfectly, which means it's stuck all over the liner and still soaking in the kitchen sink.

Which means you should make soup right after the rice is done.  LOL.
My family hates when I do that.  They say I'm cooking in a dirty pot.  In truth, I'm highly efficient and the soup needs rice anyway.

Ha, I was using up leftover broth from an event I hosted on Friday.

[Freedomin5]

Our bread maker, which was used 1-2x every week, died. We’ve been on the lookout for a new used bread maker. One was posted yesterday, and we snagged it for approx. $25. Looked it up online - it goes for about $100 new.

[lhamo]

I forgot to post about this when it happened, but a couple of weeks ago I stopped by a thrift store I don't usually go to in a town where I was picking something else up for DD.  I had recently ordered a camp chair from REI at a somewhat ridiculous price. So I popped over to the camping gear section and found at least 10 camp chairs to choose from.  I worked my way through the pile until I found the one that was both cheap ($5.99 + tax) and comfortable.  Saved myself over $50!

[Dicey]

Badass!

[Warlord1986]

My old bag literally fell apart after 22.5 years of faithful service. I went to the thrift shop for a replacement. Saw a bag. "Oh, that's pretty! I love the color and its the perfect size!" Check the tag inside the purse. "Tommy Hilfiger? Somebody paid a lot of money for this." Wasn't me though. I paid $9.

[Warlord1986]

Stopped by the thrift store today and bought two Calvin Klein dresses for $10.50 each, and a 99 cent little gift for a coworker. <3

[oneday]

Sturdy & roomy backpack for $7, to replace an over-shoulder bag I've been using to go to the gym. It's heavy! And my one shoulder aches after carrying it, especially if I've taken the bus. This also will allow me to ride my bike instead of take the bus. Payback: less than 2 round trips!

Womp-womp. The backpack was probably stored for a long time. It looked good, but recently the fabric had been deteriorating (flaking off) and three holes have opened up. I've found a similar bag online for only $40 all in. It only needs to last 2 years and 5 months to be the same price per use as the used bag

[glacio09]

I discovered that a wedding I'm going to in two weeks is black tie formal, so all of my knee length symphony dresses (which were also thrifted) aren't going to work. To the thrift shops in the uber-wealthy neighborhood! I found a full length black gown that fits me perfectly for $18. Retail $290. I'll need to get it hemmed for probably $40. Definitely worth it.

[Allie]

I just found a ton of under armor, Nike, Columbia, and Kuhl clothes - 6 pants, 2 coats, and 4 sweatshirts this week…all 40% extra off.  I left with enough clothes to keep my son outfitted and looking decent for another year…for under $50 total.  I love it when I get there and it looks like someone just donated their kids’ fancy wardrobe in just the right size!  It all matches and fits. 

[Dicey]

I just found a ton of under armor, Nike, Columbia, and Kuhl clothes - 6 pants, 2 coats, and 4 sweatshirts this week…all 40% extra off.  I left with enough clothes to keep my son outfitted and looking decent for another year…for under $50 total.  I love it when I get there and it looks like someone just donated their kids’ fancy wardrobe in just the right size!  It all matches and fits.

Wow!

[LaineyAZ]

A cute red 3-shelf metal cart, perfect condition, $5 with senior discount.

[Dicey]

Let's see if this will attach. First dump run yielded a Longaberger basket, a Bagalini bag, and various other stuff. All for FREE!

[Dicey]

Second dump run: mostly stuff for the CanadianThanksgiving dinner celebration at the Moab Meetup. This score, including the HH vest in the background, set me back a mere $10.

Y'all know I'm not trash picking. The Motherlode Mercantile is conveniently located at the Pitkin County Solid Waste Center, aka The Aspen Dump.

[LaineyAZ]

wow, those items look pristine. 
I wish our city dump had a similar setup where beautiful reusable items like this could be set in front for pickup vs. everything being trashed.

[oneday]

Sturdy & roomy backpack for $7, to replace an over-shoulder bag I've been using to go to the gym. It's heavy! And my one shoulder aches after carrying it, especially if I've taken the bus. This also will allow me to ride my bike instead of take the bus. Payback: less than 2 round trips!

Womp-womp. The backpack was probably stored for a long time. It looked good, but recently the fabric had been deteriorating (flaking off) and three holes have opened up. I've found a similar bag online for only $40 all in. It only needs to last 2 years and 5 months to be the same price per use as the used bag

Despite recent thrifted backback regret, I made another attempt today. Score! Found a brand new with tags Blender Bottle (I'd dropped & cracked mine on Friday) and a 1 quart saucepan with matching lid, which I've been looking for a long time. Altogether, $7. I'd expected to pay $7-$10 just for the bottle at the discount grocery store. Luckily, there were none in stock there.

[Cranky]

At the Thrift Store of the Curb, we collected a round black metal table and 2 chairs for our front porch. They look brand new.

[Adventine]

At the Thrift Store of the Curb, we collected a round black metal table and 2 chairs for our front porch. They look brand new.

I love the Thrift Store of the Curb! Got our one and only couch that way. It was in near-perfect condition when we found it.