Sustainability
11 Expert Tips for Thrift Shopping (Secondhand Treasures Await!)
How one writer extends the “nothing new” mindset to almost every home purchase.
A Full Plate is a column about family life and the home by contributing writer Laura Fenton, who explores the intersection of thoughtful living and home design through a mother’s eyes.
When I was pregnant with my son, a college friend told me, “I have one piece of advice for you: Don’t buy anything new.” He was a dad of two by then and knew how quickly kids grow out of things, and how short a time we’d actually use our baby gear. I was already a flea market shopper, but I took his advice to heart as we added to our home to accommodate a child: buying a vintage rocker and dresser to furnish our son’s nursery and saying yes to all the hand-me-downs. Six years later, this “nothing new” mindset extends to almost every purchase I make.
In fact, if you take a look around my home, you’ll discover that almost every piece of furniture I own (with the exception of my 10-year old couch), all my dishes, and many of my clothes are things that I have purchased secondhand or inherited from a family member! I love the thrill of the hunt, but I’m also happy to know that secondhand finds keep my environmental impact low. I’m not creating demand for new things to be produced, keeping previously-owned items out of the landfill, and reducing the transportation miles for my purchases. Shopping secondhand has saved us money, too. Here are my top tips for secondhand shopping success:
Become a regular
Visit your local thrift or secondhand store often. If you make short frequent trips to see what’s new, you’ll be more likely to stumble upon a treasure. Plus, you’ll get to know the staff who may point you to cool items, or even call you if what you’re looking for comes in.
Set up eBay alerts
If you have something specific you’re hunting for, set up an alert for it on eBay—and wait. I had my eye on a vintage Rand McNally star chart and after four years one turned up! eBay’s alerts have also helped me score mid-century furniture, my out-of-production china pattern, and my favorite brand of kid clothing at low prices.
Thrift in the fancy zip codes
Think about it: You’re likely to find the best cast-offs in the areas where people can afford the finer things. I have always had amazing luck with the thrift shops on the Upper East Side of New York City and, in the days of travel, in resort towns like Palm Springs, Nantucket, and the Hamptons. Plus, those well-to-do neighborhoods are also often the places where older residents are downsizing.
Look for the magic words ‘estate sale’
If you are scouring yard sale listings in a local paper, make a beeline for the ones labeled an ‘estate sale.’ This means that the entire house’s contents are being sold, so there will be lots to choose from, and the sellers are often happy to make deals in order to empty out the home.
I’ve had particularly good luck with kitchenware at these, including a vintage Le Creuset lasagna pan, a salad bowl that’s big enough to serve 20, and a Tiffany(!) vase—all for $5 a piece. I’m also the proud owner of a 1980s coffee maker and toaster oven.
Sniff out the sleepers
Another tip for yard sales: Look for the most understated yard sale descriptions, the ones with just a time and an address. These are often the ones that other shoppers will skip. And again, location counts: zero in on addresses in the parts of town or a neighborhood you have a hunch will have your preferred style.
Get in the value mindset
If you find yourself thinking that a secondhand find is “expensive,” ask yourself compared to what. Buying previously owned furniture isn’t always cheap, but it’s almost always great value. You can find hardwood dressers with dovetail joints that will last for another hundred years for approximately the same price as a new particle board dresser. Likewise, the dozen blue and white dishes marked at $40 may feel pricey, but consider that you’d be paying upwards of $10 a plate in most mid-range retails stores.
But be wary of a project
My husband and I actually had to make a “no more projects” rule after becoming parents because, more often than not, we couldn't get around to it. So think carefully before bringing home an item that needs considerable repair or alteration.
Don’t fear patina
It is rare to score a piece in mint condition, but those signs of its previous life are a good thing. The natural imperfections in real hardwood and the nicks and grooves of time give your texture and interest. Plus, you’ll be less fussed when a piece inevitably gets a nick or a scratch in the course of your daily life.
Ask questions
When you’re shopping at antiques stores or flea markets, engage the vendors. I wish I’d done this more when I was younger. They are likely passionate about what they are selling, so you may learn something about the piece’s history, how to care for it, or how to find more of what you’ve newly discovered. I have a Victorian quilt that the seller noted was made mostly from pieces of men’s silk ties, a detail which would have eluded my eye.
Keep safety in mind
There are some items you should not buy used like car seats and cribs. Safety standards for these items have changed and improved over time, so you want to make sure you’re not buying something potentially dangerous. (A gently used gift from a friend who bought it new is fine though!)
Bring the kids
We take our son with us when we visit flea markets and yard sales. To keep him engaged, we let him pick out a toy or a book. We’ve found some wonderful things, including a handmade wooden race car track, and I am hoping that this will set him up to see the value in secondhand things.
What is your best tip for scoring secondhand treasures? Tell us in the comments below.
Written by: Laura Fenton
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15 Comments
Before I begin my contribution, my better half and I have rather eclectic, perhaps even eccentric tastes, and love to personalize our space with antiques, odd-ball, unique items.
My wife and I frequently visit thrift shops, yard sales and so on. We'll even venture into antique shops and those places called antique malls (which, admittedly, can tend to be more expensive in many cases, but are still enjoyable, and sometimes you actually do manage to walk away with that one item).
There certainly is nothing wrong with "previously-loved" furniture, decor and whatever else you seek. The options can be endless, and can also include such things as additions to your collectibles (for example: I am a photographer, and collect antique cameras and photography equipment), tools, and just about anything you can imagine.
An antique shop in Texas was where we found her engagement ring, for example... a beautiful antique gold ring of simple design bearing a stone of Amethyst (my birthstone). She had zero interest in the all-too-common engagement ring of gold and diamond(s)... and, it was actually a steal!
Here in SW Florida, at one of our favourite thrifts, we found an antique (yes, we can spot a real antique vs a retro-remake) wall mirror. Originally priced at 50.00 it was a bargain, but with the weekly coloured tag special in which it qualified, we walked away with it for 21.00!
We recently found a set of three JH Henckels (extremely high-end, and expensive) professional kitchen knives which barely showed signs of use. We left the establishment with them for 9.00 and change.
We have been slowly searching for living room furniture with which to replace what we currently have, and can be very picky about such things as design, colour, etc. Our most recent big purchase (again at one of our favourite thrifts), and already knowing what will fit size-wise in our space, I sat in my new recliner/lift chair and it was made for me! For the low price of 249.00, marked down to 229.00, it came home with us. Having looked it up on her cell phone, brand new, the price would have much, much higher. [Do not be afraid to employ that little computer that most of us carry around with us everywhere we go.) And, this chair literally showed no sign of having ever been used being in original showroom condition.
A while back, we found a pair of very nice wall shelves, on the floor, kind of hidden away behind other items. I eyeballed them a few times as we ventured through the shop, and finally decided that, at 15.00 for the pair, they were ours.
Yes, thrifts, garage and yard sales, estate sales, flea markets and so on can be fantastic sources for those items that you want or need, often at bargain prices.
+ A few tips?
- (In the case of furniture): Know your tastes, know the size and what will work within your space before you hunt and purchase, as well as the doorways to get it inside your home once it's there;
- Also, know if it will fit in your vehicle to be able to get it home. If not, you may have to either go home without it, or may have to employ a rental truck to get it home;
- Be able to distinguish between quality and "well-made junk" disguised as quality;
- Look up a particular item of interest on your smart phone, especially if you can find on the item a manufacturer's name, a brand and/or model for pricing (both in current average cost, and in original cost as new) and authenticity (if you're interested in a potentially classic or antique item, or in one that is what appears to be a higher-end item);
- One of the mantras that we generally employ is: If something "jumps out" at us, it is given that extra amount of consideration for purchase;
- Another tenet is: If we see something in a shop that really peaks our interest, but either we're unsure, or if it is priced a bit higher that we can swing at the moment, we'll return to that shop perhaps another time or two (or more)... if it's still there, and still really calls our name, we see it as "it was meant to be"... and, can sometimes be had at an even better bargain price than when we originally saw it because it hasn't sold. If it's gone when we return at a later date, then "it wasn't meant to be";
- Avoid "knee-jerk" purchases, as they can cost you in the long run, especially with those larger, or higher-priced items.
Laura, thank you for this thoughtfully written piece with super practical advice on secondhand shopping! I've been a longtime buyer of secondhand furniture (almost my entire house is Craigslist-ed); I love that it makes my home more "lived-in" and unique. (also the quality is so much better than what you find online, plus I HATE putting furniture together) The thrill of the hunt is also undeniable, it makes my whole week scoring a great find! (my latest bargain was finding a $1300 retail bar cabinet for $150!!!)
I am also a new parent and I so appreciate the "buy nothing new" mindset - I've been super fortunate to inherit a motherload of hand-me-downs from family members and it makes me feel better to not give in to the baby industry (and keep it environmentally friendly, as you wrote).
Big diff for Americans, and not poor just to act poor.
However I don't have children anymore so I will buy anything I can wash. I don't like used upholstered pieces. But that is just me. I live in a nice neighborhood and the thrift stores and garage sales are overpriced. Less nice areas of the city have better prices. I've been going to garage sales my whole life. My family is garage sale crazy. Growing up we were poor so they were essential. I moved to Arizona 2 years ago and I can't get over the fact that sales start at 5 am and are over at 11 am. I know by noon it's a 100° but I am just not a morning person.🙄
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