Buying secondhand goods can do a lot of good! If you’ve been thinking about checking out thrifting, but need a little more encouragement, this is my “top ten list” of great reasons to get involved in the reuse economy. Find out which of the benefits of thrifting appeal to you.
Reason #10: No Pushy Salespeople
The people who work at thrift stores are often volunteers, and even the employees are hourly. Since no one is working on commission, there are never pushy salespeople. My experience is that the folks working in a thrift shop tend to be friendly and helpful, but won’t try to “guilt you” into buying anything. They might greet you and ask if you are looking for anything in particular if you are in a smaller, local shop, but thrift shops are the ultimate no-pressure shopping experience.
Reason #9: Cheap Children’s Clothes
Kids seem like they grow out of their clothes within months, sometimes. Why pay a bunch of money for new clothes, when so many gently used children’s clothes have already been donated by the parents of the original kids who grew out of them?
Kid’s clothes tend to be super cheap because thrift stores receive so many of them and the supply is constant. Seeing a huge selection like this one is not unusual.
Pro Tip: Do you have a child in dance class or perhaps a popular sport like soccer? Thrift shops can be a great place to pick up inexpensive tap shoes or shin pads sized to fit your small athletes. If you spot something they will grow into soon, buy it now on the cheap!
Reason #8: Pre-Shrunk and Colorfast Clothes
Clothing from a thrift shop tends to have already been washed and dried a few times. If it was going to shrink or fade, it has already done so. When you see it on the rack, you have a good idea what it is going to look like after you wash it (and do wash it – people seem to think that thrift shops have time to clean things before they put them on the floor, but that is rarely the case).
#8 Bonus: Unique Style
You’ll also find a much wider array of styles than you will in a retail or off-retail store. Yes – some of it will be ugly or have a stain, but often you will find some real scores. Every single clothing item that I wear that receives repeat complements is something I got at a thrift store.
Thrift stores give you the resources to express your unique style because you’ll be able to afford things that you would never be able to justify buying brand new. You can accessorize with the best of them when jewelry, scarves, hats and more are only a few dollars each.
Most stores also have an amazing array of handbags and shoes to complete your “look”.
Reason #7: Travel Assistance
A number of times I have flown somewhere on a trip and have had time to go shopping (thrift or not). Sometimes I’ve found a really wonderful memento of my trip, but these things will not fit in my suitcase. Consider going to a thrift store to pick up an extra travel roller bag or duffle bag for your new purchases. If your item is breakable, put your dirty clothes in the thrift bag and check it, then carry the breakable item on the plane. I have bought thrift store towels to wrap breakables before taking them on the plane.
When you get home, you can re-donate the extra travel bag or towels. Old towels also can be used to update your cleaning rag supply.
Reason #6: One Time Use Situations
Need an Ugly Christmas sweater for a holiday party? Perhaps there will also be a ‘White Elephant’ gift exchange? Going to a party where Mardi Gras plastic beads are a must? Need a decent looking dark suit coat or dress for a funeral? Thrift shops are great for these kind of life situations! When you are done with the event, consider re-donating them to a shop so they can get used again.
Pro Tip: If you are the kind of person who likes dressing up for Halloween or you are into CosPlay, it’s good to keep an eye open all year around for items that could be the perfect costume item.
Reason #5: Thrifting is Creative!
Get your up-cycle juices flowing by seeing what is available and finding a purpose for it that is different than what it was originally intended for. I have bought some very cool “rusty iron” stuff that has been repurposed into my garden, for example. I’ve turned upholstered cushion covers + old pillows into cute dog beds.
My laundry basket originally was a big rattan garden decorative pot – I sewed a cloth liner to fit the interior and turned it into my clothes hamper.
Thrifting can make creative DIY projects a lot more affordable. See this home organization project where I sourced all of the white storage racks from thrift stores: DIY Storage Solutions – Organize Home Improvement Supplies.
Reason #4: Funding Worthwhile Organizations
Many thrift shops exist to fund a non-profit organization that is doing some type of “good work”. The shop I volunteer at funds rehabilitation of injured and orphaned wildlife, for example. Some of the big national non-profit thrift stores are funding home building, teaching people how to be good employees, or supporting victims of domestic abuse, to name a very few good causes. The money from your purchases assists their missions.
Pro Tip: Consider also donating your unwanted items to the same organizations where you shop. Some of them have coupons that they give to donors that can be used for a discount in the thrift shop.
For more examples of the types of organizations that fund their missions via maintaining thrift stores, be sure to see my series of ‘Thrift Store Junkie’ articles, such as Thrift Shop Junkie: Oakland & Berkeley California.
Reason #3: Help the Environment
Why be responsible for consuming new items when you can re-purposing existing ones instead? Protect earth resources by buying secondhand. Buying stuff from thrift does literally keep things out of the landfill and reduces the demand for new products.
A circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible.
Quote from Wikipedia, regarding Circular Economy
The benefits of thrifting align perfectly with the notion of participating in the Circular Economy.
Reason #2: Save Money
Thrift store pricing can be all over the map. My experience over the years is that many shops have such a steady stream of donations that they tend to set prices to “move things through”. There isn’t a lot of time to research each thing and set the price accordingly. In my shop, we will look up what something is selling for online only if it is very unusual, is trendy vintage or if it is a designer label clothing item or handbag. Otherwise, we just have a sheet of price guidelines that hasn’t changed for the 8 years I’ve been helping out. I’ve also observed that thrift pricing tends to lag inflation as I shop at stores.
Many shops have a mechanism to offer additional discounts on items that have been around for a while. Often, the color of the price tag or the color of the plastic barb used to attach the price tag will be the method the store uses to determine age and discount level.
In general, I expect that I will pay anywhere from 75% to 90% off retail for most purchases. In unusual situations, I have achieved even better than that on specialty items like rugs.
Reason #1: Thrifting is Fun!
Thrift store shopping is just like Treasure hunting for me. Finding great stuff for my home, for gifts, for crafting and up-cycling is great entertainment. Other than some gas money and time, it costs nothing to try, and the benefits of thrifting probably go well beyond my list!
Sometimes among the benefits of thrifting is the amusement you get from all the crazy stuff that you see in a shop – people buy some interesting & odd stuff, then eventually some of those collections get donated. Once my shop (that benefits a wildlife organization) got a donation of almost 200 bird houses.
The collection spanned the utilitarian to the whimsical to the abstract. This wren house was one of the cute bird houses that came home to my garden. You just never know what you are going to find!
Summing Up the Benefits of Thrifting
Any one of these benefits of thrifting is enough for me to encourage my friends to try out the Thrift Store assisted circular economy. Taken together, they have made thrifting an enjoyable way of life. Why not try it for yourself?
