Thrifting Hacks

Thrifting is a relatively known thing that a lot of people are doing now these days instead of going to department stores like Forever21, H&M, and places like that. The key to thrifting is making sure that the items are in good shape, reasonably priced, and a dependable company. Thrift stores can either be online shops or physical shops! Thrifting is a way to give back to local small businesses and make a difference.

Yahoo reported from Go Bank Rates, “An estimated 272 million Americans now buy and/or sell secondhand.” This means that the majority of people are making the switch from buying from big companies to buying from local businesses and secondhand shops. Since there are 332 million people in the world, thrifting will be the top way people buy and sell within the next couple of years.

The most common clothing thrift shops, both online and in person, are Goodwill, Plato’s Closet, Thredup, Depop, and many more. If you haven’t made the switch yet or are just looking at ways to help you thrift, you came to the right place.

The first tip/hack to help you thrift is to find out the store’s clothing specialty beforehand. There is a wide range of thrift shops that mostly specialize in clothing. So if you were to sell or buy something from there, you need to double-check before heading out. Masterclass states, “You can make the thrift shopping experience much easier if you know what the store carries.”

Some stops specialize in vintage clothing, while others might specialize in business casual clothing. You can find this information by either calling and asking them or going on their website or in the store and browsing what clothes they are selling. This will make a difference if they accept the clothes you are trying to give them or have the clothes you are looking for.

The next hack is dressing appropriately. Masterclass states, “Many thrift stores don’t have fitting rooms, so you might need to wear something you can easily slip secondhand clothing over to try on.” Only a select amount of thrift shops have dressing rooms to try things on, so you need to make sure you come prepared. This means that you are ready to either try things on other your clothes or just buy from what you see. This can be tricky because many stores don’t have the option to return items you don’t need.

The next and last tip for thrifting is to learn how to discern quality. With thrifting, they may have some things at a lower price than others, but when you start to buy more things, the prices will start to add up. Another thing is to know you aren’t being cheated out of your money. Make sure you know what is good quality and what’s not. Masterclass states, “Consignment stores can offer designer brands, vintage items, or other high-end quality pieces with low price tags that you can find if you know what to look for.”

According to Homemade Ginger, a final tip states, "If you arrive at the store right when it opens, you will avoid crowds and have first pick to the merchandise that has just been put out.”