10 things to buy in thrift stores

Certain items can be had for a song if you can find them secondhand -- and some can be even better than new. But you may need a little imagination to see their potential.

By Mikey Rox, Wise Bread

A treasure hunt
My friend Katie and I have lots of things in common, including our love of thrift stores. When we were in high school, we often drove to a shady part of town to get our fix of all things thrifty.

My love for thrift stores runs so deep, in fact, that when I was on vacation in Atlanta for my birthday recently, I went thrift shopping. My husband is definitely not into this pastime, so I left him at the hotel and enjoyed several incredible hours browsing through racks and racks of other people's old stuff. It really is the little things, y'all.

You never know what you'll find during your treasure hunt, but in the following slides, you can find 10 things you should always be on the lookout for when you're at a thrift store. (See also: "To buy or not to buy? Criteria for thrift store clothes shopping.")

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T-shirts
T-shirts are a dime a dozen -- you can buy them almost anywhere you shop -- but new tees are not in the same league as thrift store T-shirts. For starters, a thrift store T-shirt is well-worn and lived in (I understand that is off-putting to some people, but that's why detergent was invented), which is exactly how a tee should be.

Second, the sizes are truer than today's sizes; I wear a small, and it's hard to find a new small shirt that fits well in both length and width. Vintage tees, however, are always the right fit.

Then, of course, there's the selection. When I buy a T-shirt from a thrift shop, I'm almost guaranteed that I'll never run into anyone else who has the same tee. That can't be said for the tees I buy from major retailers, and I hate seeing someone else in MY clothes.
- Bing: Find vintage T-shirts online
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Pants
You can buy thrift store pants to wear as pants, but I buy thrift store pants to turn into shorts. The selection of pants at a thrift store is usually full of funky prints and styles, which work much better as fun summertime shorts. I often just cut them off, but sometimes I have them hemmed so they look good as new. It never fails that someone asks me where I got them because they're unique. Total win.
- Video: Treasure hunting in thrift stores
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Furniture
You don't have to tell me that the furniture at thrift shops isn't generally the kind of furniture you would put in your home. Because I wouldn't put it in my home, either -- at least not in its current condition. But with a bit of creativity, the most mundane thrift store furniture can be repurposed and turned into coveted conversation pieces. For a few ideas on what you can make out of everyday furniture that you might find at a thrift store, check out this article on repurposed furniture and décor from Martha Stewart.
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Books
If you're an avid reader or a collector, a thrift store is an excellent place to find your next great adventure. Vintage books make great gifts or cheap alternatives to new novels when you're traveling or heading to the beach. You never know when you'll find that diamond in the rough, either; you could stumble upon a first edition that might be worth a pretty penny. Make a habit of looking inside the cover to find the print date.
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Dishware
I like cool, quirky drinking glasses. I once bought an entire set of Archie comics juice glasses from a thrift shop that always seem to put a smile on people's faces when I serve breakfast at my house. And just the other day, I found a few Garfield glass mugs from a McDonald's promotion in the '90s that I just had to have. Sadly -- and this is one of the downsides to thrift shops -- the collection wasn't complete, so I left empty-handed. If I really wanted the glasses, though, I could have scooped up the three that were there and then searched for the missing glass on eBay. Alas, that little angel on my shoulder that often whispers in my ear that I "do not need this" was working overtime that day. (But beware of dishes that might contain lead. See this .pdf file for more.)
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Silver
Yes, silver -- real silver. Not every sorter can tell the difference between stainless dinnerware and the genuine stuff, which means that real silver can sometimes land on thrift-store shelves. You may not have any use for a single spoon or fork, mind you, but don't discount that silver is worth the same price no matter what shape it takes.
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Artwork
Artwork is another item where you can win big. Even if the piece doesn't have any true monetary value, it's worth something if you like it. So are frames, by the way. Look past that hideous velvet painting, and you might find just that awesome picture frame you've been searching for.
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Home décor
I'm in the process of redesigning my bedroom, and I was on the prowl for two cool lamps. I didn't find any that struck my fancy at a thrift shop (mostly because I couldn't find a pair), but it was still the first place I looked. Lamps are great finds at thrift shops because if you like the base, you can totally change the rest of it to create a whole new look. Vases are another great home décor item to look for at the thrift shop. Every lamp I own was previously owned.
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Vinyl records
Whether you're looking for nostalgia or that overlooked record that could be worth a decent amount in an online auction, you should take a few minutes to flip through the box of vinyls. And if you find an original copy of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," I will gladly accept it as a gift.
- Bing: Shop for vinyl records online
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Accessories
My favorite vintage belt came from a thrift shop -- I've had it for nearly 10 years, and I'm going to cry when it breaks (which may be soon). But my search for accessories doesn't stop there. In particular, I like looking for old political buttons and random jewelry. Speaking of jewelry, the next time Mother's Day rolls around, instead of going to the expensive jeweler, stop by the thrift store first. Trust me when I tell you that you never know what you'll find. If you stumble on a really great piece, not only will you save a lot of money, but you'll give your mama a gift with character and thought. In my opinion, that's better than any mass-produced, high-end item any day.
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Published July 31, 2012

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Wayde Gendreau (ruggster)

Aug 3, 2012 2:13PM

I was looking for something here that would make me want to take a second look at thrift stores but all I found was the thrift store departments listed.... Not even alphabetically!! I hate to tell the writer but anything that is sold in a thrift store is stuff that you want to buy at a thrift store. They are great places to buy anything if they have it. But... don't go in there thinking you're going to have your pick of anything. things are one of a kind. When you see it, if you like it and think that it may fit your situation, you need to lay the doe down and buy it then. Otherwise, the guy next to you or behind you will grab it for themselves. Spend some time writing articles that are informative rather than this crap.

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Sandy Applebee

Aug 11, 2012 1:48AM

I love thrift store, but there is another place where you can get and give things for free in your local area. It is a site where everything is free and you place your item on the site that you are giving away. And you get replies to come pick them up at your location. Now if you need something , you place an ad on there saying what your in need of and you get replies from people that have what you want . And you go pick it up at their location, check it out, It will tell you if they have it for your county. it is (freecycle.org) I got alot of yarn off someone who met me at a craft store and bought two great big bags for me, plus what she had from her home, I made the residents at a nursing home i had worked for back then , all a lapghans for Christmas, I made over 120 of them, started in march and got them all done for Christmas, and if it weren't for this site I wouldn't have been able to do it. Its to keep the junk out of the landfills so your recycling what you don't want by giving it to someone else.

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muzakalsoul

Aug 3, 2012 11:41AM

I love shopping at thirft stores. It's true, you never know what your going to find. .

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a.realist

Aug 11, 2012 3:03AM

I love shopping at thrift stores in fringe areas. Why? Because many times the staff and customers cannot tell the quality items from the junk. Case in point: I picked up a pair of Polk and a pair of Klipsh speakers for $5 apiece in perfect condition. All around them were cheap plastic "panasonic, Sharp, and Emerson" brands with small cheap 8 ohm speakers in these huumongous bling'ed out plastic cases selling for $30+ a pair Because they never heard of Polk or Klipsh (which are audiophile quality brands), they assumed they were cheap speakers. Of course they all heard of the other brands and because they are well known, they assumed they were of better quality and worth more.

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Tessa214

Aug 8, 2012 2:33AM

We recently had a Goodwill open up not far away. My grandson was coming out of state for a visit and he is just one. I was going to go buy some toys but realized that this is a short visit and he can't take any back with him. Instead, I bought a few toys for just dollars a piece and then wash them up for him to play with them. When we are done with them, we will donate them back.

My husband (who thought he would hate the place) walked out with sweatshirts that looked brand new. He is now a believer. I have a son in law who just got a job and he needs clothes. The nearest thrift shop is some distance away so I picked a few up for him. Nice button down LL Bean and Chaus that look brand new. He is a watch my carbon foot kind of guy so this was perfect to send off to him. He loves the thriftshop plan of not throwing things away.

In short, the writer below is right - you have to go often if you are going to find what you want and think creatively.

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mayreen PATTERSON (rosynose)

Aug 13, 2012 4:50PM

I used to love shopping at thrift stores but here in Calif. but they take advantage of mostly poor people that shop for clothes there. Their prices are way over priced considering that they are all donated. Our local store is run by volunteers that donate the money to children that need glasses and ect.which has much better quality merchandise that is much cleaner, better and cheaper. The clothes are much nicer and the trinkets are displayed nicer. Our Salvation Army store near us is soooo dirty that one feels grungy after visiting it so I never go there any more and neither does my friends which is really sad considering they could be nice if they displayed their merchanidise instead of throwing it on the shelves

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ShebaIsWhoIam

Aug 8, 2012 6:00PM

I bought from one of those companies that advertized on TV, won't name names but I could not sell their stuff and make any profit at a locally well known flea bazaar. I started filling in items that I could sell there to help with the rent on my 2 booths so I shopped at thrift stores. I was selling that stuff like hot cakes at the flea market. I would go on their sale days where they had half price items. I found many things I made profit many times over my investment. Two small items in particular were from a retired christmas collection, 2 small elves that I paid 50 cents each for.....sold them on ebay for over $100.00. When I bought them I thought I could resell them for $5.00 each but I didn't have a clue what they were til I looked on ebay.

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l kas (reddle)

Aug 8, 2012 4:39PM

This article is crap? Must be nice to be able to splurge at the malls all of the time.

Thrift shoppers in socal will not be finding any silver or much in metals. Crackheads had a run on this stuff about 20 years ago, and since then, I believe workers themselves are scooping it up.

I will always check thrift stores from time to time for various things. I mainly shop from catalogs however.

I do wish Goodwill would not have split their donation centers off from their stores, in many locations. This is not the case with most of the other thrift stores.

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HeavyWeaponsGuy

May 15, 2013 7:01PM

I'm trying to click the next button but it won't work!!

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