My wife and daughter like shopping at thrift stores it's like a treasure hunt and you never know what you might find.
Today she had my 11 year old along with her. He wanted some new looking tennis shoes . They were Nike and 9 bucks and she got them for him.

She looked them up when she got home and ther were on lime for sale for 180 to 250$ depending on the listing

To me I can't believe people pay so much for poorly put together shoe's made in Asia. Blew me away.

Then I remember a few minutes of a special I saw in passing somewhere that had a TV on
It was about a woman that went to thrift stores and bought shoes cheap and did very very well selling them.

I can spend money like that on good boots or waders but on sneekers that won't last kids 3 to 6 months nope .

I Like Garage sales and Auctions
but not thrift stores

My wife shops at thrift stores about once a week. Amazing some of the high end quality clothes in near mint condition that she buys 5 cents on the dollar! She refuses to shop for clothes anywhere else.

Chris

Was in an antique store and a large trap was by the door. Look at it and it was a Newhouse #4..look at the tag and it was 25 dollars. Well I still have it..........

I'll give you $50

Had one that was well used ...that one was like new with a cast pan...so I sold the used one to an old friend for 75 dollars...

I have no personal interest in clothes or shoes at thrift stores, but I like tools, traps, cages, rocks and old silverware.

I love auctions. I especially like old axes, hatchets, cleavers and Native American stone tools. You could make a very good living flipping select items from thrift stores and auctions.

Keith

Good place to find grinders and blenders for messing with lure ingredients.

True. I also buy used toaster ovens for powder coating jigs and bullets. Plus I pick up pewter monogrammed mugs (very cheap as who wants a mug unless the monogram matches yours?!) for melting and adding to lead for improved casting with all my molds.

Chris

my youngest likes to go to the thrift stores

you know what you almost never find in a thrift shop

3X mens much of anything

it can't be a lack of people who wear 3X they buy the rack out at farm and fleet I just figure they wear out all their cloths I know I do. when I am done with a shirt pants anything it has holeZ not just a hole. that collar will look like swiss cheese

if you do find much for 3X expect it to be a polos shirts with a logo from someone's last job on it or maybe a 3x shirt with a 18 inch neck that got worn all of once chocking the poor guy out for a wedding or funeral.

many of ours went out of business or raised the prices too much because of the state taxes and licensing fees they put on them the last few yrs. 10....Use to be flea markets galore...not any more.

Years ago I had a girlfriend that loved thrift stores and the Salvation Army. At first I was embarrased to go to them with her. Well, one day she bought me a couple of really nice button up shirts so, I thought maybe I'd go with her once just to see what they might have. It was the start of trapping season and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw hundreds of long sleeve thermal tops, Eddie Baur and many other name brands for like three dollars each. Let's just say I never needed a coat for trapping, just layered up four or five thermals and was warm all day.

No wonder I had a hard time finding my toaster oven lol. I'm and estate sale and auction guy but if I need something for trapping, I'll hit Goodwill or St. Vinnie's for items, I like the small potpourri crock pots for heating lard, small blenders for castor, cereal Tupperware containers for DP bait, etc. I usually complete my Halloween Costume there also if need be.

Wow, I'd say no grief either!

My oldest twin worked at one while he went to college. He brought home tones of brand new clothes every month.

my powder coat / kydex convection oven is still wearing it's goodwill sticker

I used to be able to get good cast iron for 3 bucks , now they know what it is. I was in Stoughton a few weeks back they had vintage cooking stuff , well they had looked at Ebay to see what that stuff was going for so it was sitting there not moving at that price.

this spring they had a linen 50% of sale and had a lot of blankets
I went though looking for wool blankets without holes or only minor holes that could be sewn up easily left with 3 I think I was paying about 6 dollars each for them.

bread pans is another thing I keep an eye out for I use them for sorting and processing brass and storing hardware

I used to go dig through the knife bucket to see if there was any decent steel , still look once in a while but for several years nothing but china junk.

I quit going to thrift stores cause my mom would always have something negative about the neat things I found. For instance I found an oil painting of a pirate ship on a dark sea and she didn’t like it and wouldn’t let me get it because “it’s probably demonized, I don’t want it in my house”
But she got whatever she wanted and even things she didn’t want just because they were cheap and “pretty”. I guess “pretty” things can’t be “demonized”

The local Indian School in town has the old grocery store for a thrift store now they get all kinds of donations of new items as a write off for large corporations. Discontinued, overrun or returned items most likely. Worked with a guy that would buy shoes and jackets then sell them on EBay for a nice profit.

that is exactly what many of the shops around here are trying to prevent now in their pricing , sad but there was a group of "profesional" shoppers who were doing that around here they made the rounds to thrift stores every week.