# What's your greatest Thrift Store find? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522 "2013-11-22T15:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/81 "2013-11-25T17:23:25Z")
> [@SerafinaPekala](#): > > Anyone find [used underwear](http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/1211/218.html) at thrift stores? I see a lot of old stained nightgowns too, like someone had died in them. WTFFFF??? I feel like I should wear latex gloves touching some of that stuff. No underwear, new or used, other than occasional slips. I don’t recall seeing any creepy stained nightwear, either. Unique occasionally had Ziploc bags full of unwrapped tampons or pads, and I would have had to be really desperate to buy those. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/82 "2013-11-25T18:59:31Z")
> [@SerafinaPekala](#): > > Anyone find [used underwear](http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/1211/218.html) at thrift stores? I see a lot of old stained nightgowns too, like someone had died in them. WTFFFF??? I feel like I should wear latex gloves touching some of that stuff. I hope the workers going through the donated bags of stuff \*\*were \*\*wearing gloves, and eeeeuuuh to the sicko that donated them ☹ Any half-decent charity shop should have binned/ragged stuff in that condition and not put it out for sale. Which also implies that maybe it was clean when it hit the rails, and its been people trying them on who’ve “stained” them ☹ ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/83 "2013-11-25T21:40:11Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > I hope the workers going through the donated bags of stuff \*\*were \*\*wearing gloves, and eeeeuuuh to the sicko that donated them ☹ Bill Clinton was famous (or infamous) for taking a tax deduction for his undies IIRC. God isnt life too short to wear someone else’s 2nd hand underwear? ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/84 "2013-11-25T21:48:20Z")
I see a number of bras in Value Village and Goodwill, along with slips and bathing suits. I bought a couple of secondhand bras back in my “poverty days” because they looked brand new and fit perfectly but I could never buy a secondhand bathing suit. Bikini top, yes - bottom or one-piece - no. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/85 "2013-11-26T16:27:42Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > I hope the workers going through the donated bags of stuff \*\*were \*\*wearing gloves, and eeeeuuuh to the sicko that donated them ☹ > > Any half-decent charity shop should have binned/ragged stuff in that condition and not put it out for sale. Which also implies that maybe it was clean when it hit the rails, and its been people trying them on who’ve “stained” them ☹ My daughter who worked there for a summer said one of their jobs was to go through big bins of clothes and sort them out. (They did wear gloves.) Sort out according to man, woman, and child. I laughed when she said they’d pull out some ‘wtf?’ item, and the employees would all go “EW EW EW - ‘MAN THONG!’ - EW!” 😛 . Grubby used stuff was disposed of, of course. Slips, cheap trashy nighties, pill-y flannel items and the occasional bra and camisole were deemed suitable for sale, but not underpants! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/86 "2013-11-26T18:58:49Z")
If it hadn’t been raining I would have stopped by the Goodwill earlier. Been a long time since I “popped some tags”. So I’ll just watch Mackemore and Ryan Lewis instead. (NSFW lyrics) [MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS - THRIFT SHOP FEAT. WANZ (OFFICIAL VIDEO) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes) The unofficial theme song of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/87 "2013-11-26T20:19:11Z")
A couple of years ago I found 2 suits at Goodwill that were hand made by a local tailor. His prices _start_ at $2000 for a suit. I bought both for $50. I invested another $100 in having a small hole near the shoulder rewoven, and then spent another $80 having them tailored to fit me. So for less than $250 I got at least $4000 worth of suit. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/88 "2013-11-26T23:09:07Z")
I found a rather smart houndstooth blazer a few years back that suits me extremely well (no pun intended). Paid about $5. I have a ton of kitchen gadgets from thrift stores. I have a ice cream maker and a bread maker, both name-brand, that get used frequently, neither of which I paid more than $10 for. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/89 "2013-11-27T01:50:14Z")
Unopened copy of Microsoft Office, $5.00. ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/90 "2013-11-27T02:22:53Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Grubby used stuff was disposed of, of course. Slips, cheap trashy nighties, pill-y flannel items and the occasional bra and camisole were deemed suitable for sale, but not underpants! “Former president Bill Clinton once made public a tax return on which he deducted $2 apiece for donated underwear.” [http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2004-01-16-mym\_x.htm](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2004-01-16-mym_x.htm) Maybe Hillary (or _someone_) was kind enough to launder them first. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/91 "2013-11-27T14:23:57Z")
When I was 17 years old and first got my 2 cats I bought them each a little black saucer at the Salvation Army Thrift Store for their canned food. The saucers were 25 cents each. One cat passed 16 years later and the other passed 17 years later. I think one saucer broke around the time of the second cat’s passing, I can’t remember. But I passed the saucer on to my next cat in 2008 and it lasted until it was accidentally broken around 2010. So who knows how old the saucers were when I bought them and they lasted me about 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Noodles\_Fellicini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Noodles\_Fellicini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noodles_Fellicini)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/92 "2013-11-27T22:15:34Z")
A friend of mine recently saw a new-in-the-box Pfaff computerized sewing machine marked $300. Since that is a sky-high price in Goodwill dollars she looked up and it turned out to be a $4500 machine. Score! Mine – $10.00 bought me an entire cubicle-worth of plastic greenery (trees, wreaths, plants, etc.) to surprise a co-worker when she returned from her honeymoon with her new last name: Forest. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/93 "2013-11-27T23:07:40Z")
Can I contribute my biggest Thrift Store heartbreak? A few years ago, there was a pod-based espresso maker for $25, quite obviously new and unused. I almost bought it simply because it looked nice and I thought it would be a pretty countertop gadget (my actual coffeemaker is an aeropress, not quite as swanky-looking). I passed because I hate the pod concept and figured it was probably a $50 machine I’d be buying at half-price and never use. Looked it up later that night – it was a $300+ unit supposedly capable of completely decent espresso using refillable pods. I hustled back the following morning, but there was a conspicuous empty space on that shelf. ---
**Author:** ![smokey78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@smokey78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smokey78)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/94 "2013-11-29T01:24:44Z")
a gray sweater jacket for 5 dollars. fits perfectly and still wear it since bought it 5yrs ago oh and at 99cents store a few yrs back a framed picture of ultimate X-men Storm with the definition of attitude at the bottom of it. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/95 "2013-11-29T02:59:43Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > I enjoy going into Juicy Couture stores and looking at the $100+ velour jackets and pants, knowing that I have 3 pants and a jacket at home that I bought for $7.99 each. > > My best jean scores are a pair of Paper, Denim & Cloth and a pair of Apple Bottoms. One day I found a pair of Versace jeans at Value Village but **sadly they didn’t fit me**. That’s when you sell them on eBay or Craigslist! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/96 "2013-11-30T00:41:33Z")
I bought a lovely tan merino wool Calvin Klein hoodie, about $6. It just called to me - “Buy Me!!!” - across the room!.. I’ve been wearing a big wooly Squaw Valley ski sweater around the house (as needed according to the temperature), every single day, from October through April, for years - it cost me $5 several years ago. Replaced by a big wooly Woolrich Woman sweater just last week! $6. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/97 "2013-11-30T01:28:45Z")
Not quite a thrift store purchase, but decades ago I bought an old wooden dresser for $8 at a place advertising “antiques and collectables”. No idea what it’s worth, but after stripping off the hideous white paint and refinishing the wooden surface, it turned out to be a good-looking piece and I’m still using it as my dresser. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/98 "2013-11-30T02:19:01Z")
I have done, and still do, a lot of low-budget theatre. I was working for a theatre company that did children’s shows, playing Glinda in The Wizard of Oz for about the 4th or 5th time. Unfortunately, the director/producer rented his costumes from a place in his hometown 120 miles away, and did not realized until too late that he had forgotten the hoop underskirt for the Glinda costume. The costume simply didn’t work without it, and d/p was too busy to go back to the costume shop or go shopping for one. A friend in the wedding business suggested a going to a wedding shop or a thrift store, since lots of wedding dresses had hoop underskirts, and sometimes wedding dresses end up at thrift stores. The first thrift store I went to had various poofy petticoats for sale, and I was going to try to make do with one of those, when I looked up and hanging on the wall I saw it…a hoop underskirt. It fit me perfectly, worked perfectly with the dress, and cost, as I recall, about 10 bucks. That hoop underskirt is still probably in the costume inventory of that theatre company - I know it was used for several other shows while I was still with them. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/99 "2013-11-30T02:23:15Z")
The most valuable thing I’ve paid a pittance for at a thrift store is probably a pair of shoes that ended up being some famous French or Italian shoe person’s shoes. As you can tell, I know nothing of shoes, but the idiosyncratic shape made me wonder if it was something of note. Google revealed it’s brethren for large amounts of money. I have now been able to finally answer the question that’s plagued me for years: are expensive heels more comfortable than cheap heels? Is that how starlets can wear them without crying? The answer, apparently, is no. They just have access to better drugs to dull the pain. The most interesting thing I’ve found is a complete and new in the box set of doorbell chimes - the long brass tubes from an old doorbell system. The longest one is about four feet long, and I think there were 5 or 6 of them, tuned to play well together. I paid $5 for them, and my husband made me a set of ginormous wind chimes out of them. Similar wind chimes are many hundreds of dollars. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522/100 "2013-12-01T00:39:01Z")
A king sized Laura Ashley feather bed for $2 and a cashmere scarf for $1. It wasn’t a thrift store but I once wandered into a library that was closing up shop so they could renovate it. I walked out with a huge box of beautiful hard covered books – 50 in all – for five bucks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-thrift-store-find/674522.md?page=6)