How To: Shop at Thrift Stores

Have you ever asked someone where they got that cute shirt only to hear the answer, "at the thrift store, it was only two dollars!" Determined to find something just as good, you also head to the thrift store, walk through racks of junk for fifteen minutes, and walk away empty handed.  "How does she do it?" you wonder.

While finding that $100 designer purse for $5 at Goodwill may be a stroke of good luck, most often successful thrifting is about knowing some tricks and putting in a little extra time and work. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Go to various stores and go often. Just as you shop at various retailers for all your other clothes, try to shop at multiple thrift stores. They are not all the same; prices, sales, and quality and quantity of items will vary greatly between stores. Also, it helps to go frequently because items are constantly changing. I probably stop at at least one thrift store at least every two weeks (often it's more than that).
2. Go with something in mind. Most of the time, successful thrifting requires a lot of digging through a lot of junk, and it's not always fun. I have found that when I don't really have anything in mind that I'm looking for, I'm less willing to dig, and therefore usually less likely to find anything. It always helps to at least have a few ideas in mind--such as a black pencil skirt or red cardigan--of what you hope to find before you go. That doesn't mean you only go to the skirt section and then nothing else, but if you start out by looking for something in particular it sort of breaks you in to the somewhat tedious, but necessary, process of of picking through every item on every rack until you find the treasures.
3. Take your time. I can easily spend over an hour at a thrift store (if I don't have the baby in tow) because it takes time to go through all the clothes. If you only have ten minutes to run in and look around chances are you aren't going to find anything. Thrifting will be more successful if you take your time and look through as many items as possible.
4. Ignore tags. Thrift store items are constantly being mis-tagged and misplaced, so don't focus too much on the tags or section labels. I usually wear a small or medium but I still sort through large and x-large sections to see if I find anything I like. Some items that say x-large may have shrunk and now fit a size medium, or it may be something that can be altered to fit. 
5. Try it on. Absolutely never buy anything from a thrift store without trying it on first. Remember rule number 4: just because the tag says it's your size doesn't mean it will fit. Many items are donated to the thrift store because they have shrunk or stretched and no longer fit the way the tag says they should. Most thrift stores do not accept returns (although some will allow you to exchange your item for something similar within a few days of purchase), and even though it may only be three dollars, that's still three dollars that you wasted if you get home and find that it doesn't fit after all.  
6. Double check. If you find an item you want to buy, make sure you give it an extra good look over checking for any tears in the fabric or seams, loose buttons, or stains. 

Even following all these rules, there will still be times when you don't find anything worth buying at the thrift store. But, your chances of finding some great bargains will definitely increase if you give it the time and work. Happy thrifting!