Make The Most Out of Your Thrift Store Stop

My daughter, Kathryn, is what I call a "Thrift Store Queen!"  We've always shopped at thrift store, but even when she was little, she was worlds better than me!  In fact, I would go through a rack of clothes, and she would come right along behind me and find oodles of good items at wonderful prices that I had just overlooked.  Now she takes her three children shopping, and they are learning from the best thrift store shopper I know!

While she is great at finding good, stylish clothes for her family, she specializes in decorating her house in real style, right from the Salvation Army!  One look around her house will tell you that she has excellent taste, and it's hard to believe that her things come from such places as Goodwill, the Salvation Army Trift Store, and her favorite (what she refers to as an upscale thrift shop!,) "Vinnie's, or St. Vincent De Paul's.

The other day, I asked Kathy if she would share with me her secret to getting the most out of a stop at a thrift store.  These are the things she said:

1.  Identify what the sale items are.  Are they red tag?  Blue tag?  The kids already love going thrift store shopping, and enjoy finding tags with the right color of the week.
 

2.  Scan the store to see if anything really catches my eye.
 

3.  Go through the store more methodically, if I have time and money.
 

4. Shop often.  Of course, if go regularly, I can watch for new items, or keep my eye out for things which are having their prices lowered.
 

By following this method, I've been able to get some tremendous buys!  Here are some of the big deals I got recently:
 

One time recently, I found a Keurig on sale for 9.99.  It was a display model, so the plug had been cut off of it, and it was missing the cup holder with the sharp point.  I knew my hubby could easily put a plug on it, so I picked it up, went home & ordered a cup insert online that I found on sale, and I had a brand new Keurig for only $ 25!!!
 

Another time I saw Vtek electronic jewelry box learning center in the display case for $8.  That was more than I wanted to pay, so I looked through the toy section to see if I could find anything.  Wouldn't you know, I found the same Vtek jewelry box for only $2, since this one didn't have the box!
 

But I guess the crowning glory of all buys was the changing table I got for only $0.99!!  It was a yellow tag item that I had been eyeing it for a few weeks.  At our particular Goodwill, at the end of the week, they put the color of the week on sale for $0.99, so I simply waited until Saturday, and lo and behold, it had been marked down, down, down all the way to $0.99!  I was so thankful, and we bought it for the church nursery!

In my own research, I also found an interesting web site with some other good ideas.  The Budget Fashionista has some good points to consider, as well.

So there you have it, Ladies and Gentlemen, from The Thrift Store Queen herself!  I have found that by employing these points, even I - Thrift Store Bumbler - can get some good buys.

Have any of you gotten any good buys from thrift stores?  Maybe you have another point which you would like to share.  We would love to hear how you get deals!