Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Thrift Store Haul! Women's Clothing from Salvation Army #thrifting



Lately I've been seeing so many people (online) finding great buys at thrift stores.

I started to get the urge to try this out myself. So, I went to my local Salvation Army.  I didn't find the same kind of pricing that I've been seeing in other people's hauls. I guess most of them are in the USA and their thrift stores are much cheaper. I see them get things from .50 cents to $2.50. 

My Salvation Army charges $3.99 for a used basic t shirt! I think that's a little cray cray! Honestly, I can go to Old Navy, hit up the clearance rack and pay less for brand new items! Luckily, the Salvation Army seems to be willing to negotiate prices.

I have to say, sifting through all the racks, searching for the "good stuff" is very time consuming. I was searching for new items, hopefully with retail tags still on them, good jeans, and high value items for low prices.

It was still a fun experiment and I may go from time to time to see what I can find. 

I was told they get 2500 new items of clothing every single day! Can you imagine!? I guess if you're good at snooping out the great deals you could go everyday and have a lot of success.

Here is my haul!

Forever 21 sweatshirt $5.99

Cleo tank top $7.99

American Eagle T-shirt $3.99
(this colour was SO nice on me I had to get it!)

Esprit Jacket $14.99

Columbia button down with sun protection $7.99

Company 81 button down $5.99

Total before negotiation = $46.94

After negotiation = $25.00 ($4.17 per piece)

Total savings = 21.94

Because they are a non-profit organization they don't charge taxes.

The prices shown for each piece are the prices the store had each item listed at but I negotiated with them and in total I paid $25 for everything. That works out to $4.17 per piece which I guess isn't bad. The Esprit jacket was very well loved and needed a lot of repairs so that brought the $14.99 way down in price. I can't remember exactly how much each piece came down to but I just gave myself a budget of $20 (which I obviously went over) and wanted to see how far it could go.

I don't usually wear button downs, but I was attracted to these for some reason. I'm sure I wouldn't have bought them in a regular retail store, so I hope they don't end up just sitting there, I really hope I wear them! I'm sure the Columbia one with sun protection has a really high retail price, and it looks like it was maybe worn once. 

Perhaps being in an unusual shopping situation had me buying outside my norm.. which may be a good thing. I'm so used to getting the same types of things that I know I like and suit me. This could be a good thing, we shall see.

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I thrifted!

Do you go thrift shopping? What are your favourite places to thrift at? Do you have any tips or secrets for successful thrifting?

Amy
xoxo

4 comments:

  1. I have the worst luck thrift shopping! I think my patience/interest tends to wear out after 20 mins of searching racks and only finding well worn clothing!
    In Australia it became 'trendy' a few years ago, so I agree with you Amy that I don't always find it cheap!

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    1. I hear you! In the USA I see them get brand new items for .50 cents. They have days where everything is one low price or fill up a big brown bag for $15! My Aunt lived in NZ, and always said that Canada was way behind trends and such over there. Just goes to show as thrifting seems to becoming popular here just now!

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  2. Love the items you found and how awesome they negotiated the prices with you. I enjoy shopping at thrift stores, when I am in the right mood. I agree US Salavation Army does have lower prices.

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    1. Thanks, Joan! I had no idea that they negotiate. A women waiting to check out told me then showed me how. lol

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