- Give yourself plenty of time. Sometimes it takes a lot of digging to find the good stuff. Some thrift stores will actually pull out the high ticket items and keep them separate from mass market brands with high product turnover (think: Old Navy, Hanes, Basic Editions, Faded Glory, Mossimo, etc.) These brands are not necessarily made to last, and they crank out new items in several colors a few times a month so their main focus is getting product out the door. Going through the massive racks of everything else is still worthwhile, because things do get misplaced.
- Familiarize yourself with clothing brands you like in terms of logos and their placement. This helps me find a lot of great clothing by Athleta, Lululemon, Patagonia, Lucky Brand Jeans, etc. It helps get through clothing a LOT faster since you don't necessarily have to look around for a sewn in tag. And it helps with authenticating items as well. A lot of fake handbags and shoes end up in thrift stores. (More on this in another blog post!)
- Also keep in mind that some clothing brands are weird about tags. Some companies like Under Armour and Lululemon make rip away tags so a lot of the time it can be hard to find the size of a shirt or pair of pants. If this is the case, I recommend checking any pockets since some companies will even print the size there to avoid tags altogether.
- Just like real estate, location matters. I live in an area with stores that I like, but can't necessarily justify spending a lot for it (like $100 for yoga pants.) When I lived in Blacksburg, VA there was no way I was going to find the same brands that I find here in central Maryland. While thrifting there I found obscure older items like a Degrassi VHS tape and 5.25'' disks. And trash. Seriously. (That being said, I keep a large bottle of hand sanitizer in my car and a smaller one in my purse.)
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| Seriously? Pasta sauce jars and somebody's used neti pot? Gross! |
- Learn when to move on. I give thrift stores a couple chances to wow me, and if not I stop going there. But I know where to go to if I'm looking for something specific (like vinyl records) but others I don't bother going to because I know it would take more effort than other stores.
- Get there soon after opening. I go out thrift shopping one day a week and I get to the first place within the first half an hour of opening. No matter the weather. The only things that keep me away are federal and school holidays (because it is extra busy) and super bad weather where you shouldn't even think about leaving the house.
- Case in point: Monday was Martin Luther King Day so the kids were out and it was a federal holiday so I didn't bother even thinking about going out. Here in Maryland we're expecting our first BIG winter storm of the season on Friday. So while everybody is out shopping for French toast supplies, I'll be out thrifting because I got all my grocery shopping done earlier in the week.
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