Is this on my list?
Why so I need this? Be creative here. Keep in mind upcoming events. Maybe you are hosting a gathering & five single bud vases for .25 cents will help you decorate.
Can it be repurposed if I get home & realize I do not need it? Recently, I found this adorable casserole dish for two dollars. The price was great & I knew it would look good in my kitchen, but when I got home I realized I did not need anymore kitchenware, so I planted a succulent in it & ta-da (see snap here).
MAKE A COUNTER OFFER. If I am buying more than two items, I will generally make the seller an offer less than the marked prices. This is especially useful when garage sale or estate sale shopping. People just want to get rid of their stuff, so they are usually take what they can get (within reason, of course). Five or ten extra dollars in my pocket is an five or ten extra dollars in my pocket for more thrifting. The worst that can happen is they refuse your offer - no biggie.
I should highlight that counter offers are often not accepted at thrift stores that consign items (aka Antique Malls). This is because the store & cosigner have a preexisting contract with an agreed upon price the item will be sold for - the item is not the stores to mark down further. Although, if it is a large item (i.e., furniture or jewellery), sometimes the store will call the consigner to present your offer.
FILL YOUR CAR WITH PACKING GOODS. When I hit up a town wide garage sale or plan a day of antiquing, my car always has reusable bags, an empty box or two, & grocery bags for wrapping fragile purchases. Nothing is worse than buying a beautiful vintage treasure that gets smashed on the drive home.
ONLINE SEARCHES. You are probably thinking: Yah, ok great & all, but where do I find these places to thrift? There are spots all over the city, but the best places are estate sales found on Kijiji or Craigslist, town wide garage sales (connect with someone from a smalltown's website to inquiry about those dates), & random garage sales in older communities (hello, crystal glass jackpot!).
& that's how its done, folks! What's your favourite thrifting find? Mine's all 200+ of my records + a midcentury brass record stand (that hold a total cost of under 75.00 for the whole lot!). In case you are wondering, these snaps were shot at the Old Strathcona Antique Mall, so a special shout out to them for letting me use their darling shoppe & my girl, Kira, for snapping these photos.