apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Used to.
Now i've discovered i can't afford even Thrift prices. furniture pieces are $100 & up, for the broken particle board ones.

:-(

My grandmother shopped there for years and I have great table she found there. She would tell us that she found it at "Sally's" :-)

http://www.MyDesignSecrets.com

I've shopped at thrift stores for over 10 years. I don't go very often now, though, because all the hipster kids have picked them over to an astonishing degree.

Luckily, eBay can be cheap if you know when and how to search.

Yup, ever since high school, when my mom would be completely grossed out that I would even consider wearing used clothes.

My family's big on thrift stores and flea markets. My grandmother and I both like a consignment/used furniture store that's in a storage unit. In the area where I grew up, there are huge warehouses full of used clothes -- prices are 25 cents a pound. Prices in Austin are a little higher, but still very reasonable. I always go to the thrift/charity shops near or in wealthy areas.

I'm a woman-child of just 28 who seemed to be born three decades too late. If your grandmother had it in her home, I probably grabbed it up. I don't really buy clothes at them anymore, unless I go to a vintage boutique. I do buy a lot of old lady purses.

I have a bunch of cool thrift finds on my blog:
http://thelionsof.blogspot.com/

I've just always had good luck finding things that speak to me. And like I said, I am not quite an adult. Two college degrees, a child almost ten years old, and my own business and I'm still fighting the age race. ;)

Wow, Kimber, very nice finds on your site. I love the grouping of photo-booth pics. Hmm... you gave me an idea.

Oh, yeah, back to thrifts. I'm an occasional thrift shopper. When my son was moving into his first place after graduation, I hit the SA and a big camp fundraiser garage sale and found him two wool Karastan rugs for $5, a kitchen table, and a real prize: a matching bureau and dresser in excellent condition for $95 for both. I just thought they were fine pieces of furniture; when we got them home, we noticed they were labeled "Kindel" which didn't ring a bell. My son later found the same ones on e-bay listed for more than $900 each.

always. when i was little we always had soo much fun at thrift stores and flea markets. i think back them we shopped out of necessity, and i did when i was starting out. now i do it out of a mix...necessity, the fact i can't find what i want anywhere else, and i love the greenness of it.

plus, who can resist a good bargain hung?

hunt...bargain hunt! oy

my grandma and aunt were taking me along on thrift store trips when i was a child. i always loved going, and still do. it's like a treasure hunt every time. sometimes you strike out, but sometimes you find some amazing unique one of a kind fits just right made for you where's it been all my life stuff. days like feels like winning the lottery. i love it!

Over the years, I've found some amazing pieces at thrift stores; a Frank LLyod Wright lamp, Edward Wormley tables, Paul McCobb and Milo Baughman pieces, you name it. Since then I've managed to furnish my parents' and both my sisters' houses mostly from thrift store and craigslist finds.

@callbob: My earliest memories are of my mother waking us up early Saturday mornings to go "a-yard-sailin". I have followed in her footsteps faithfully for almost 30 years. Until now...

I find more and more that I cannot afford the finds at my favorite thrift places! I've had to say goodbye to stores as they became mini-Sotherbys. This past weekend, I had a talk with one of the guys at Out of the Closet - Atwater Village because they are pricing me out of the store!

I can't afford designer furniture and I would rather pull my own teeth out one by one than buy any of the generic crap that you would find at living spaces or the like. I have shopped at thrift shops since I was 15 years old.

imho, as of late (and in SF), thrift stores are either picked over or the ebay-phenom has effected the quality if it's intake. we used to find boss vintage stuff in the 90s, but today, the schwinns hit craigslist or ebay first... or are picked up by insiders... and forget about finding cool vintage threads... and sadly, newish clothing (that's not sweat stained) is cheaper @ target, oldnavy, etc. for less money... so, even though it's good in concept (buy nothing new, etc.), the draw isn't there for me anymore...

We could never really afford new stuff growing up, so I had the privilege of going to several thrift stores. I always had thought it was fun when I was a wee one... and I still love it now.

e

dammit.. no "e" there! Sorry folks!

I started shopping at thrift stores when I was 10, because of my older cousin who had the most amazing wardrobe and thrifted it all. (In fact, I wrote a guide to thrift shopping nearly ten years ago now -- check it out http://www.supernaturale.com/articles.html?id=124>here, if'n you wanna.) But these days, as a few people mentioned, it's easier to find decent, unsolied clothing at cheapie stores. Plus, with a career, child and husband, it's much faster.

Yikes, I goofed up that link. Sorry!

In theory, I'm interested, but in reality, I don't have much luck. I don't have enough patience to have the kind of luck people get when they scour through all the items on a regular basis and get into a weekly rhythm about it. I'll look around, and if something looks interesting, I'll easily talk myself out of starting a habit of accumulating other people's junk for no good reason. I mean, if something was awesome and a total hidden bargain, I would snatch it up, but so far, my finds only rate about "neat" on the scale, and not really something I can't live without, so I leave it behind usually.

I agree with redneckmodern about the quality of thrifts in SF(we're probably competing for the same things!). But you can still find "finds"--last week a Russell Wright plate somehow slipped through everyone's radar at ThriftTown until I scanned it. When I was living in Iowa in the early 70s a bunch of us who worked together on a restaurant graveyard shift would get off at 6--go home to shower--and then meet for breakfast and a day of hitting the thrifts. And talk about cut-throat. Half the fun was stoppinig for lunch to compare and gloat. I still have some of the things from that time. Where else could you get a set of tuxedo tails for next to nothing?

I love op shopping. A few days agao I got my daughter a brand new sweater (brand name one at that) and a dressing gown for $6. I get clothes there etc. I've done it for years and years.

I do more garage sales than thrift stores; better stuff cheaper, plus I love to haggle. The thrift stores in silicon valley are entirely picked over and the prices are crazy. I hate that the people who price stuff at Goodwill impose an Irony Tax on anything kitschy. I'm not paying $8.00 for an I Wuv Oo This Much big-eye figurine, dude.

I love thrift shopping, there is so much to be found in thrift shops and junk stores. I'm not that talented in finding awesome things but I am getting better after thrift shopping with some friends who are mighty talented and have good eyes for potential in things. Also getting better at haggling over prices, and try not to pay full price for anything over 20 bucks. Just because.

I avoid the salvation army, even if there might be hidden treasures inside, they are notoriously homophobic so the organization has no place in my treasure hunts.

I love auctions, flea markets & tag sales.

I rarely go to SA & GW because their prices are just too high. It often feels like they are selling to the same people that they should be helping - creating a bad cycle. I know the money is meant to be used for other programs, and that's great, but in this day & age it's a very flawed business model.

It's sort of like WalMart, people THINK they are the cheapest but it's just not true. Makes me sad...

Thrift stores for life! My parents shopped at thrift stores out of necessity, in college it was both "cool" and cheap, and now it just seems like the smartest choice.

I've graduated from thrift stores to advanced guerilla curb acquisition! I live in a fairly hip burb of NYC, and alternate Monday mornings are prime for me. Occasionally, I've wondered if maybe something's wrong with me, but recently a neighbor brought over all the guests at a party she was holding to tour my place, and my DIL told me that I bring home what others would consider garbage and make it beautiful! Those are pretty strong kudos, and I preened for a while after them, but one way or another, it's in my blood. I also have a gallery boutique that sells some of my stuff for surprisingly high prices. Life is good!

i was bitten by the thrift store bug in high school and it has gradually taken over my life (no exaggeration). i have found some amazing things--a whale tooth and a pachinko machine among them. just last week i found an amazing kuehne khrome dinette from the 50's, leaf included, for $25. i have a flickr set of a few of my finds over the past year or so.

not anymore.. ever since i found out about bed bugs.. no no no they hide in furniture and then you will never get rid of them... eewww

Thrift stores in my area aren't that great or affordable. They're either crazy junky/dirty or super overpriced. Lately, I've been having much better luck with "curb acquisition" and church thrift store sales.

i don't shop at thrift stores and never have either.

I grew up shopping at thrifts and flea markets thanks to a combination of poverty and my parents' love of "old junk." Thanks to student loans, the poverty continues, and I've inherited the love of old junk!

I'm lucky to live near a great thrift store and visit it weekly - well, it's just across the street from the grocery store and the turnover of merchandise is pretty fast. They also have a decent book selection. Lately, I've been a lot more picky, so have coming out empty handed. My house is filling up with stuff and I ended up donating some of my "finds" to goodwill. I've also had a lot of luck with local estate sales.

As of this posting, I have furnished no fewer than 8 apartments in various cities, due to moving and fleeing a really horrible relationship and going into hiding, almost ENTIRELY by shopping at thrift and resale shops.

www.thebitterfoodie.blogspot.com

I think eBay sort of destroyed good thrift stores and yard sales in LA. Suddenly, everyone's granny's old junk was a valuable collectible. I used to find amazing things and now, not very much at all, unless I need a zillion coffee mugs saying "World's best" whoever.

Oddly, though, while I never see MCM or 60s stuff now, I have started to see more turn of the century (the old one) and machine-age items. Maybe Granny's heirs are dumping the real antiques, while hanging on to the orange and avocado green stuff.

There are a few keys to thrifting successfully - especially for furniture.

1: Know your stuff. Thats half the battle. If you want good finds you've got to know how to find them. Stumbling across a Hans Wegner chair will only happen if you KNOW what Wegner's work looks like.

2: Know how to clean and repair. If someone threw it out/consigned a piece, it's probably for a reason. Sometimes fixes can be simple, sometimes a little more complex. And thrift store owners may lower the price if you can talk about how much effort you'll need to put in to fix it.

3:Know where to look. SOme thrift stores focus on mid century, some on random junk, some on classic antiques. Know which ones focus on each - but STILL VISIT them. You'll probably get a better deal on an Eames chair at the classic antique place than you would at the MCM store.

4:Don't expect to find a deal every time. Luck is luck. Sometimes you find a Risom chair with a broken leg sitting in a dumpster (holla!) and sometimes you get to the store minutes after the Arne Jacobsen 3 legged Ant chair has sold for $30. Let it go and keep on thrifting!

The only furniture that I love and won't get rid of is the stuff from thrift stores. The newer stuff is apt to be replaced at any time if something better is found (hopefully at a thrift store!)

I used to live a few blocks away from a huge Salvation Army Thrift store in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, over on the west side. Every weekend morning we'd go and spend hours there. It was 3 or 4 stories high. My friend used to call it Sally Ann's. One person I know found a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk in beautiful condition inside and out, unbelievable! I can't remember what she paid for it but I think it was under 300.00. This was in the 1980's. Those were the days! I haven't been to a thrift store in years.

I'm addicted to op shopping and so are my parents, sometimes we find thing for each other, most of my furniture in my house isnt new. I also like hard rubbish night, so much good FREE stuff (but you have to be sneaky cause it's kinda illegal).

There is also a tip near my work, and I've found so much cool stuff there over the years, my friend also used to find bikes there and resell them for heaps more on ebay.

Last week I got an awesome little red stool for $8 and the week before I got a polaroid camera for $4 that I later found out sells for about $90 on ebay (yeah, even with the film being discontinued).

One problem I get is op shop find jealousy. My sister found the most amazing magazine rack for $3 and I've tried buying it from her but it's no use. A friend of mine also found In Utero by nirvana on vinyl for 50c, in near mint condition.

I loved op shops most in highschool and tafe, cause I couldnt afford clothes anywhere else. I used to wear argyle sweaters, men's 70s dress pants and old ski jackets, pretty weird stuff, but it fit with the punk/hippie/poorness thing.