Home › Forums › Buying and Selling › Scavenging for Inventory › Thrift Stores – What are you tips and tricks?
- This topic has 20 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 5 months ago by
Sigilini.
-
AuthorPosts
-
-
03/17/2018 at 9:43 am #35424
There is a thread on flea markets tips and tricks, which I found extremely helpful, so I thought one about thrift stores would be cool. I think we all agree that the big chain thrift stores are over priced and smaller private stores are much better.
Q1: My biggest question is always, which day of the week is the best day to go shopping in a thrift store? What is your best day of the week for thrift store shopping and why?
A1: In my local thrift shop I have always found that Thursdays and Fridays were best. I like Thursdays the most. I always feel like this is the day that they have the most inventory and the most new inventory. My theory is that on Monday they are cleaned out from the weekend and on Friday the shopping begins again. So those several days between is when they have time to refill.
Q2: Then the next question is which thrift store locations are best? Low end neighborhoods, high end neighborhoods?
A2: My thrift store happens to be in an area that most people associate with gangs. It’s a stigma that stuck from long ago — in fact I thought the same before I moved here — but in present day it is not true. I believe that for this reason I don’t have much competition there. We have middle class, single family homes, people that have lived here for many many years, as well as many apartment living. But I think people think it is a slum so what good would a thrift store be in that area? But this is the only thrift store for miles and miles — and it is a private thrift store — so I am assuming that it gets a lot of local donations. I have found some very good things there for low cost.
What are your tips?
-
03/17/2018 at 10:27 am #35427
Anonymous
- Location:
I more often than not think it is 90% luck plus knowing what day is half price day
-
03/17/2018 at 12:05 pm #35429
I have found that each store varies, even within chains!!!! It’s Ike a micro culture of its own. For Goidwill, I go on tuesdays because it’s 75% off the colored tag of the week. Then I make sure to also have a 25% off coupon to use as well, that comes from donating. I always have something to donate as I sometimes have purchased in haste or can’t use an item for some reason. My tips at the bins, goodwill outlet or other pay by the pound place, is don’t overlook hard goods. I rarely buy clothes at the bins. I tried the mom and pop thrift stores in my area, st Vincent de Paul’s, and found them over priced as well. Sometimes the high end auction is cheaper, particularly for jewelry. My go to items are Tupperware canisters, antique waffle irons, vintage cast aluminum pots and pans, cuisinart griddles, Krupps espresso makers, and vintage wool sweaters. My downfall are old books…..can’t stop buying them….
-
03/17/2018 at 5:55 pm #35458
So funny Marjean, my down fall are mugs! That guy that called last week made me laugh when he said he was sick of them. But I do sell them so that it keeps the cycle going and going and going.
We have an area close to down town that has several huge supersize thrift stores. But they are so overpriced. Not the like the good ol’ days.
Thanks for the tips you suggested.
-
03/18/2018 at 9:44 am #35472
For me personally, when it comes to buying clothes at thrift stores it’s all about watching the sales. Subscribe to all your regular thrift stores email lists and facebook pages. I very rarely pay over $3 for any clothing item at a thrift store and am able to maintain a +$25 average sale price. Clothes make up almost 80% of my inventory right now, that will change a bit with garage sale season coming soon, but as long as inexpensive clothing options exist I will never stop taking advantage of it.
-
03/19/2018 at 9:55 am #35536
A1 – the best day I find for shopping at Thrift Stores is Thursday. Monday is the worst day for inventory. Agree with the answer above as it applies to where I live as well. Also, a lot of the stores have Seniors discounts on either Tuesday or Wednesday – the stores are crowded so I avoid going those days.
A2 – I tend to find the best deals in towns/cities oversaturated with thrift stores. The one city I find the best deals in has 7 thrift stores for a population of 60,000. The nearest town to me has about 20,000 people, and one store that is overpriced.
Tourist cities are also bad – I live near Niagara Falls – everyone who scavenges and is on vacation tends to pop in these stores. They are the most overpriced stores in my area.
-
03/19/2018 at 10:20 am #35540
Thanks Inglewood, good to get your feedback.
I am in Los Angeles and our mega super-sized chain thrift stores, of which we have several, are overpriced. I don’t do much in the way of clothing but on hard goods they are a little crazy. I suspect it has to do with their overhead. Huge warehouses in Los Angeles, full of stuff. But you have inspired me to go there again and take a fresh look. It’s been a while since I gave it a go.
-
03/27/2018 at 12:29 am #36310
My tip for the bins is to show up when the doors open. I head straight for the first bin in each aisle and make hay on the previous afternoon/night’s “throwbacks”. Some days my best picks are the ones that I found in the first 20 minutes. It’s almost “passive picking”. I see so many people really just grabbing whatever they can get their hands on, when it comes time to weigh in they have to unload some weight. Recently found someone’s 1980’s Madonna t-shirt/sweatshirt collection tossed back into a book bin when I arrived at 9:00am. Someone the night before had a good eye but just didn’t realize what they really had. And get out before the crowds show up just before lunchtime!
-
03/27/2018 at 10:28 am #36350
Around here, the bins are half priced on Wednesday and Friday evenings and all day Sunday. I like going in the evenings because I’m not a morning person and there are fewer people – mostly other sellers and hoarders. There aren’t any signs up letting people know, so if you go to the bins and don’t know if they have half price times – ask.
I will admit that I do sometimes like the excitement of being there when new bins come out. I happened to be at one the other week with a friend who is not a reseller. I joyfully dived into the fray while she slunk back in a corner cowering.
-
03/30/2018 at 1:54 am #36675
I like to go when the sale color changes, my GW it’s Sundays, my local mission thrift store is Tuesdays, Salvation Army has everything half off on Wednesdays. I also drive to the next big city to go the the upscale Salvation Army Boutique where they send all the better brands, everything is half off on Wed and discounts for items go up every week, based on the date it was put out. BW bins recently raised their prices but it’s still a great deal, they don’t do sale days there. I like to go in the morning on weekdays, there’s only other sellers but the sellers that go that early sell at flea markets and stuff, so they pass up a lot of stuff that I go for like vintage clothing. Since I live in Oregon, thrift store shopping and vintage clothing are very popular. While it makes for competition and higher prices, there is sooo much out there that i have no trouble finding stuff to sell. I have a ridiculous death pile.
-
03/30/2018 at 6:43 am #36678
Could someone clarify for me what “bins” are? I am in Los Angeles and I don’t recall ever seeing bins in local Goodwill stores. Are they just those like big baskets on wheels? What is in them?
-
03/30/2018 at 6:57 am #36680
This makes me nauseous! … but here is one.
-
03/30/2018 at 7:04 am #36682
What PickingPair posted. Technically they are called Goodwill Outlet Stores.
They seem to be a love it or hate it place.
What is in them – anything and everything. They tend to do rows by type – hard good, clothes, shoes…
Items could be things that didn’t sell in the regular stores or items that were sent directly to the processing center without going through the stores usually due to too many donations at one time.-
This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by
antarestar.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by
-
-
03/30/2018 at 1:20 pm #36748
Q1: I suppose it might depend on the things you’re looking for to some extent. I like to look for art and one thrift chain around here cleans out and restocks on a certain day, so I try to hit it then. Otherwise, I’ve found the thrift stores around Denver just constantly seem to restock. Sales are a nice surprise, but I’ve found that good stuff around here disappears quickly sale or not. I usually avoid Senior Days because I can’t deal with the crowds and there are a lot of seniors around here with antique mall booths. In the end, I think it’s probably just a numbers game. I probably find the best stuff at the two thrift shops within 2 miles of my house because I’m there most frequently.
Q2: Just from my own personal experience, I’ve found thrift shops in newer higher end neighborhoods to be void of any soul and unusual finds. Older higher end neighborhoods can turn up some treasures though. My best art, antique and vintage finds come from well-established middle class neighborhoods.
-
03/30/2018 at 3:25 pm #36763
I live in CT so there’s a lot of wealth here. IMO thrift stores and tag sales are better in the low income / ghetto areas. I have tried going to the upper middle class areas and there’s little if any bargains to be found. What’s more frustrating is that people are actually buying this overpriced stuff in these areas for whatever reason, so the high pricing continues.
The only way to make any money in these high end areas is to buy stuff they don’t know about, or stuff they think is worthless. Computer software is one great example. I’ve walked away with stacks of software for $1 each only to turn around and sell that software for $30+
A funny story. Last summer I went to an estate sale in a wealthy area and when you walked in they had a lot of antique furniture. One piece was marked “purchased for $40,000 marked down to $26,000” the piece was from South Africa or something. I asked if they had 2 – woman got a good laugh out of that. Stuff like that (while I don’t doubt its valuable) needs to go to an auction house.
There’s also “estate sales companies” that run a lot of sales around here. I’ve come to learn which ones are overpriced so when I see their names I know to skip them. However, even at these sales you can still find gems they know nothing about. So, if I have time at the end of the day I still go check them out sometimes.
-
03/30/2018 at 8:04 pm #36783
Thanks for the clarification on “bins”, I don’t know if I could handle it. I barely make it through estate sales when the owner was a hoarder. I went to a house FULL to overflowing with dolls last week and another house FULL of glass and ceramics. It can be overwhelming.
-
03/30/2018 at 8:28 pm #36786
There is a Goodwill outlet in Wilmington. There may also be one closer to you, I really don’t know.
I went there a couple of times. I bought a few items. It was a pretty filthy place and everything looked like it has been picked over way too many times.
It’s worth checking out, just to see it for yourself, but It wasn’t for me.
-
04/01/2018 at 7:54 am #36824
Thanks Joe, we have about 5 HUGE thrift stores close to down town, all fairly close together — definitely not a fun place to go and I always found the prices too high. But it’s been a while since I was there and now with a better eye, I might have more luck. When I get a chance, I will go down there.
-
-
-
04/01/2018 at 8:04 pm #36849
Hi Sigilini, I have a couple of tips. I have mostly shopped thrifts due to time constraints. I’m in a California city less competitive than LA, but pricey.
I hit the same thrifts often. Some turn over faster than others. If you visit them frequently, you’ll get a sense of that. The core old timers are in daily at opening and out in 5 minutes. Then, I suggest the religious and smaller and independent thrifts, as they are usually older volunteers without a “hot sheet” and are more likely to miss things than big chains. Try to learn outside your comfort zone with quality what sold videos.
Finally, I suggest trying rummage, estate, and church sales if your schedule permits. Church sales are the bomb, as the workers rarely know what they have. Some rummage sales will let you sort in exchange for shopping early if you have that kind of time. We don’t have bins here, but I would be intimidated and annoyed personally by the territorial regulars. Flea markets here are basically just mobile antique markets. It’s fun to look, but pricing is not for resale.
-
04/01/2018 at 8:22 pm #36852
The Goodwill Outlets are where the bins are. I may not have made it clear. You can Google it. There’s one up in Los Angeles. I’ve never been to that one.
-
04/03/2018 at 12:43 pm #37003
ChristineR, yes I agree, church sales and yard sales are the best. I only have one local thrift store that I frequent and have gotten a few good things there. But I will try again those mega thrift stores and see how that goes, just to make sure I don’t get stuck with an old opinion that might not be true today.
-
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.