I’d forgotten about this, but I went into a junk shop in the mojave desert and found a piece of chinese export ware in a stack of mexican pottery. It wasn’t exportware to Europe but to Asia, probably the P.I. Cost a dollar. No idea what it’s worth, probably a pittance, I just like to think about how it left China, went to the P.I. and somehow ended up in the Mojave Desert. Probably brought back by some sailor to the Navy base.
One of the neat things about thrift stores here in Utah are the items from all over the world, I assume brought back from the mission field. I’m lucky to find pieces of Russian black lacquerware every other year at the DI.
Probably three quarters of my clothes come from thrift shops. My all-time greatest find was probably the cashmere sweater that I paid $10 for, or the wool blazer that I think was $15.
Tommy Bahama jeans, shirts and jackets. My coworkers think I have money to burn when I show with my practically new $100 jeans that cost me $10 or a $200 jacket that I got for $25. I go to one store in a well heeled area at least once a week to see what people going thru a divorce are disposing of from the love of their life. 
The greatest ever find, not the least expensive but still a good bargain and it fit our needs perfectly. Paid $400 for what might be a Stickley Brothers, tall triple glass door cabinet with adjustable shelves, reeked of smoke and the old white paint was yellowed. Come across it in a thrift/antique/consignment warehouse. Went home to think about it and measure it, then hurried the hell back to buy it. Tried to bargain, they were firm on price but delivered it for $25.
Now this is how to recycle.
I found a nicely framed poster for photographer Richards Watherwax with three photos on it of a very fat cat. In the first pic the cat is sitting on his butt and washing himself. In the second, he realizes he has lost his balance and is about to fall backwards off whatever he is sitting on. His eyes are huge with alarm. The third photo just shows his feet and end of his tail as he topples off the back of his perch. The title is “Fat cat capsizing”.
Goodwill had it in good condition for $1.99. But the day I found it there was a seniors’ discount, so I got it for $1.79.
A diamond whetstone for $2. They retail for around $50.
At the thrift shop I currently work at (I’m basically a phone receptionist at this stage) and my husband did work at years ago, the people sorting donated goods and readying them for the sales floor do wear gloves. There’s some attention given to checking clothing for problems and sorting into “can sell”, “for emergency relief because it probably wouldn’t sell but is still usable by someone who needs it”, and “trash this”. OTOH, I think it behooves the thrift store purchaser to inspect the item prior to purchase.
My husband has just informed me that at least when he worked there, underclothing and swimwear absolutely did NOT go out on the sales floor until they had been laundered (laundry equipment was on-site), and most outerwear went through a steamer unit which was apparently mostly intended to de-wrinkle stuff a bit but probably did help a little on sanitation.
A lot of my own clothing comes from thrift stores. I enjoy the hunt and I actually have better luck than in regular clothing stores (and my checkbook is happier, too). We’ve also found some kitchen appliances (such as the Foreman grill for $4 and the juicer for $5), loads of books and media, craft supplies, some furnishings and miscellaneous household items, and one rather interesting item. That last was a binder of magazines that turned out to have been originally owned by a distant cousin of my husband, and we found that when it passed through his hands while he was sorting goods during his stint working at that store. We now have that binder of magazines in our possession, of course :).
I question whether thrift-store bras still have good enough elastic to get a decent usable life from the purchase.
GE side-by-side Refer with through-the-door water, cube ice, and crushed ice
Tape residue, dirt, and broken handle = $50. Simple Green 50% dilution and the crud is gone.
Oh yes - $4.50 for the warped pool cue which will serve as donor material for the handle.
It has a 1/4" hose; house’s valve wants 3/8" - so don’t know if ice and the rest actually work.
When you’re poor, you learn to ignore cosmetics.
I can (maybe) still find a replacement handle for $100 It is actually 2 pieces - the handle is $66 and the insert is $35 - but they are out of production, so a chunk of pool cue works just fine
Also got an old (cheapo brand) receiver for $12 - it needed one of those double female conductor plug power cords - $2.50, just down the wall with the rest of the “Misc. Wires”.
If you live in an area where estates are sold at auction houses, get familiar - I used a $7.50 Hoover vacuum for 10 years.
Great places for furniture, and there is almost always somebody with a truck looking to pick up a few bucks.
My friend, who managed a thrift store for many years, laughed at this. She said some of the bras that came through were funny. They were obviously bought by hopeful and imaginative men and did not work out as planned. Others were sad, such as nursing bras with the tags still on.
Alcoholics Anonymous 1st Edition, 3rd printing.
Bought it for 25 cents. Was offered over $500 for it the same day, but I decided to keep it.
Yesterday I went to Goodwill on my lunch hour and found a Bosch Universal mixer for $8. With mixing bowl and dough hooks. This mixer will knead up to 8 loaves of bread in one go. I already have a newer model Universal (they sell for about $450 new) but this one probably could go another 20 years. I was going to put it on ebay (I could probably get about $130 for it), but one of my sisters mentioned she’d like it. So it’s a Christmas gift for someone who could use it.
StG
Yesterday I wandered into the consignment store near my work and found a pair of Coach high-top shoes that totally fit me for $30. And I had $43 in my account there from taking in my old stuff, so I pretty much got them for free. Checked online and it looks like the shoes retailed for $129-$149.
Gamecube Luigi’s Mansion for $4, and I also paid $4 for a rare, illustrated edition of the Finnish Kalevala that’s worth hundreds of dollars. Unfortunately, I sold it quickly for a hundred when I was in need of cash.
The Kalevala book was #1 of a limited edition also.
Quite a few pairs of imported suede/leather pumps and boots. Some lady around here has feet the same size as mine, and a terrible shoe addiction. None of them look to have been worn more than once or twice – the soles are nearly pristine. May or may not be the same lady who bequeathed that same Goodwill store a lot of Ann Taylor sweaters.
The prize would have to go to the dress I picked up at a yard sale, though. Five bucks for a full-skirted black velvet party dress would be great no matter where it came from, but a more detailed inspection when I got it home showed several features (pinked seam allowances, hand-stitched hem, metal zipper in the side seam) that date it to no later than the late 1950s. So now I have a knock-off New Look party dress that’s at least twice my age.
That was a stellar find!
Today I went to the Goodwill store hoping to find some kind of CD/DVD storage unit. The thrift store gods were surely with me–I got a practically brand-new 528-CD capacity spinning media tower for $11.