Thrift stores and secondhand shops are a fantastic place to find deals. They’re almost better than yard sales since you can shop them all year round. While you want to stay in your budget when you shop, there are a few things that you should almost always grab when you see them.
Silver
Anytime you can find solid silver items at a thrift store, be sure to grab them. The price of silver fluctuates, but a fifty-cent fork could easily net you three dollars if you hold onto it and sell it at the right time.
Small kitchen appliances
Small appliances are hit or miss at thrift stores, but if you need to replace one or pick up a new one, they’re an awesome option. With any electronics from a thrift store, be sure you test it out before you buy it. This way you’ll know for certain if it works as it should.
Kids Bikes
Kids bikes are usually an awesome find at a secondhand shop. Most of the time you can find them in like-new condition for a fraction of what they would cost in a retail store. You can can search for and shop for kids bikes at thrift stores. You may need to replace the inner tubes or the seat, but those are all cheap fixes.
Kid’s Clothing
Kids grow quickly and if you are paying retail for their clothing, you’re going to go broke quickly. Instead of buying at the more expensive stores, find a good quality on at thrift stores. You’ll pay considerably less for their clothes and they will look just as great.
Books
Books are a great purchase at thrift stores, especially if you’re looking for just one or two copies of a set. You can generally shop and pick them up for around a dollar each instead of paying ten or more at other stores. Don’t discount being able to find entire sets though. It can be done and when you find them, they’re at a huge discount over other places. Cookbooks are also great finds at thrift stores.
Home Décor
If you’ve been searching for that special piece of home décor and find it at thrift stores? Grab it. Home décor is so expensive to buy so passing it up at thrift stores to search for one instead of paying full price for it is a fantastic way to decorate your home for less.
Bedding sets
Bedding is crazy-expensive new, but at your local thrift stores, they’re a steal. If you’re buying bedding, be sure to wash it in hot water very well to prevent any nasties that may be lingering and to check it well before you buy for any mildew, rips or tears.
Dinnerware
Unless you’re dead set on having a set of matching dishes, you can put together an awesome shabby-chic set at your local thrift stores. Instead of paying forty dollars or more for your set, you’ll pay around a dollar for each piece and have a cute, possibly vintage set.
Cast Iron Cookware
Cast iron is crazy expensive to buy new, but used? Not so much. Rusty or not, do not pass by that cast iron skillet, griddle or dutch oven. It can always be reasoned with very little work and you’ll save big by buying it used.
Camping gear
Camping gear is one of those things that a lot of people buy but either never use or use very few times before getting rid of it. If your family camps a lot, head to your local thrift store to check out what they have in stock. You can find everything from canteens to complete family tents for pennies on the dollar over new.
The next time you hit your local thrift store, be sure to keep an eye out for these items. This list isn’t all-inclusive by far, but it’s a list that you’ll want to keep in mind. Buying these things used instead of new will save you big bucks and help you keep more money in your pocket.
Is there anything you MUST buy when you head to the thrift store?
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Eileen
June 23, 2015 at 12:24 pm
Another way to save on books is from you local library. Checking out books is free and ours has a very nice section of books for sale. They run $1 for hard copy and $.50 for paperback. Sometimes they have a BOGO sale.
Anne Salter
February 21, 2016 at 5:21 pm
My library has ok prices on books, but I found that the library a town over is much better. I cannot borrow out books from the other one (because I don’t live there) but I’m free to read books inside the library, read to my kids, and buy books there. My library sometimes has DVDs for sale, and quite a few music CDs.