View Full Version : Best thing I got at a thrift shop
rodeosweetheart
6-14-11, 6:12pm
I just had a big day at the thrift shop--thought it might be fun to post any special finds--mine were:
a new graphite fishing rod for $5
a Revere ware percolater for $8
Blue mason jar for $1
2 pillows for my motel chairs $2:
Anybody else find anything great this week?:):):)
one of the best thing was my American Harvester fruit dryer for $2
Went for clothing to travel with and got these"
A lovely pale pink cotton slipover sweater
A gorgeous silk grey cut velvet jacket
A pretty eggplant satin camisole
An aqua long sleeved t-shirt
All for $20. Yay Goodwill!
my daughter who wears a size 4 has gotten several nice summer dresses. When she worked fast food, she found all the dark pants she needed for less than $20. I'm usually left out of the deals because all the "fat women" clothes are gone or worn to a frazzle.............
I have never bought anything at a thrift store. I have donated TONS of stuff. Three big bags today. But my FIL was an avid
shopper. Got us our fireplace set, wooden Knife holder block, vacuum, egg holder for frig. My wife would sooner die than shop at a thrift store. I reminded her of all the nice stuff she has donated (Talbots, Eddie Bauer, Lands End, etc.) and some with the tags still on! I thought I would go shopping this week - they gave me a 20% off coupon when I donated today.
loosechickens
6-15-11, 12:06am
Well, thank goodness for folks like you and your wife, Greg44.....that's what we thrift shoppers like to see....folks who donate the stuff by the ton, some with the tags still on, and don't go into the stores to buy anything themselves. Thank you for your service!!!!!
So, don't start any new habits....just donate that 20% off coupon to some person heading into the thrift store to shop, who doesn't look affluent enough to buy new....of course, there's no way of telling whether or not he or she ISN'T a millionaire, just because they're heading in the door of a thrift store to shop, hahahaha......
bless ALL the people who donate all that good stuff..........we appreciate it, we dyed in the wool thrift store shoppers.......
I have never bought anything at a thrift store. I have donated TONS of stuff. Three big bags today. But my FIL was an avid
shopper. Got us our fireplace set, wooden Knife holder block, vacuum, egg holder for frig. My wife would sooner die than shop at a thrift store. I reminded her of all the nice stuff she has donated (Talbots, Eddie Bauer, Lands End, etc.) and some with the tags still on! I thought I would go shopping this week - they gave me a 20% off coupon when I donated today.
Greg, it's such a treasure hunt! Of course, my vintage dishes thing started in a thrift store... which led to my researching the history of American commercial pottery - very interesting - and of outfitting all my friends & fam is lovely clothing. Most of my very cool & hip furniture is from the GW; various eras of classic profiles & amazing finishes.
I definitely could not afford a red leather chair & matching ottoman without the GW!! Or have summer & winter curtain sets... or cashmere loungewear... or 40's jewelry... you get the idea. I re-sell some too, though it's not my primary gig. I do know a woman who is a re-seller, we see each other all the time there, and she's financing her daughter's PhD with GW resales! She claims to be netting 5K a month, which I believe.
SO, yeah, it's fun. And what loosechickens said - thank your wife for all of us.
In a California thrift store I once got a really nice fleece pullover. Our local thrift stores are meh, so my finds tend to be household goods. I got a picnic basket to store my knitting, an old suitcase set from the 50's to store the DVD player and to hide the X Box player in the living room, and an old fashioned coffee pot as a prop for an activity I teach.
My glorious, colorful collection of cashmere sweaters and my great jeans!
A brand-new leather laptop bag.
rodeosweetheart
6-15-11, 8:18am
These are so great!!! I forgot, a commercial Oreck vacuum cleaner was a high point last month.
Some of my best childhood memories were going to the Goodwill with my mom--best find ever was an original vintage monopoly game. The store was right near Asbury Park, NJ.
These are so great!!! I forgot, a commercial Oreck vacuum cleaner was a high point last month.
Some of my best childhood memories were going to the Goodwill with my mom--best find ever was an original vintage monopoly game. The store was right near Asbury Park, NJ.
Didja know that Goodwill has an online auction site? Oh, it's very dangerous! :)
I needed additional seating for a party I was giving and found two great chairs for under $10 each. Brought them home, changed out the upholstered seats with some heavy linen I had on hand and they are still in use today, seven years later. What's great is that whenever I move away I will be able to take them back to the thrift store (as a donation) and someone else can make good use of them.
HappyHiker
6-15-11, 11:30am
This isn't the best find ever, but it made me happy just today--I wanted a large round candle for my salvaged new/used porch round glass-top table and stopped by a consignment shop this AM and found a big round red candle just perfect for the table for $.75. Candles of this size often sell for $6.98-$12.98 and this one was unused and I'm quite pleased with it! Table--free, Candle $.75.
Not bad for under 24 hours of "work" of carrying a table from across the street and a quick trip to the shop.
The other week I found a never worn Land's End white long-sleeved cotton shirt/blouse. In fact, I'm wearing it right now! I think it was 4.50.
I couldn't begin to start listing all my great thrift shop finds. Most of my clothes, coats, shoes and boots that were never worn, quality name brand purses, lamps, chairs, desks, jewelry, stashes of fabric, garden and yard items. I keep a list of things I'm looking for its odd how often I'll add something to that list and find it at the very next thrift shop visit.
loosechickens
6-15-11, 2:08pm
"I keep a list of things I'm looking for its odd how often I'll add something to that list and find it at the very next thrift shop visit." (Float On)
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We call that "putting in our order to the Universe".......and somehow, it DOES work, and sometimes for the most unlikely things, even things that you've never seen at a yard sale or thrift store before, or a book you've really been wanting to read, and then sometime in the next few weeks, or within the next few thrift stores or yard sales you go to, voila, there it is, waiting for you.
"I keep a list of things I'm looking for its odd how often I'll add something to that list and find it at the very next thrift shop visit." (Float On)
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We call that "putting in our order to the Universe".......and somehow, it DOES work, and sometimes for the most unlikely things, even things that you've never seen at a yard sale or thrift store before, or a book you've really been wanting to read, and then sometime in the next few weeks, or within the next few thrift stores or yard sales you go to, voila, there it is, waiting for you.
This just happened to me last weekend. Wanted to find a book by Daniel Pink and could not find one at the giant used bookstore. Visited the Goodwill later that day and found it in their small book section for $1.99. Odd, maybe, but I've had this same type of thing happen more than once.
jennipurrr
6-15-11, 8:30pm
I've bought so many cool things at thrift stores I don't know where to start! My most recent purchase is a 100% silk blue ombre dress that bought for $4 and I recently wore to a chi chi party where everyone was dressed to the nines.
rodeosweetheart
6-15-11, 10:00pm
"I keep a list of things I'm looking for its odd how often I'll add something to that list and find it at the very next thrift shop visit." (Float On)
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"We call that "putting in our order to the Universe".......and somehow, it DOES work, and sometimes for the most unlikely things, even things that you've never seen at a yard sale or thrift store before, or a book you've really been wanting to read, and then sometime in the next few weeks, or within the next few thrift stores or yard sales you go to, voila, there it is, waiting for you."
This is so true! The fishing rod fit that category. Now I need a bike rack, hmm.
And Redfox, you are so right about the Goodwill site. I bought a guitar there and several 35 mm camera lenses for my son. Very cool.
iris lily
6-16-11, 12:19am
NO one thing, just clothes. I remember fondly several pairs of pants I got that I loved over the years. Fit perfectly.
I remember the light bulb moment when it occurred to me that we didn't have to buy DH's work clothes new. He was just using up the last of his sturdy pants and shirts from the company he quit, and I was thinking about how now we'd have to spend a few hundred dollars a year on just clothes that don't have to look good when I thought about thrift stores. How silly, I'd been shopping thrift store for years but I never did that for DH. Now we buy as many of his work clothes as we can. It's hard to find blue jeans in his size and I've given up on that since 85% of the jeans at GW are for women, but I can get men's khaki pants just fine. I've not had luck at Value Village where they sort blue jeans by size.
Funny to mention after the other discussions about salad spinners, my best find to date was and still is a wonderful salad spinner.
My most outstanding find was a Saks Fifth Avenue pure wool, fair isle knit sweater for $2. Thank you, Goodwill of Indianapolis!
My most outstanding find was a Saks Fifth Avenue pure wool, fair isle knit sweater for $2. Thank you, Goodwill of Indianapolis!
That's the kind of thing I would send to Goodwill. Wool--ugh. If someone gave that sweater to me, off to GW it would go.
GW needs givers and buyers, glad the world has both of them.
The last best thing I've found was an apparently new Oster two-slice toaster for $6.50. It has a nice retro brushed aluminum look and toasts perfectly.
rosarugosa
6-17-11, 6:51pm
I've never done much thrifting, because there aren't many good options in my area, and I'm a non-standard clothing size, so I've never scored on clothing. But I still have a couple of great finds to add to the list:
Extremely cool "occasional table" made from what appears to be some sort of old wooden chinese shipping crate. Got it for $50. at Salvation Army, which is my idea of nearly free in terms of furniture.
An old silver plated butler's crumb brush and tray (like a mini dustpan and brush set), which I use all the time for $10.
Again, not dirt cheap, but great deals in terms of value for the money spent.
the rickster
8-1-11, 5:43pm
I have gotten to the point of hardly buying any goods except at thrift stores. Clothes are so cheap and many times I've found brand new, still with tags shirts and jeans for like $4. Paperback books, even those nice trade paperbacks, are only .69 at our Goodwill. Dishes, furniture, almost whatever we really needs, seems to show up there.
The only danger for us is getting too much clutter!
Got some great polo shirts for summer at around 80 cents each. 6 shirts, 2 large bags of yarn, 2 pie plates for $12. Yarn goes to mother in law for her charity projects and I needed a new pie plate since I broke one. A big plus is the 50% off coupon for the whole purchase. Have another two coupons for August 11-end of month.
My friend was celebrating her birthday last week and threw a big party. She wanted everyone to wear white. So, I got our togs at Goodwill for $10. I don't normally wear much white. While $10 isn't exactly cheap for a one time wearing, it was an acceptable price to pay to play along.
a week or so ago, i found a michael kors top (in my size no less!) and a really pretty vera wang button down shirt with ruffles with the tags still on -- bright purple and super cute. got both for $10 and have already worn/got compliments on 'em.
Yesterday after volunteering to get 3 biopsies for breast cancer research, I took myself to my corner bar (aka Goodwill) and found these awesome household goods:
~Yellow colander, the kind that is old fashioned, with enameled paint that doesn't wear out like the new ones
~Pretty green glass-body table lamp for my bedside, with a shade harp on it
~Super cute green & turquoise striped cotton throw rug for the downstairs bathroom - replaces a rather stained one
~Two skeins of aqua pure mohair yarn - fabulous for sock knitting
~Really cute Mexican pottery dish with lid that goes with the other Mexican items in our guest bathroom, and will hold Q-tips (lid needed because one of our cats [Bandit is his name!] LOVES to grab a pawful of Q-tips, run down the hall strewing them everywhere, then methodically chewing up the ends... oy vey).
All this for $25. Love GW.
Ok, this is not from a thrift store (ours is pretty sad) but it was from a newspaper ad: I got a baby grand piano for............$500! When I first saw the ad, I thought, "yeah, right" but it is in good shape with all of the ivory (some a bit chipped), only 2 sticky keys on the very low range and the highest one, and has a decent sound even after being moved twice. I don't have room for it - takes up half my living room, but I have always wanted one and when I went and looked at this one, well, I bought it, lol. Then I went to ebay for some vingage sheet music and now I am all set.
Sherry
I love reading these stories, and I adore my thrifted wardrobe. Recently, I found a crinkle voile camp shirt in moss green, gold, and puce for $2.50--really, it's pretty enough to hang on a wall. Just one of many treasures...
We have a newish thrift store in the area called Second Avenue, so I checked it out Sunday and came up with a tote bag in a silky, plain black with lots of pockets for $9.90, a crinkle-cotton shirt in an intense kelly green plaid for $5.90, a short-sleeved shirt in a nice green and navy on white plaid, for $4.90 and a large basket for gathering vegetables for I forget what, but under three dollars. The clothes are brand names in perfect condition. They had a lot of junk as well, but definitely some gems among the rubble.
Sad to say, our Goodwill closed and Salvation Army has moved to an even more inconvenient location. The latter seems to have a knack for cheap but stupid ideas.
If I were looking for somewhere to live, I have several criteria: an outstanding library system (we have one of the best in the country), plenty of resources for enjoying ethnic foods, nature in abundance, minimal crime, and plentiful and well-stocked thrift stores.
Some of the best books written for .99 to $3.99, a jean jacket for $3.99. Videos for the grandson, lots of summer clothes (in the NW you only need a small selection.hehehe) Lots of materials for making gifts. It's my favorite idea place for gift making.
Yes, I've been bitten by that "summer clothes" thing. I have a trove of crop pants and camp shirts and tanks I've collected at thrift stores over the years and then Summer (aka August) comes along and then is gone before I've dug them out from wherever I put them. I must say I'm grateful we have so little hot weather here.
I love reading about everyone's finds! Probably the loveliest thing I have ever seen at Goodwill was a beautiful white pumpkin tureen with a matching ladle. I have seen them priced upwards of $100, and this one was $12. I actually passed on it because I didn't need it, didn't know where I would store it, and didn't think I would use it all that often. But it was lovely. I pointed it out to another lady in the household section, and she was thrilled to death with it. :)
We have a thrift store here called Bargain Bonanza. All proceeds benefit the local private school. My MIL is in charge of all the baby and toddler donations that come in (how convenient for me!), so we've found a lot of nice things for the baby. Clothes, a new in package nursing pillow, etc. I can even sift through stuff before it goes on the floor if I want, which is really nice. My dad really likes this store, too, as they only put out nice things and their prices are reasonable. He gets most of his kitchen stuff there.
I went to an antique store the other day and was delighted to find 8 pretty Christmas plates for $1.50 each. I have been looking at Christmas china for a long time, but it is so expensive new. Ididn't want to spend a lot on it since it won't be used that often and will probably get broken when we have little ones running around. These cost $12 total and were perfect!
chrisganon
8-15-11, 10:06am
I once found an autographed copy of Bette Midlers debut album!! Could you believe it? I was scrounging for old newspapers(Because I collect them) and stumbled upon quite the treasure.
jennipurrr
8-15-11, 1:52pm
Not best ever but last week I went to the salvage store here and got two new sports bras, which I really needed, for fifty cents each, yay!
This weekend was a good one for vintage pottery. I bought two very cool mid-century pieces. They will go into rotation, then likely be given as gifts.
Well I never bought this/them, but I always see the most beautiful wedding gowns - worn once most likely - very cheap at the thrift stores. Having not been the type of little girl or woman who ever dreamed of her wedding day (ran off to sea just to avoid that kind of life :0!)!!) I have always thought that I would buy a gown at the thrift store rather than spend $100's or even $thousand's on a dress. Can't even imagine doing that if I were rich! I had a very cute $20 off the rack dress from Sears my mom picked out for me and I saw about an hour before getting married (I guess my ship wasn't fast enough to get away from THAT life after all :~)!) and it was a great very simple dress. Rather have that extra money for something fun rather than a dress I would only wear once.
canadianrose
8-24-11, 10:27pm
Just recently, I got a pyrex tea pot for $20 in the silent auction at the hospital auxillary shop. A tad expensive, but it's in good condition, and there's nowhere around that I can find a clear glass teapot of that quality for even $20. Plus, It's seems to be from the 50's-60's home-as-a-laboratory era, which I quite like.
Bought winter coats SO reasonably for all three grandsons at Salvation Army Thrift store one year. The little boys are notorious for leaving them at school or friends or other grandma's, and so it's nice to have spares. One was a Columbia Sportswear brand with the original pricetags still attached.
I've been on the hunt for good lampshades, and have found some very nice ones lately at GW. Beautiful round deep red silk, lined with ivory silk for $6. It looks really cool on a rustic black wrought iron style table lamp with leaves twining up the stand.... also got the lamp at GW. Come to think of it, nearly all my floor & table lamps and their shades came from GW, including a pretty camel suede oval shade that looks great on a tall dark brown floor lamp.
It occurred to me after reading your post to look for lamps on my next visit to Value Village. Yesterday i came home with a nice little bronze tone pot-bellied lamp with a wide conical shade in a nubby oatmeal weave for $12. Good quality, it will hold me until I find something more contemporary. And better yet, I found a wonderful square textile--applique', embroidery, shisha mirrors in lined cotton with lovebirds, flowers, leaves and geometrics--red, black and bright accent colors. It has small loops at the corners, and I think it could be a card table cover, but I plan to hang it on the wall. It is gorgeous and perfect and an absolute steal for four bucks.
I tend to shop more at yard sales than thrift stores. We do have a good one however, and it's relatively close. I get there about once/month. I've gotten lots of clothes there. I garden a lot, trash what I wear, yet hate to look too much like a bum outside. Thank goodness for thrift store shorts and tops. I also purchased one of my favorite kitchen pots there - gorgeous stainless steel sort of dutch oven. Very versital.
I was working in the garden yesterday and was thinking how grateful I was to have found so many things for the garden at yard sales (private thrift stores? ;)) I was feeling especially grateful for the eighteen 15 gallon large black plastic pots I got a year ago. I use them for so many things. So many other things too.
I hardly ever go into retail stores anymore. It might be years since buying any new clothing other than underwear in a 'real' store. And then it's deep discount.
Shhhhh.... don't tell people how great thrift stores are - they might begin regularly shopping there too. ;)
mschrisgo2
8-29-11, 12:24am
My best thrift store find was a brand-new-although-a-little-dusty-on-top suitcase last November. I was on my way to Seattle for a two-week class, needed to take books and bulky winter clothes, didn't have time to go all the way out to Wal-Mart by the time I realized I needed something bigger than my trusty carry-on---- $8.!!!! Love it!
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