Thrift Store Challenge

[North of Mouse]

I know also that many stores, including Target, donate brand-new items to Goodwill. When my daughter was little, I got her a brand-new Hello Kitty blanket, a brand-new Hello Kitty trench/rain coat, and some other brand new items that Target had donated.

Target does not donate the items - Goodwill buys them at a steep discount - that is a myth that has been circulating around. But, it is true that you can find 'new' Target items, as well as new items 'donated' by individuals.

Never forget that Goodwill 'is' a business, and in our area several are owned by the same individuals. They 'do' make it a priority to try to place some people in certain positions that may not be employable elsewhere, but they are in for profit also.

Gumbo, my dh has purchased 'nothing' also, but that doesn't mean I (his dw) hasn't!! LOL

 

[pixiewings71]

I shop at Rue 21 often, I shop their clearance racks every time I go in and find clothing for very good prices. In fact, the outfit I'm wearing today (jeans, shirt, tank top, light cardigan) were all purchased brand new from Rue 21. I paid $7 for the jeans, $4 for the shirt, $1.50 for the tank, $4 for the cardigan. So, brand new outfit (that I do wear to work) for $16.50. I do go to Goodwill occasionally, but I rarely find things that I need or want.

 

[SDSorority]

Wow. Normally the negativity is kept to the Community or Transportation boards, not the Budget board!

Not a fan of wearing used clothes. Jeans and a tank is not really my idea of an outfit. If I had to dress like that to afford disney I probably wouldn't go. But we all have different priorities.

Happyinwonderland... my husband and I actually CAN'T afford to go to Disney right now, which is part of the reason that I AM buying my clothes at the Goodwill. No trips planned, haven't been since 2013. Thanks for reminding me of that.

I think op should call her post thrift store challenge instead of the title now. She got $7 worth of clothes for $7 dollars. You can't compare retail prices vs used clothing. I thought she had found a great deal somewhere with the title of the post.

I'll change the title. Didn't mean for it to be misleading. Brand new, after doing research online, these clothes retailed for $122. The jeans are Talbots, nearly new with no signs of wear at all. The tank was brand new with tags, and the cardi from Old Navy was nearly new as well.

I love to thrift shop! It's good for the budget and the environment. I have a washer and dryer so I'm good to go washing the clothes before ( and after) I wear them!

 

[daughtersrus]

I know also that many stores, including Target, donate brand-new items to Goodwill. When my daughter was little, I got her a brand-new Hello Kitty blanket, a brand-new Hello Kitty trench/rain coat, and some other brand new items that Target had donated.

I always thought that they donated as well. I asked a manager at Goodwill and she said that they actually purchase truck loads of merchandise site unseen from Target at a discounted rate.

 

[pandamom]

Cute video OP.

It's not the cleanliness I am worried about. Clothing forms to your body. It stretches in your curve areas, wears at you knees and elbows, and fabric starts to loose its elasticity after awhile.

Our Goodwill and thrift stores wouldn't sell clothing in the condition you describe -- who would buy clothing in that condition? My dds shop these stores all the time for clothing for Cosplay and have found some amazing items for next to nothing. Many pieces are high end and dry cleaning the clothes often cost more than the actual items.
.

Used clothing doesn't look good on most people.

????? dds try everything on before they buy it and believe me they are incredibly picky teens and would never buy anything that didn't "look good." Youngest wore "used" hand-me-downs from her sister growing up and always looked good.

 

[pjlla]

Wowza..... lots of negative energy here on the BB !! Annie, I'm so sorry that your well-intended post seems to have attracted some cranky folks. I really like your videos and always check them out when you post them here! Anyhoooooo..... I was coming on to share a recent thrift store "score" but I'm honestly not ready to be slammed! That being said, I am not ashamed to be a thrift store lover and shopper, so here goes!

DS needed dress clothes for a Model UN event.... three days worth of clothes and he only owned ONE pair of dress pants and one good shirt (and thankfully one nice pair of dress shoes and a belt). So it was off to the thrift store with fingers crossed and high hopes. He is tall and slim with really long arms, so I knew that this would be a long shot. We hit the SA first (because it tends to be cheaper than GW but less selection in our area). WOOHOOO!! It was our lucky day! I bought him a pair of dress pants (Dockers brand), a BRAND NEW dress shirt, a second dress shirt (not new but excellent condition Lands End TALL WITH EXTRA LONG SLEEVES!!) and ..... drum roll.... a SUIT! A lovely Calvin Klein from Macy's, charcoal grey men's suit.... very "up to date" (i.e. no crazy wide lapels or 1990's double breasted) and it actually fit him PERFECTLY.... no need to let out or let in or hem! And he LOVED it!! With any luck, he is done growing and can get several wearings from this suit. So he had brown dress pants, a brown argyle sweater (that he already owned) and the new dress shirt for yesterday, the suit with the new(ish) blue shirt for today, and the black pants and grey shirt he already owned for tomorrow! Combine all of this with borrowing a few ties from his Dad and he will be looking pretty darn dapper this weekend for the grand total (out of pocket for this particular shopping trip) of $22 !!!!.....................P

 

[Dread Pirate]

I dress professionally every day at work since I have to appear in Court and testify on a frequent basis, and meet with clients daily. I love shopping at Goodwill, and with careful shopping, that's where most of my clothes come from. I pass over the items that are worn, stained, stretched, and find nice items. I buy only those things that fit me, are in great shape, and look good on me. I get frequent compliments on what I wear, and love telling people were I find these items.

I call my Goodwill excursions "Treasure Hunts." Some days I don't find anything, and other days I hit the mother lode!

 

[NYCDiane]

I always thought that they donated as well. I asked a manager at Goodwill and she said that they actually purchase truck loads of merchandise site unseen from Target at a discounted rate.

Regardless whether it's donated by Target or purchased in bulk by GW, it's still BRAND NEW.

 

[NYCDiane]

Wowza..... lots of negative energy here on the BB !! Annie, I'm so sorry that your well-intended post seems to have attracted some cranky folks. I really like your videos and always check them out when you post them here! Anyhoooooo..... I was coming on to share a recent thrift store "score" but I'm honestly not ready to be slammed! That being said, I am not ashamed to be a thrift store lover and shopper, so here goes!

DS needed dress clothes for a Model UN event.... three days worth of clothes and he only owned ONE pair of dress pants and one good shirt (and thankfully one nice pair of dress shoes and a belt). So it was off to the thrift store with fingers crossed and high hopes. He is tall and slim with really long arms, so I knew that this would be a long shot. We hit the SA first (because it tends to be cheaper than GW but less selection in our area). WOOHOOO!! It was our lucky day! I bought him a pair of dress pants (Dockers brand), a BRAND NEW dress shirt, a second dress shirt (not new but excellent condition Lands End TALL WITH EXTRA LONG SLEEVES!!) and ..... drum roll.... a SUIT! A lovely Calvin Klein from Macy's, charcoal grey men's suit.... very "up to date" (i.e. no crazy wide lapels or 1990's double breasted) and it actually fit him PERFECTLY.... no need to let out or let in or hem! And he LOVED it!! With any luck, he is done growing and can get several wearings from this suit. So he had brown dress pants, a brown argyle sweater (that he already owned) and the new dress shirt for yesterday, the suit with the new(ish) blue shirt for today, and the black pants and grey shirt he already owned for tomorrow! Combine all of this with borrowing a few ties from his Dad and he will be looking pretty darn dapper this weekend for the grand total (out of pocket for this particular shopping trip) of $22 !!!!.....................P

Congratulations!!! That is a GREAT bargain!! Love when I come across finds like this!

I hope your son had a wonderful time at his event!

 

[SDSorority]

Congratulations!!! That is a GREAT bargain!! Love when I come across finds like this!

I hope your son had a wonderful time at his event!

Agreed!!

 

[sunshinehighway]

So much negativity.

I love shopping at thrift stores. It's amazing what one can find there. Yes, there are lots of clothes that are worn out but I don't buy those things.
I can't get a whole outfit for $7 though, maybe $10 on a half off day.
I like shopping there because it's like a treasure hunt.
I also like finding unique vintage items. Really good quality things last and people end up getting rid of them while they are still in good condition.
In the past month I've found a vintage Gucci wallet, Burberry trench, Marc Jacobs heels, Banana Republic leather ankle boots...all in excellent condition.

 

[queenbetsey]

cute outfit. I just love a good thrift store find. a few years ago when my oldest daughter was getting married I looked at mother of the bride dresses and they were really expensive. I was driving by a salvation army one day and decided to drop in. found a great dress with the david's bridal tags still on it for 12 bucks amazing and davids bridal did the alterations for me since the tags were still on so between alterations and price at thrift store got a great dress for 65 bucks, love that deal.
last Tuesday stopped into the local savers thrift store, my son was looking for jackets to dress up his slacks a bit, I went to the jewelry counter and saw a Disney watch case. the case was pretty beat up but I asked to look at the watch. the watch was brand spanking new, never worn official Disney parks mdse. it is the queen of hearts. and it worked just fine. it was 7.99 and after we got the senior discount it was 6.20 looked it up on ebay (never remembered seeing a queen of hearts watch at the parks and we go all the time to dl) and they had it listed for 12.99. score again.
but our all time favorite find was Disneyland annual passholder shirts that still had Disney tags on them for 20 bucks each. I never remember them putting out a pass holder shirt or we would have gotten them long ago. so we were so happy to pay 4.95 for each of them, when we wear them to dl we get lots of folks and also cms who ask about them so that is a pretty good score

 

[DawnM]

I went to the local Salvation Army yesterday without my kids and actually was able to SHOP! (haha)

I found about 8 nice T-shirts (ladies' casual but a bit dressier) for me. I had been needing some, so I was very happy to have found them. I also found a pair of jeans.

However, the SA is far more expensive than I think it should be! Some shirts were $2 and I was fine with that. The jeans were $8. That is crazy, but I needed some jeans. They have 2 more pair in exactly the same make/size and I am thinking if they still have them this Wed. (half price day), I will get them.

I spent $26 and got a pair of shoes for DH, jeans for me, and 8 T-shirts and a lunch box container thing.

 

[sunshinehighway]

I went to the local Salvation Army yesterday without my kids and actually was able to SHOP! (haha)

I found about 8 nice T-shirts (ladies' casual but a bit dressier) for me. I had been needing some, so I was very happy to have found them. I also found a pair of jeans.

However, the SA is far more expensive than I think it should be! Some shirts were $2 and I was fine with that. The jeans were $8. That is crazy, but I needed some jeans. They have 2 more pair in exactly the same make/size and I am thinking if they still have them this Wed. (half price day), I will get them.

I spent $26 and got a pair of shoes for DH, jeans for me, and 8 T-shirts and a lunch box container thing.

Here most thrift stores have jeans at 6.99. They all do half off days or half off certain colors for the week.
There's one SA near me that was just awesome.. was. They raised their prices and it's ridiculous. I'm talking $29 for boots (hiking, winter, basically any shoe that comes above the ankle). $19.99 for jackets...$24.99 for dressier coats.
Every once in a while I stop in to see if they've come to their senses and the place is empty. It used to be very busy.

 

[auntmeme7577]

My issue with SA is that they don't arrange clothes by size.
I don't like having to go through everything to find something near my size.
Our Goodwills and even the small charity shops have clothes arranged by size , just like every other retail outlet.
I appreciate that and it makes shopping much easier.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I saved hundreds of dollars buy not buying name brand clothing. I don't mind used clothing. And heaven forbid at one point my daughter loved buying clothes from the 70's. She thought they were the greatest looking clothes ever.

I wonder if some people just know by looking at them if they are wearing used clothes. At least even used clothes we can buy something at a decent price. Not every one is rich. And there are a some beautiful used gowns and dresses in the used stores. Some may have only been worn 1 or 2 times.

OP you do what you want, and don't worry about what anyone else thinks.

 

[daughtersrus]

Regardless whether it's donated by Target or purchased in bulk by GW, it's still BRAND NEW.

I'm not arguing that it's new. I was just trying to share what I was told by the manager. I do find it odd that Goodwill prices just about everything from Target with a higher price than Target had on the item.

 

[lauradis]

I love our local woman shelter charity shop. They are located in a very high priced neighborhood and only except high end clothing. I have found some really nice bargains in there like north face jacket with tags still on for $30. (retail was 149). Couple of hardly worn lucky jeans for $4 each. List goes on. Plus the added bonus is their over head is low and more then 50% of every dollar goes directly to area shelters.

I have np with new or used clothing. Now shoes and underwear are a different story.

 

[Judique]

Loved your video, and thought it looked really cute on you.

I don't shop very much at all anymore. I have to clean out my closets and make space! Have gone to Goodwill a few times and found some deals on little things. Problem for me is it takes time and I don't have time right now. I am fast approaching retirement though and I will have time then!

Thanks for taking the time to help motivate!

 

[North of Mouse]

My issue with SA is that they don't arrange clothes by size.
I don't like having to go through everything to find something near my size.
Our Goodwills and even the small charity shops have clothes arranged by size , just like every other retail outlet.
I appreciate that and it makes shopping much easier.

i wish our Goodwills sorted by size - they sort by 'color'! It's very frustrating to have to go through almost everything to find something. Then, any type 'pattern' is sorted together - bummer! I guess they're all different, as they are all owned by individuals - they're only controlled by certain franchise agreements and that's all.

Unlike any other place I've been they also don't accept debit cards, have shopping carts (just baskets) and don't have 'any' discounts (senior, or day of week).
But, I am close to two stores that rec. donations from the area, which is very affluent, and I've gotten some great finds.