Get Your Thrift On: How to Thrift Shop Like the Pros

Get Your Thrift On: How to Thrift Shop Like the Pros

Do you adore finding a good deal? Is your idea of a great time hitting up the local thrift shops and searching for treasures? Thrift stores can be a treasure trove with all sorts of gems just waiting to be discovered, but if you don’t know how to go about finding them you can easily miss out on a great deal. If you want to score the ultimate thrift store deals and come out a champion, take a look below 5 tips for helping you thrift shop like a pro!

Don’t miss out on a great deal. Instead, enter the store informed and educated! Read the tips below and you will be shopping like a thrift shop diva in no time.

5 Tips on How to Thrift Shop Like a Pro:

1. Make friends.
If you swing into your local thrift store each week, make friends with the people who work there. Be friendly, be thankful, and perhaps they will clue you in as to when new items arrive. They may even point you in the direction of items you may like, alert you of discount days, and other perks. They say you catch more bees with honey, so keep this in mind and let your friendliness find you some deals too!

2. Look for labels.
Name brand clothing and collectibles will always be marked. Always read labels and look for markings to identify an item. If an item is marked with a label, it is worth more and has a higher resale value. For example, if you are buying kid’s clothes look for Gap labels. When your children grow out of the items you will be able to resell or consign them easier since they are name brand. The same philosophy goes for adult clothing and even home accessories.

3. Ask about discounts.
Many thrift stores offer half off days, color of the day discounts, senior and student discounts and more. Be sure you ask so you know the stipulations. This way, you can be sure you are shopping on the right days and keeping your eyes peeled for the right colored tags. It can be the difference between paying full price and paying half!

4. Check for flaws.
It is easy to get excited when you find an item and overlook possible flaws. But the truth is you don’t want a stained shirt or chipped vase. Be sure to hold all items up to the light and look for rips, tears, stains, chips, or cracks. By doing so you can save your money should you find a piece severely damaged. It is a bummer when a cool piece ends of being flawed, but better to see it now than when you have paid for it and taken it home!

5. Think outside the box.
I once purchased a cool French themed shirt at a thrift store which I then used to recover a seat cushion. The shirt was less than $1.00, which was way cheaper than buying a yard of fabric at a craft store. If I need drop cloths for painting I go buy thrift store sheets. Cute dishes can be used as planters, colorful bowls for animal food bowls, and you can use children’s book pages for scrapbooking. Think outside of the box and find other ways to use these items. You will find that you can really save when you do this sort of repurposing instead of buying new!

So next time you hit up your local thrift shop, chum it up with the employees, look for labels, know the discount policy, check for damage that may hurt the value of the item, and then ask yourself how you can repurpose what you find! In no time you too will be thrift shopping like a pro and finding all sorts of treasures.

Happy thrifting!