I love a bargain and I really like a 2nd hand bargain. My mom raised me to hunt for deals and for that, I am so grateful. Whether you already know the joy of 2nd hand, or not, I hope this post encourages you in your thrifting pursuits. 10 Reasons to Shop Second Hand 1. You won't look like everyone else. Face it, showing up somewhere in the same outfit as someone else is not a comfortable situation. No one wants to deal with that...unless you're a 10 year old going to the mall with your bestie. Twinkies!! 2nd Hand stores have the best selection of items, hands down. 2. You will get more for your money. This is not an endorsement for hoarding thrift store crap. This is me telling you that a quality brand tshirt from a 2nd hand shop is way better than a shirt that costs the same (or more) from a low quality store. 3. Your items could last longer. This ties into #2, referring to picking quality items. Clothing that is second hand has most likely already been through the shrinking and/or fading process. If it looks good and is in good condition in the store, you shouldn't be surprised by weak seams or anything else unfortunate when you pull it out of the dryer at home. 4. If it is torn or breaks-no biggie. Your toddler wiped her muddy hands on you? Stain stick didn't work? You can cry because you loved that shirt--which would be weird--but not because of the loads of cash you spent on the shirt. Woot woot!! 5. You will be helping someone out. Thrift stores often use proceeds to help people with education and employment. People who sell their stuff through yard sales or consignment are making some money for themselves or their family. You're such a do-gooder. 6. You will be helping the environment. 2nd hand shopping & donating/selling my families stuff is my most favorite form of recycling. Go green! 7. You won't be buying into consumerism. Our culture produces, consumes, and trashes stuff at a very fast rate. The media warps us into thinking we aren't good enough as we are and that we need to buy crap to be better. When we aren't spending our hard earned money on the latest fad, gadget, or potion, we free our money up for more important things...& we start to feel a lot better about ourselves. 8. Your partner/parent/whoever will be grateful. From experience, I can say that it rocks my husbands world when I score a deal on something we need. Last spring, our blender broke. A few weeks later, I found a Ninja blender for 10 bucks at a yard sale. It has 2 sizes of container and blade and I really love it for making my green smoothies. 9. It's fun. Scoring that blender deal was definitely fun. I kind of get a high when I score a deal. It's super fun to do an internet search for the product you scored and find out you saved 100's of dollars. It happens more than you would think. 10. You will be a total thrifster ...& I say that's a good thing. Here is how www.urbandictionary.com defines thriftster: "An off-shoot (or sub-culture) of the general hipster trend, but while most contemporary hipsters attempt to buy indie flavor by frequenting Urban Outfitters or American Apparel, a "thriftster" alternatively obtains said style by frequenting thrift stores or through general use of hand-me-downs. While shopping at the Salvation Army may have been included in the original definition of a "hipster," now that mainstream commercialism has caught onto the hipster fashion trends, the term "thriftster" must be adopted to differentiate those who appreciate used clothing and the ideals that come along with it from the ever-increasing group of trendy 20 and 30-somethings who are content to buy the massed-produced version of this clothing without asking how it got to be there in the first place." I would love to hear about the awesome deals that you have scored!!
15 Comments
Bobbi Burns
9/22/2013 09:26:13 am
A friend of mine just bought a Ninja blender a week or so ago just like the one you got for $10. She paid close to $200 for it. She got robbed and you saved $190. Yea Rachel.
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Rachel Burns
9/22/2013 09:56:35 am
Bobbi- I hope your friend enjoys their ninja as much as I like mine!! Too bad they aren't all $10! :-)
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June (mom)
9/22/2013 10:51:28 am
I like to think of thrifting as 'Treasure Hunting' and like Rachel I learned from my mom and dad (her grandparents). I was just telling a friend at church this morning about one of my best finds ever, a crate full of 60's rock and roll music which was eagerly claimed by my family of musicians and continues, aprox. 15 yrs later, to be appreciated. The friend had just purchased a book of Beatles music at current $$$.
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Rachel Burns
9/22/2013 10:56:44 am
I have the Peter, Paul & Mary book of sheet music from that crate. Great find, Mom!! <3
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Bonnie
9/22/2013 11:10:05 am
My hubby and I were doing some garage-saling and found a flat screen monitor for 10 bucks, awesome score!
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Rachel Burns
9/22/2013 11:11:15 am
Yaaaay, Bonnie!!!!! :-)
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Aunt Lynda
9/24/2013 11:43:45 pm
My favorite application of our family thrift skills is getting free stuff from the craigslist curb alert. The trick is getting there first for the good stuff. I recently got great plants and pots for my patio. My friend who is furnishing her home after a cross country move has a desk and microwave. Living in the city means a rich curb inventory. I'm amazed how many people are giving away pianos. Of course there is also a glut of mattresses (yuk), and big old heavy TVs that folk hope someone will take off their hands (nada).
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Rachel
9/24/2013 11:47:03 pm
I LOVE curb alerts. & trash day. No, I am not to proud to say that I love trash day. Nice work, Aunt Lynda!! <3
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Aunt Lynda
9/24/2013 11:48:49 pm
Oh, and a big technology breakthrough for thrifting at garage sales is the GPS! I can cover a lot more garage sales Sat morning with a lot less stress having the GPS direct the way. We had the car so full last Sat morn (Same friend furnishing her apt) that we had take a load home and go back for the grat coffee table, lamp and ironing board she got for a pittance.
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Rachel Burns
9/24/2013 11:51:13 pm
I love it!! The school districts here all do kids sales where the gym is full of parents at tables selling kids clothes, toys, etc. It's like 200 yard sales in one location. Be still my heart!!
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Aunt Lynda
9/24/2013 11:52:22 pm
Finally, we must hold appreciation for those who buy new. Otherwise there would be no thrift inventory 😉
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Aunt Lynda
9/24/2013 11:52:43 pm
Finally, we must hold appreciation for those who buy new. Otherwise there would be no thrift inventory.
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Rachel Burns
9/24/2013 11:54:14 pm
And appreciate them, I do. :)
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Aunt Lynda
9/24/2013 11:54:14 pm
Finally, we must hold appreciation for those who buy new. Otherwise there would be no inventory 😉
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Aunt Lynda
9/24/2013 11:54:30 pm
Finally, we must hold appreciation for those who buy new. Otherwise there would be no inventory
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AuthorRachel E. Burns Archives
September 2017
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