Secondhand Store Shopping Tips from Consumer Reports

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Secondhand Store Shopping Tips from Consumer Reports

Submitted by: Tip Hero 04/17/2009 9:21 AM

Looking to update your wardrobe but finding it tough to do while on a tight budget? Consumer Reports suggests that you consider secondhand stores:

The merchandise is in good condition, and you can't beat the prices on one-of-a-kind items that can help you freshen up your wardrobe.

Consumer Reports goes on to point out the three types of secondhand shops:

- Vintage shops: They "generally sell top-quality 'pre-worn' clothing, as well as some items that have never been worn."

- Consignment/Resale stores: "People can sell clothing for cash...Prices, which tend to drop every 30 days the items stay on the racks, are 50 to 90 percent off retail."

- Thrift shops: They accept donations. "The biggest bargains are there, but so too are the items with holes and stains."

Consumer Reports offers up four tips for finding the best secondhand stores, which include going to the "fancy" zip codes to look for clothes, surfing the web (they list a few sites worth checking out), browsing eBay (though you need to be careful, as always, when buying from others on eBay), and shopping at thrift stores connected to a favorite charity.

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The article also provides five "smart shopping tips" (e.g., when you're in Florida, shop for winter clothes), as well as tailoring tips, advice on when to try to fix something and when to let it go, and a few examples of items they found when shopping at secondhand stores.

If you're into this sort of thing, we highly recommend reading the full article (it's actually a two-page PDF document). The link is below.

And please, tell us about your tips for shopping at secondhand stores. We know you have a few up your sleeve, so don't be shy! Help us all save money!

Recessionista Shopping (Consumer Reports)

Photo credit: empracht

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Comments:

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I LOVE the goodwill in my neighborhood. I have a low end starter home which is surrounded by half million dollar neighborhoods. It is not uncommon to go into goodwill and come out with at least one item that is brand new, tags still on it.

Insider's tip for Goodwill: each item is tagged with a plastic colored strip- red, blue, yellow, green. Each week, one color is half price. Goodwill does not take out of season clothes off the floor, so I shop for next season, once a week, looking only for items tagged in that week's half off color. As if scoring a Lord and Taylor cashmere sweater for $4.56 is not sweet enough, try paying $2.30 for it!

Posted by Eleanor on April 17, 2009 3:25 PM

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I NEVER thought I'd buy shoes at Goodwill, but I have actually found two brand new pairs in my size which have clearly never been worn. I have a narrow foot, so I have learned that sometimes a woman buys a shoe and then realizes that it is just too uncomfortable for her to wear- but not for me!

Posted by Eleanor on April 17, 2009 3:27 PM

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I buy a lot of my clothes on eBay, and have a personal policy not to pay more than $10 per item. (I am not bidding on Chanel, just every day brands.)

I watch items I am interested in that are more a few dollars more than $10 including shipping. In the last 24 hours, if no one has bid (or purchased from the store) I email the seller and offer a flat $10, shipping included.

Most are happy to have a sale vs no sale; in fact, I have yet to have anyone turn down my offer.

Posted by Eleanor on April 17, 2009 3:31 PM

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We have a great Goodwill in my town of Guntersville, AL. Most items are $3.99/ea. All items are coded with a colored tag (green, red, blue, yellow, white). Each day they have one color for half price ($2.00).

They have many top of the line brands mixed in with discount store brands; it's easy to tell that many items have probably never been worn or not worn more once or twice. I found an Eddie Bauer pullover sweater for my husband back in the winter that looks absolutely new for half price ($2.00).

I had never bought anything but new clothing until a year or so ago. Now, I'm a firm believer in shopping all avenues.

Posted by Ann on April 25, 2009 7:46 PM

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I too believe in thrift stores...I've made some money at consignment which I then turn around and buy more clothes.

In particular, when she would have the $1/bag sale...I could score about 200 items for $10! Then turn around and sell those items in other places.

Salvation Army is a good place too. Every Wed. its 1/2 of almost everything in the store. I just bought a bunch of tank tops for me and jeans for my son...about 13 items for $20...and some were not on sale.

Posted by Tracy on April 27, 2009 3:42 PM

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If you would like to shop for yourself, it is very advisable to go on shopping during holidays especially during Christmas season because boutiques in the malls are giving out huge discounts on their items. There are also lots of choices to choose from. In this sense, you could save up to 50% net worth of the items you wish to have.

Posted by marc on May 19, 2009 7:41 PM

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Now that everyone is hitting thrift stores, it's much harder to find good bargains, but it can still be done. Though I have a good career, as a fun money making hobby, I used to dig at the `As Is' Goodwill stores, where everything is dumped into bins and sold by the pound, and you have to dig through piles of items.

I found absolutely amazing treasures there including antique rugs, lamps, McCoy cookie jars (yes, even in the bins), valuable dishes & silver, etc. I kept some for my home and some I sold on Ebay for very respectable profit. I haven't shopped retail in years, I still hit thrift stores for most of my clothing, shoes, and even kitchen & household items. But I moved to a tiny house, so I rarely shop at all anymore for myself.

You have to be patient and take what you can find as opposed to hunting for specific items when shopping for yourself. Also, check all items thoroughly for stains, missing buttons, holes, split seams, snags, etc. Give everything a good TWICE over. If something is flawed but can be repaired or if you're buying a LOT of items, don't hesitate to ask for a discount. Never hurts to ask. Get friendly with the folks at the store; at my local Salvation Army, I'm on first name terms with some of the help, and if I hit the register while they're at it, I've received a nice discount many times.

Be willing to make minor repairs if possible, and give leather goods a nice cleaning up with mink oil and shoe polish to make them look new. I've purchased old 70s-80s leather purses & boots, cleaned & polished them up while watching a fave tv show, and sold them on Ebay for 10-20 times what I paid for them.

It can be a nice little side business that also gives you tax write offs for having a home based business - two birds with one stone! Your mileage, your receipts, your Ebay/Paypal fees, some of your utilities & internet, etc. - you get tax breaks on all of it for having a home based business just by selling on the side on Ebay or another similar website. It wouldn't be easy to do as your only work, but as a side hobby, it can be profitable and done at your convenience.

Posted by Deb on May 27, 2009 11:13 PM

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I recently discovered a chain of consignment stores nationwide. It is Plato's Closet. It is for sizes 0 to 16 and it caters to Juniors clothing mostly. You can take your brand name clothing in and get cash upfront and if you buy the savings are outstanding. Is it my teenagers favorite place to get clothes because she can get 4 times the clothes for the same price that we would spend at the mall. Everything is inspected and is lightly used.

Posted by anonymous on July 16, 2009 4:16 AM

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