Thrift stores

[AlexD]

There's a Pawn Shop at the beginning of the main street where my house is. That place is somewhat of a rip off. Used dirty chainsaws are pricy, about ehh, good condition guns are up in the hundreds, and electronics are awful. $50-some for a used busted up camera that looks stolen, normally retailing at around $79-$100. [8D]

 

[frozenmonkeyface]

My rule of thumb is never buy any electronics or guns from pawn shops. I don't know about y'all in the North but here, there are some nasty people who have bugs in their homes and those bugs are attracted to electronics. I DONT CHANCE IT! I moved into an apartment one time and bought a brand new (rather expensive) microwave.

Well, I happened to see a bug crawl across the counter towards the microwave. I tore my kitchen apart to try and find/kill the bug. When I couldn't find it.... I threw the microwave away. I think I have some type of phobia of bugs, well, roaches to be exact.

Guns I wouldn't buy used not just from a pawn shop but in general. Unless I knew the person selling it and they were the only owner.

I will get anything I can wash/ disinfect from a thrift store but that's about it. I am not downing people who get other things from there, trust me I am not well off by any means, I am just explaining how crazy I am. Haha

 

[ironmountain]

Not going to keep ranting on GW. I'll switch to ReStore.

The Habitat for Humanity Re-Store used to be a great place to pick up odds and ends for small projects.
well used tools to toss into the box or hang on the pegboard in case you need it.
A few months ago I snagged a 7" C clamp for 1$ and a 12" B***ard file for 2$. Decent price. They were well used. Took them home and cleaned them up and now have a couple "new" tools.
Went there with the wife the other day and my daughter (my digging/md/thrift/flea market partner) says out loud "Holy cow daddy, they are way overpriced here". friend's grandma who works there says "it's not too bad. It's what it sells for on eBay".

60 bucks for a beat up old hand plane is a bit much. it wasn't anything collectible and needed a new blade. Loose sockets for 5$/pc.
Would generate a nice $ for Habitat. (father in-law was the head construction guy for Habitat for many years where he lives. I'd go help build everytime we were up there..it is a good org. for helping families). Just going a bit overboard.

 

[glass man]

Though many items are way over priced at most all ANTIQUE MALLS..I have gotten many great deals cause some evidently have no idea of what they have and way under price some items[sure won't happen all the time..but it does happen].

I once bought a great crock for Scottish whiskey that had a picture of a man in a kilt fixing to throw a huge rock..got it for 22 dollars and sold it at a bottle show for$100.Also I bought a tin ad. sign in great shape for "SCHROEDER'S BITTERS" had a picture of the bottle on it..got it for 7 bucks and sold it for 75[too cheap?..hey I was happy!!]

It has happened other times too!!Found the first "FUGS" album in the middle of about a hundred country albums..for a dollar..I know few would be excited about this but I love 60's albums and this is a hard one to find..how it got mixed in all those country albums I will never know..the FUGS ain't country!![][I do have some great country records too..like "HEY GOOD LOOKING" by HANK WILLIAMS it is a 78 and I got it at an estate sale for a dollar 50!!

So don't automatically think cause it is an Antique Mall there are no bargains to be found there!!So "thrift" is where ever you find it!!!JAMIE

 

[Plumbata]

Goodwill has gotten terrible lately, though I did score a load of awesome antique books, including an 1840 atlas (the hand-painted maps were dated 1837) for 3 bucks not too long ago! Best GW score i've ever had. Shortly thereafter they started doing the online/silent auction thing and it is super dumb now. Last few times I went I didn't see anything in the special auction display cases I would have been interested in even at the starting bid. Good thing I enjoyed a good clean-up before they decided all their crap was worth a bundle.

Most Salvation Army shops around me are crap too, but one still has reasonable prices. I like to search the T-Shirts for cool/vintage items. I like wearing the old 1991 Desert Storm shirts, old music tour shirts (when I must associate with hippies who appreciate that sort of thing), and whatever else strikes the fancy. There are some awesome looking 70s-90s shirts yet to be had. Got one, a clean 1980 Willie Nelson show/tour shirt with the seal of the president on it. Worth a good 60-80 I believe. Most SA shops charge 3 or 4 bucks for the shirts now, same with GW, but one still charges a buck a piece. I can live with that.

A non-chain shop local to me, one I've been going to since my dad brought me there as a 9 year old in 1996, is a consistent source of fantastic stuff for cheap. Made some great money off the stuff I didn't want to keep over the years, and they are very friendly and on a first name basis now. They hook-up the deals! Thank the lawd for them, and the fact they don't bother with clothes. Generally speaking I'd rather go through the books, tools, and antiques.

 

[devilforrest2]

I agree. Not many bargains in them anymore.