Thrift store shopping tips including how to thrift shop, what to look for at thrift stores and helpful tools to take with you while thrift store shopping.
I compiled a list of my top thrift store shopping tips for you, because thrifting is my life. OK, that might be pushing it a bit, but I do like to get my thrift on!
When I was a kid my mom dragged me into thrift stores kicking and screaming. It definitely wasn't my favorite place to hang out, because what 10 year old loves to look through piles of "old" clothes. At that point in time, I'd rather be playing Kick The Can with the neighborhood kids or just about anything other than shopping with my mom!
It wasn't until I was out of college and money was tight that I popped back into a thrift store to look for some deals on furniture for my first apartment. I started looking around and I FELL IN LOVE with all the cool stuff and all the cool prices!
If only I had realized how fun thrift store shopping could be when I was a kid!
So although I missed out on a good 15 years of thrift store shopping, I have more than made up for it since!
TOP TEN THRIFT STORE SHOPPING TIPS:
1) Keep your mind open
If you go in the thrift store looking for a vintage Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera, then chances are you will be highly disappointed. You might not come away with exactly what you had been looking for, but there are still finds to be had so keep your eyes peeled and your mind open to new possibilities.
2) Go often
I have good days and I have bad days. Just because a store is a dud one day doesn't mean that a person isn't going to drop off a outstanding donation at that same store tomorrow.
3) Go early
But not necessarily when they first open. I find if I go first thing when they open the shelves are a little bare. You've got to give the employees a chance to get the newly donated items priced and onto the shelves.
4) You can find the best stuff on Mondays and Tuesdays
People will clean out their garages over the weekend and then drop off stuff to the thrift stores the first of the week. (Or if you are like me, keep it stored in the back of my van for a month or two and drop it off when I get tired of the crystal lamp rolling around back there). Late afternoon Mondays and Tuesdays are prime thrift store shopping time!
5) Location, location, location
I've found the best stuff in thrift stores in older neighborhoods. Older neighborhoods have older people and older people have the cool vintage stuff that I love (and to them it is just old stuff).
If you thrift for clothing and newer items, then maybe the thrift stores closer to the higher end neighborhoods would get you better results.
6) Avoid the fancy Goodwill stores
The ones that are filled with lots of new merchandise donated by stores. They have very few items donated by actual people and what they do have is very much curated by employees. Only the highest quality stuff makes it on the shelves. I prefer the thrift stores that pretty much put out anything that gets donated and let me decide if I want it or not!
7) Travel outside your normal area occasionally
Now with gas prices sky rocketing I won't be doing this too often, but I'll certainly stop by if I'm on that side of town for something else.
8) Be friendly and get to know your local thrift store employees
If you find a favorite thrift store and frequent it often, you'll get to know the workers. My local store workers have given me tips on when the best times to shop there are, alerted me to future sale days and have even dragged something out of the back room that they thought I'd like.
9) Once you know a thrift store, you can be in and out in 5 minutes
I know where to go to see what I am interested in. I don't dawdle. If they have nothing interesting that day I'm off to the next one down the road.
10) A bottle of hand sanitizer in your purse or car is a good thing
Thrift stores do not clean things up or wash them prior to putting them on the shelves. I tend to pick stuff up to examine them, so my hands get a little grimy.
Speaking of hand sanitizer, I've made a list of things below I like to keep in my purse while out thrifting!
Bonus Thrift Store Shopping Tips:
11) Bring some cash
Not all thrift stores accept credit cards. I know it's hard to believe, but I find some of the smaller, mom and pop thrifts are cash only! And you do not want to be out of cash when you find that mid-century modern sofa of your dreams.
12)Beware of impulse buys
We've all been there. You see a really cool vintage thermos that you want to buy, but do you really need another thermos for your collection? Of course you do!
13)Wear appropriate clothing
If you are shopping for clothing, remember that not all thrift stores have dressing rooms, so wear something form fitting so that you can easily try on other clothing over what you're wearing.
What To Look For At Thrift Stores:
- Anything jadeite
- Vintage globes
- Anything Mid-Century Modern - furniture, bar ware or clothing
- Colorful Pyrex pieces
- Vintage luggage
- Vintage cameras
- Cool looking vintage typewriters
- Paint By Number paintings
- Classic vintage thermoses
- Hudson Bay Point Blankets
Things To Bring With You When Thrift Store Shopping:
- Tape Measure to measure that piece of furniture to make sure it will fit in your space at home
- Flashlight to examine the items more closely
- Screwdriver in case you need to remove a mirror or legs from a piece of furniture
- Batteries to test to see if those battery operated items still work
- Hand Sanitizer to keep yourself clean and tidy
- Jewelers Loupe to inspect items for maker's marks and to inspect jewelry
- Magnets to test for sterling silver - magnets generally do not stick to sterling, but would stick to silverplate
- Old Blanket Or Towel to line your trunk for when you find that HUGE piece of furniture
Have fun and get out and enjoy some thrifting.
What about you, do you have any thrift store tips to add?
Other related posts:
- Interested in having your own yard sale with all your thrift store hauls? Run over and check out my 40 Yard Sale Tips For Hosting Your Own Sale (my readers are always adding more tips to the list, so if I'm missing something let me know and I'll add it).
- In A Letter To All Thrift Store Workers I discuss a little thrift store pet peeve of mine.
- And I let you in on what I've looking for at yard sales this year in my Top 5 Things To Look For At Yard Sales This Year
(This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. You can read my full disclosure policy here.)
Marsha
You had great tips. Your finds are amazing!! I have finally started having success at thrift stores. I got tired of bloggers showing off all the amazing stuff they'd find...while my store smelled bad and featured a lot of miss-matched knock-off brand plastic containers. Our best local store has a big sign that says they need donations and a phone number for pickup. They have a huge amount of donations and every now and then they put boxes out in the parking lot and let you dig through them --first crack!!! I know the names of my store people and I take them newspapers that they use to wrap breakables in....:)
Pam
That would be so exciting to get to dig in those boxes before they've been sorted!!! You're living the dream 🙂
Linda Hodgkinson
I think these are great tips! However, I live in Los Angeles and there aren't many "old" things or older towns here. The prices are high, in my opinion. I have great success when I visit family in upstate NY, but I can't go as frequently as I like. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Pam
They have that flea market at the Rose Bowl. I've never been, a little far for me :), but I know other people rave about it.
LPeck
Great tips - some things I never really thought of. Plus I love your humor! ? Thanks.
Pam
Thank you! I try to make people smile 🙂
Donna
When I shop in a thrift store, I always look beyond the grime for an item's potential. Picked up many lovely things this way. And please don't try to haggle with thrift shops that are supporting a good cause. If anything, let them round up your total and let them keep the change. They need your support. Goodwill is no longer on my list of shops as all the stores in my area are owned by resellers so they pick out all the good stuff. In about a dozen visits, I never found anything worth what they were charging. Not sure what their vision is any more.
Pam
Great idea about rounding up! When I go to church rummage sales in the spring (it's a big deal around here), they hardly ever price their stuff correctly. I bought a Hull Pottery vase for a quarter one time. Well, not really, when I got to the check-out lady I donated $20 to the church to make up for their weird pricing 🙂 I would have felt like I was stealing it for just a quarter.
Lea
As far as goodwill's go I think it depends on your location because here goodwill's have gotten me Brownies, Polaroids, a medium format Mamiya, bizarre dolls, mounted butterflies, a wardrobe of vintage clothing, etc... So I'm not sure if it can really be a rule to stick by vs a play it how you see it type thing. I do hate how all places thought seem to be using the internet to price and then end up pricing items higher then they would ever go in normal retail.
Kathleen
OMGosh! I love your "Tape Letter" ... How many times have I literally ~ almost tearfully =(. passed up a woooonnnnderful item just because it was ruined by their tape happy employees?!?
Another of my pet peeves is that invariably my most desired found objects are MISSING their TAGS. How can this be possible? But now that they know me and my gal pals, they will often break their rule and price it right then, instead of starting it back through the "system" at "Go" ... !!!
Great tips, Pam ... Makes me want to go thrifting right this minute!
jane
I love thrift stores.And Senior citzens day..! At most stores. So dont forget to get your discounts.It makes a big difference.Every little bit counts.
Kerry
Great tips!! I need to find the older neighborhoods. I try to remember to bring a tape measure as well if looking for certain dimensions ????
Monika
A friend turned me on to an app allowing smartphones to take measurements.
I tried it.
It works.
Just in case you forgot your tape measure.
Pam Kessler
What??? I never thought to use one of those apps. Thanks for suggesting it!
KraftSister
We have a Goodwill Outlet where I live. What an experience!
the first couple of times I went there I was shell shocked but now it doesn't really phase me. Everything is by the pound. by. the. pound. brings good gloves & lots o' hand sanitizer & an open mind!
Kandice Kelso
LOVE it! And all so true! My husband still doesn't understand how I can spend 20 minutes digging through one aisle! This makes me want to go shopping! Which is your preference? Goodwill, Value Village, St Vincent or others? I would love to hear your opinions on the pros and cons of each! I've debated writing my own post on the subject 🙂 but if you do I'd love to read it!
Pam
Well around here we have Goodwill, Salvation Army and Volunteers Of America. I hardly ever go to Goodwill anymore, just because the ones in town are overpriced and too many items are brand new items from store closeouts. Salvation Army and Volunteers of America are both really good though.
You HAVE to write that post though!!! That would be fantastic!
Kandice Kelso
Reading it now! I also have a great post about cleaning milk glass and removing tags. I've noticed that Value Village has really sick tags that practically ruin the resale of wood or painted items when trying to remove them. Perhaps I'll find a note on that to employees about tags placement in your letter!
pippa
Great tips! I am going to share this with our thrift readers, thank you!
Christina Coenen
Hi Pam,
Great post... I love the pictures!
I also love to visit thrift stores! I live in the Central Valley of Northern California and our thrift stores here are SO expensive!!!
I don't understand why they price things SO high! It kinda defeats the purpose.
Thanks for the tips!
denise
manyshops llike goodwill, has as is lots. veery discounted area. and also take a good set of work gloves to keep your hands clean. by the way a tarp in your trunk or in where ever you plan to face your items will help to keep you clean.
leilani
One tip I haven't seen mentioned anywhere: If you think something's silver but the tarnish is so bad you can't be sure, one of the little microfiber cloth squares (the kind used to clean your eyeglasses) will do a quick job of cleaning off just enough tarnish to let you see a spot of shine. It's small enough to fit into a pocket or purse easily.
rose
Honestly, rubbing a fingertip on silver/plate will show you the shine, though finger will pick up the gray tarnish/patina. I do this on makers mark to read easier. Have found good buys near closing times, go figure.
Treasures By Brenda
Our thrift stores do not put out stock on the weekend so I don't have a lot of luck on Mondays though I'm not sure if I have ever been there late on a Monday. I'll try that.
I am definitely no thrift store virgin but I still enjoyed your post and am pinning it to my How to eBay board on Pinterest.
Anonymous
I've found some really great buys at church thrift shops.