10 Tips For Becoming A Pro At Thrift Shopping

Hey guys! I know there have been quite a few requests for a thrift shopping tips post, so I finally decided to make one – I hope you guys will enjoy! It’s sooo interesting to me how popular thrift shopping has become over the past couple of years, and I can totally see why, you can often find a lot of cute things for a great price! Today, I thought I’d share 10 of my best tips for successful thrift shopping.

1. Get the scope of the store. Some thrift stores specialize in furniture, some in clothing and some in home accessories, etc. Try to figure out what a particular thrift store specializes in and thanks to modern technology, this is easy! Most thrift stores are on Facebook and have a public page (even if you don’t have a Facebook account you can view it) that is easy to find by a quick google search.

2. If your area is more rural go to a bigger city for thrift shopping. If you live in a more rural area and are looking for brand name clothing or even just a better variety, I’d go to the nearest bigger city and find some thrift shops there. This isn’t to say that you can’t find some great things at smaller local thrift stores, but if you’re looking for something specific, I’d recommend going to a larger city.

3. Check, check, check. Depending on the thrift store, they might take anything or they might be more selective on what they take. I personally prefer thrift stores that are more selective, this way I can easily find what I want without having to go through a bunch of stuff I don’t want. Anyway, even if the thrift store is super selective, sometimes the employees will miss things, so always double check before buying. Look especially in places that people might miss for unintentional rips and holes, stains or missing buttons.

4. Go in with a budget. I know it might seem completely ridiculous to go in to a thrift store with a budget, but guys, everything really does add up. Besides, you don’t want to be in a place where you’re donating/selling back to a thrift store because you bought too much stuff. 😛

5. Make some money at it. Some thrift stores just take whatever people donate and some you can actually sell to and make a little money off of your old clothes. It’s nothing too significant, but it could help contribute to your purchase, and hey, it’s better than nothing, right!?

6. Look for items with retail tags still attached. These are just the best and I see them all the time! Often, people will receive non-returnable clothing gifts that either don’t fit or that they don’t like (I’ve been there, anybody else?) but the clothes are in perfect condition and have never been worn, so it’s a total win for you!

7. Check the racks by the fitting rooms. This is such a great thrift shopping strategy! Before starting to shop, go check the racks by the fitting rooms. They’re usually full of clothes that are worth looking at, since other people tried them on and likely they just didn’t fit whoever tried them on before you.

8. Know the return policy. Most thrift stores (especially small local ones) don’t accept returns and if they do, they’re usually pretty particular about everything. Generally, it’s safer to only buy things that you’re sure you want.

9. Thrift shop online. Pretty much all stores (thrift stores included) are now open, but if yours aren’t, you can always shop online! I’ve never had much success with ThredUp (although I know literally a million other people love it XD) but I have bought off of Poshmark and while I would definitely make sure you know what you’re buying, it seems like a pretty cool system in my opinion.

10. Consider reselling. The entrepreneur in me loves this idea, btw. Maybe you don’t want to thrift shop for yourself, but you either enjoy doing it or are looking to start a little business. The great thing is, you can hit up all the local thrift shops and snag their best deals, then resell them online at Poshmark. (if you become a regular and get to know the employees, you can often find out what days they restock, any deals, etc.) You could also look for home décor items, toys and books, and then resell them on Ebay and Poshmark as well. This would be a particularly good opportunity if you love to stay updated on the latest trends or/and you love shopping.

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I hope you guys will find these ideas helpful and have enjoyed this post! Are you a thrift shopper? Do you have any thrift shopping tips you’d like to share? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! 🙂

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❤ Hannah