Thrift stores are magical places if you know what to look for. I have saved thousands throughout my life by first looking at a thrift store. Of course I have found some thrifts stores to be duds, while others are amazing, but regardless, if you are willing to put in a few extra minutes of searching, you could save big bucks! If you are in the market for any of the items listed below, I highly suggest you stop your full-retail price shopping {even sale prices will be higher than thrift store prices!} and hit the thrift store. Here are the things I ALWAYS look for and will never pay full retail for:
- Furniture {You can always refinish something if it looks a little worn!}
- Good linens
- Kitchenware
- Unique mugs
- Wooden bowls
- Home decor {You can really do a room remodel on the cheap this way!}
- Books {They have a bazillion at every thrift store I’ve ever been to!}
- Wool fabric {This stuff is fabric gold!}
- Unique craft books
- Dress shirts for my husband
- Holiday decor
- Jeans for myself
- Purses {they have designer purses often!}
- Frames {This is up there with books. There are always tons!}
- Belts
- Tools {If it’s a power tool, make sure they let you plug it in first!}
- Party dresses {I have no idea WHY, but man can you find some awesome ones}
There’s my list. What would you add to it? What’s the best bargain you’ve ever snagged at a thrift store. Mavis want to know!
Peace out, Girl Scouts!
~Mavis
Kaye Blair says
I would love to hear you explain how you take wool fabric from thrift store items and use it in hooked rugs..
I am a very new beginner rug hooker.
Yep sounds weird when you say it…
I am looking for a source of cheap wool fabric.
Emily Brower says
Kaye, if you search wood dye there are a few posts she has made on this already. She doesn’t buy wood often from thrift stores, mostly from one online source.
I was thinking the same thing, good luck!
Linda says
Jeans, purses, shoes (I have found brand new shoes there), Seahawks tshirts & sweatshirts (never buy them new, find a lot during the summer). craft supplies. I always look at formal dresses even if I have no where fancy to go. It’s always good to have a fancy dress in case the occasion arises.
jackie says
Along with the thrift store theme, I also love Habitat for Humanity ReStores. All kinds of building supplies and tools. Also a lot of things you wouldn’t expect. Furniture, yard and garden stuff, appliances (checked out) that are not that old, too. If you’re near an older town, you may find incredible kitchen cabinets from mansions and architetural doodads, too. Flooring, new carpeting, etc. For the crafty, they often have small lots of tile (for mosiacs, great old windows, and single cabinet doors (see what pinterest shows for these)
Deborah says
I’ve found Corning-ware casserole dishes, clothes for everyone, stainless steel cookware, and so many other items. It a great place to find baby clothes on a slim budget. And other baby items as well.
Aunt G says
We thrift everything except underclothes. My latest best buy was a Solar Oven brand new for $10. Boom.
Karin says
A solar oven for $10?!? What an amazing find! I’m so jealous 🙂
Stephanie says
Our thrift stores have lots of costumes around Halloween time. I found a cute dragon costume for my little boy that he loved and wore for Halloween two years in a row, and my kids still use it when playing dress up.
UpstateNYer says
My local Goodwill in NYS often has NEW costumes and other items with Target tags still on them !
Laura says
Found my dad a Cuisinart bread maker for….$7! It was a very exciting find. A few months later (at the same store) I found him a 100% cashmere sweater from Abercrombie for $10.
I have found those zip off adventure pants for camping and hiking (we have 2 Boy Scouts and we took the family to Europe a few summers ago) for $6, regular retail on those pants was $70.
If my nose can handle the dust, I love the hunt in thrift stores!
Brianna says
Lol. I thought I was the only one taking allergy medicine before I leave the house if I know I am going to a thrift store! I also wash my hands well afterwards, I just feel dirty after looking at or touching things. I do get annoyed with how expensive some thrift stores (Goodwill) have gotten, plus they break of clothing outfits (like PJs) and sell the top and bottom each separately for more profits. I like to look at camping gear and kitchen items and possible organizational solutions at thrift stores. I don’t have the patience to sort through racks of clothes and rarely venture in.
Kam Ostwald says
I’m with you Brianna! I never shop Goodwill! I have found brand new on clearance racks for cheaper than Goodwill charges! I try to stay “local” thrifty if possible.
Lisa says
All-Clad Stainless Steel Wok $12.00 ($200 retail)! Cuisinart Food Processor $8!
TJD says
Best deal? $1.99 for a BIG all wood coffee table with drawers. I set it in the driveway and scrubbed it top to bottom before taking it in the house. Thew a quilted runner on top, looks great. Never have to worry about anyone (grandkids) ‘ruining’ it! Also got a brand new still-in-the-box crock pot for $8.00 Love thrift stores! I see polish pottery on occasion too.
Helen in Meridian says
I have only found polish pottery twice at thrift stores. This week I found polish pottery at both Tuesday Morning and TJ Maxx and More. I got 5 mother’s day gifts there.
Amy Pettis says
canning jars are usually easy to find cheap at our thrift store
Lace Faerie says
I do wish canning jars were cheaper at our Goodwill. I can get new canning jars with new seals and rings for $10/dozen. Our store wants $.79 per jar and you have to buy new seals. Buying used costs more. It’s crazy! Once time I was found a box of old canning jars in a Salvation Army store and scored 24/$3! Now that was more like it. Never found such a good buy again.
Karin says
Around here (central FL) I see canning jars in thrift stores for $1.99! Ridiculous!
Lynda says
DVD’s for $2
Original oil paintings, cheap.
Black and Decker Toast-R-Oven, $5 (just needed a good scrub)
Pretty plates on which to give away birthday and holidays treats.
A 9 x 12′ oriental rug (with dust bunnies and only one faded area), $25.
Carrie says
My favorite find is a $1 Droll Yankees bird feeder that retails for $20. Also found a small vintage patio table for $5 that I repainted but it took 5 years to find matching chairs for $80! 🙁
I do not have the patience to thumb through the clothes and most of the items in my area are from Wal-mart or Target. I’d rather buy brand new jeans from GAP (always on sale). I know they fit and they last for years. I try to have a clutter free house and most items at the thrift shop are clutter to me.
Lauralli says
My best deal at a thrift store (Goodwill) was a Yogourmet yogurt maker with all instructions and thermometer included for $6! Brand new online $50. But my best thrifty deal ever was at a Dirt Cheap store….closeouts and returns from other retailers…..a brand spanking new, never been used Vitamix for $32!!! With this deal my husband told me to stop looking, that I’d never find anything as good as that deal again. But, how will I know if I don’t keep looking! 🙂
Helen in Meridian says
Look on, Lauralli, look on.
Melinda says
That Vitamin – gold!
Rozy says
How about a queen- size pure wool blanket for $5.00? Yes! And four huge curtain panels of 100% cotton velveteen in a luscious red, just perfect for a making a gorgeous holiday dress for $10. An 8″ omelette pan by Calphalon for $1. When I bought it I looked it up and it was $50 retail! Too many good deals to list. I love treasure hunting at thrift stores. Sometimes I go and don’t find anything; the next time I hit the motherlode. It’s the thrill of the hunt that keeps me going back. People complain about the high cost of brand new fabric as a reason not to sew, but I find fabric all the time at thrift stores for really cheap. And I look at all the linens as a source of cheap fabric too. Thanks for sharing, it makes me stop and think about all the great things I’ve found over the years (about 35 of them!).
Lisa says
My store had an old Volvo out front . Each week they marked it down another 100 dollars. At 300.00 I asked and was told that they thought the transmission was going bad. I drove it. Now my dad is a mechanic and I didn’t know exactly what was wrong but I did know it wasn’t the transmission. I bought it. Dad looked at it. There was a cable that changed the gears that had wedged in a cracked piece. It cost 80.00 to fix. My tank was great! I had someone rear end it and the metal but was dented. They gave me 5000.00. I kept the title as part of the settlement. A week later someone else hit it. Another 5000.00. I gave it away to a needy individual. Took my 10 thousand and bought my first house. True story. The only problem was the wipers did not work and so I never drove in the rain. 1998 true story.
TJD says
Wow-o-Wow!! I think Lisa should win a prize! Such good Karma.
Tracie @SomewhatAwry.com says
Oh I love this!!! Best story yet!
Amy says
That’s awesome!!
Tracy T says
That is the best story EVER!
Linda Sand says
Toddler clothes. When our daughter was growing so fast the only way we could keep her in clothes that fit was thrifting. People donate barely worn beautiful clothes.
Vicky Cooling says
Last November I was at Goodwill and saw a blue crewneck sweater, took a closer look and it was Lands End Cashmere, new and still with creases. Kept looking down the row and found total of 3 crewneck, 1 v-neck and 2 cardigan cashmere (NEW) Lnds End sweaters, total price $28 including senior discount! Checked their catalog when I got home and still being sold for total price of $1,160 for all of them. Gave away all but 1 for Christmas and made happy daughter and sisters! Score
Jennifer Purciel says
My best thrift store find happened one week before my son’s eighth birthday. My husband had been laid off and money was tight, so I went hoping to find a few inexpensive toys. I found an unopened Knex roller coaster set that retails for $75 for $10, and an unopened Lego Star Wars Lego set that retails for $50 for $6. My son loved them and so did I.
Sherri says
You forgot a big one. Halloween costumes and theme wear items. I got most of my kids costumes there. We also attend many theme dances and stock up on a lot of crazy stuff, such as crazy hats, Harry Potter stuff, etc. I usually do better at yard sales. The biggest secret is to go at the beginning, and if it it really good one, go the last hour, usually around 11, since most yard sales in this area go until noon. Especially the church ones, because they just want to get rid of the stuff, you can get must stuff at least 50 percent off. They often have bag sales on clothing because they get so much of it.
I’ve had iffy luck with furniture at thrift shops. I prefer Craig’s list. You wouldn’t believe how many people just want to get rid of stuff. I am always on the free section. I’ve seen some nice sofas there.
My kids lived on clothing at thrift shops, yard sales and hand me downs. I started getting smart about shopping when I had my son. i only bought my kids three new outfits, first day of school ( used also for school pictures), Christmas, and Easter outfits. Everything else was ts, ys, or hmd.
Susie says
Furnished my college daughter’s first room in a house sophomore year with a $5 dresser, $7 desk, $12 nightstand, and a brand new beautiful microfiber papasan chair (every college student needs one!) that retailed for $250 for $22. I found a beautiful white wooden coffee table from Pottery Barn for $14. A really cool long carved sofa for our covered porch for $19 (“if you can take it right now”). White sheers for most of the windows in my house for pennies.
Katherine says
My best thrift store find as a silver chest filled with a sterling silver service for 12 along with the serving pieces for $99 that I sold on Ebay for just shy of $1000. My next best was a nearly perfect matching set Lane Mid-Century side tables and cocktail table for $45.00 for the set. I sold those on Ebay for over $400.00. I’ve found Waterford crystal, English sterling, sterling from Tiffany’s, I found a lovely pearl stick pen that I bought for $1.01. I’ve found some really wonderful things in thrift stores, some I keep and some I sell.
Sue says
Has to be a new vacuum for $7.50. It has 26 amps(stronger than any other). I went to see my son and D-I-L and one of my daughters vacuumed with it for the first time. Hubby called to tell me the vacuum was so powerful it picked up enough dog hair to knit another dog. That was about 10 years ago and it’s still a powerhouse. I’ve bought two more and gave one to my newlywed daughter…same awesome results!
Lace Faerie says
Ok, I have to know, what brand of vacuum was so great??
Sue says
Lace, unfortunately it’s no longer made but if you ever see a Dirt Devil Dynamite grab it! My first one was free. One of my D-I-Ls couldn’t get her’s to work. She didn’t want to try to figure out why…the belt had slipped off the beater bar and voila I had my 1st one. I bought one off Craigslist and found my last in a thrift store. It was marked $14.99 but that day everything was half price so I parted with $7.50 and have never regretted it. P.S. Don’t get a Dirt Devil Dynamite Plus(has attachments) it only has 7 amps and doesn’t pick-up like the original .
Conni says
We have also found GREAT deals at thrift store but a word of caution: a friend got a sofa at a local thrift store and was thrilled with it…..until…..she had a bed bug infestation. The pest control treatment (which had to be done twice) cost a thousand dollars.
Carrie says
I buy all my boys clothing at thrift stores or on consignment credit. All name brands and good quality. Often after my two have worn them I can make more at the consignment shop than I paid originally. I also keep a note card with what sizes I need for them (I shop ahead as much as possible) and a list of what I don’t need anymore of. I also strictly buy things on sale at goodwill unless it is an good deal or high quality outdoor clothing.
My best find was a brand new women’s Patagonia down jacket. This spring I had ordered and returned 3 (too big, not warm enough). I had finally caved and ordered an ‘ll Bean one, on sale of course. Two days after it arrived I was checking out at goodwill. Laying across the top of the divider between checkouts was a down jacket. I thought it looked kids sized, but saw the Patagonia label and asked if I could see it. I would have bought it for my boys if under $20. It was my size $14.99 and I had a coupon! It retails for $265!!!! I spent $10 and $6 to return the ll bean jacket. I am a little sad it warmed up and it is too warm to wear.
Laura says
I found an American Girl dress, Kit’s Christmas dress for little girls for $2.95. I sold it on eBay for over $100. I’ve also found Magnalite cookware for really cheap.
Shannon says
I have found too many great deals to list…. kitchen aid stand mixer $20, $4 for an entire set of Debbie Mumm dishes for our cabin , $5 brand new crockpot, 4 longaberger baskets $3 each, authentic Brighton wallet $1.99! I LOVE the hunt!
Linda says
We buy from thrift stores on a regular basis. I always look there first when we need something. My best find at a thrift store was a vintage Chanel suit 3 years ago!
Gail Golden says
I love thrift shops, garage & yard sales, and flea markets. My husband took up golf recently and buys his supplies at thrift stores. We found a $300 Mulholland leather golf bag for $3.00…SCORE! He buys the really expensive golf shirts for $2 – $3. I always check the thrift stores before I buy new.
Dawn B, DE says
I always get my material for Halloween costumes at our GW. One year a spandex one piece turned into a belly dancer/fairy princess outfit for my 8yo. The curtain sheers made a great veil and outer pants for the outfit! Cost all of 4$.. I used to buy fancy dresses just for the material to make wedding bears (stuffed animals). The satin comes in handy for the “bride’s” dress. I do agree with previous posters.. GW has become expensive with some items. You can pay $4 for jeans, but also $4 for shorts. I have a hard time paying that much for shorts. I just always go when it is half priced Tuesday! Get email updates on sales. Greatest thing ever!
Claire says
Great comments, all! The greatest asset for “thrifting” is time and flexibility.
Helen in Meridian says
I was at a Johnny Mathis concert last night. The 1/2 time comedian from Seattle was making fun of thrift shops and the fact that Goodwill has gift cards you can buy. H said if a child of his bought his father’s day gift or a gift card for him from Goodwill, they should get a better job. Sis kept patting my knee and snickering. She just doesn’t get it, unless I buy something she wants.
Practical Parsimony says
I buy bread makers at thrift stores, clean them up, make a loaf of bread and sell the first day I offer them in our paper. I buy for $2-$4 and sell for $12 dollars more than I paid. I do plug them in before I pay for them.
I found a $1 tuxedo shirt the exact size my friend wore for his Dracula costume, $1 for the black pants, and the black shoes were free. There was no price so they just gave them to me. They said someone had come in and left their shoes with a hole in the sole for a good pair. I made the cape from material at home. So, cost was only $2. I made a cummerbund with fabric from home.
Lots of people go in and buy pieces usable for costumes, not actually costumes, even though those are available.
I buy pillows from thrift stores just for the filling. I can tell by the filling if it is of good quality or just chopped foam by feeling. Often, I carry the pillow by fingertips. When I get home, I am so careful about the pillow contacting even the outside of my washing machine. I stick the plastic bag I brought it home in into the machine and shove the pillow out. When the pillow is washed and dried, I cut the cover off carefully and use a scrap of white cotton to make an inner cover. The expensive pillow form is now ready for pillows I make.
If there is a doubt the pillow or covering with survive the washing machine intact, I put it into a pillow case and use large safety pins to close it well.
Margaret @ Live Like No One Else says
Speaking of linens. I purchased a beautiful Vtg Irish linens tablecloth brand new in package for $5 and resold it on eBay for $239. Went to a lady on Park Ave in NYC. You can find really neat stuff at thrift stores. I love them.
Mavis Butterfield says
Irish linen is the best!!
Tejas Prairie Hen says
A $60 refrigerator we bought 7 years ago. Bought it as a second fridge to go in the garage a to hold all the Thanksgiving and Christmas foods. Use it constantly, and it is still going strong.
Cathy says
I love hand thrown pottery mugs I get them all the time at the thrift never more than a 1.00 some as cheap at 10 cent that way if they get broken no tears. I have also found very expensive Irish pottery for never more than 1,00.
Emily says
My most recent fun find was a modern-ish print of a robin making a nest, with “a place to call home” printed in pencil. It was framed in what was originally a decor frame. It reminded me of my time in college learning to use adobe illustrator, and I thought it was cute. So I bought it for $2.50. After a few days I googled it and it turns out it’s a Charley Harper print that sells for $75. Yay!