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
