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Thrift stores are an excellent source for inexpensive books, furniture, and clothing. I visit the local Goodwill about once a month to browse my favorite sections for bargains. (I’m wearing a $3 sweater as I type this. 
My personal finance library is built around books purchased at thrift stores.)
Some people are wary of thrift shops — they think they’re dirty and cheap. Others don’t know where to begin. If you’re in the latter camp, check out The ThriftShopper.Com, “a one-stop web destination for all your thrift shopping needs”.
The site features a thrift store directory: just enter your zip and it will display a list of thrift stores in your vicinity. Users can rate stores on selection, pricing, organization, customer service, and cleanliness. They can also leave short reviews which, in the true spirit of the internet, are simultaneously helpful and, well, not so much.
This is single handedly the best thrift store in the entire world. All other thrift stores should compare as this is the “perfect” score. There is absolutely no better thrift store than this one. Maybe I should rate it real low instead. Clothes are sold by the pound, chairs, couches less than $20 dollars. Tons of bikes for less than $20 or $30, I have found it cheaper to buy a bike just to replace a lost or broken rear wheel and then use the rest for parts than anywhere else in the world. Seriously, everyone else who didn’t think this was single handedly the best thrift store in the entire world is a douchetard.
The ThriftShopper.Com publishes an e-zine called The National Thrifter. This month’s issue features articles on products from occupied Japan, party games, dying Easter eggs using neckties (!!!), and doll identificaton. There’s also a thrifter of the month. There’s an archive magazine back issues.
The ThriftShopper.Com has a discussion forum and a page of links. The latter features lists of national and local thrift stores, as well as small appliance manuals, and links to other thrift-related sites.
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April 10th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Thanks for the useful link! One misconception some of my friends seem to have about thrift stores is that they only carry old clothes. Then, they’re surprised that my stylish glassware came from the Salvation Army store rather than Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel. My latest thrift store treasure is something for work: a leather Franklin Covey binder in perfect condition for about 3% of the price it would have been new (I wrote about that find here: http://frugalux.com/?p=15).
April 10th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Hi J.D., When I click on the link for the zip code locator, I only get a list of various thrift stores in a certain area of Portland
…. I can’t seem to reset the page so I can try a new zip code….
April 10th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Okay, never mind, I figured it out….
April 13th, 2007 at 2:26 am
Is there a potential for purchasing items via thrift stores and selling them for a profit on eBay? Is this morally correct?
I’ve always been interested in trying to start an eBay business, just to see what it’s like.
Anybody have any experiences?
July 20th, 2007 at 5:01 am
[...] area (or to check some out while on vacation), visit thethriftshopper.com. [J.D.’s note: I covered this site in [...]
February 19th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I find enjoyment in the journey of the hunt for a great find at thrift stores. I found something called the “Goodwill Boutique” in San Francisco where I found shirts from Express, Banana Republic and the like in great shape.
Maybe it’s off topic, but I also like to check out items on http://www.freecycle.com or place a wanted posting to the freecycle group to see if someone else has something I need and get for FREE before I go out to buy it. You can go to the URL and see if your area has a group. That’s how I got my artificial Christmas tree.