The Power of Second-Hand Shopping

 

Many people go through life never stepping foot in a thrift store or second-hand shopping, and quite frankly, that is extremely sad to me. Second-hand shopping is one of the most sustainable ways to shop for so many everyday items that we need. There are thousands and thousands of clothes in landfills due to mass production and overconsumption of micro trends that are short-lived. People buy their clothes from Shein, amazon, H&M, and so many other fast fashion organizations, when they can find a high-quality, lifelong item at a thrift store for a fraction of the cost. 

Although thrifting is something that requires technique and patience, I have learned over the years that every piece of clothing that I like and keep for a long period of time is something that I bought second-hand. I have gotten to the point where every piece of clothing, and most of the shoes, jewelry, purses, etc are all from thrift stores. This has taken a lot of learning, time, and trial and error to find the best ways to second-hand shop. In this blog I will give you my top tips and tricks to second-hand shopping, and then some of my favorite places to do so. 

1. Don’t skim the racks! 

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make when thrift shopping is thinking you will find most good things by just skimming through the racks! There have been so many instances where I found something that I would have never found if I hadn’t looked at every piece of clothing on the rack. I think too often, people get impatient and don’t want to inspect everything, and I am not saying you have to, but there are so many hidden gems on the racks that are worth the extra time and effort to find. You took the time out of your day to go to the thrift store, might as well make it worthwhile! 

2. Check the ends of the racks! 

Never forget to go to all of the racks and check the ends! So many people go through their finds and leave all of the items they don’t want in a single rack end. There are so many good pieces at the ends of racks that you may skip over. Sometimes, I will even go to the ends of the racks first if I see that it is a busy day because typically that means a lot of the clothing is already picked through. 

3. Don’t be discouraged by one bad thrift trip. 

If I stopped thrifting every time I had a bad trip, I would never thrift again. There are good days and there are bad days, that is just a part of the process. You will not always find the exact item you are looking for in one or two trips, but you shouldn’t be discouraged by this. All good things take time, and if you are patient, you will eventually find what you are looking for. 

4. Try to go to the thrift stores earlier in the week. 

There have been so many weeks where I decided to go to the thrift store on a weekend, and was overwhelmed by the crowd, and underwhelmed by the items. This is typically because, by the end of the week, everything is picked through. If you try to go on a Monday or Tuesday, you will likely have better luck because they will probably be restocking the racks. This is the best time to get in there before everyone else and scope out some new finds. 

5. Go by yourself! 

Now this tip may be controversial. I personally think it is so much more enjoyable and productive to go to the thrift store by yourself for a couple of different reasons. The first reason is that you can put your headphones in and just get in the zone. Thrifting isn’t like normal shopping, it takes some focus to find what you are looking for. Also, it tends to feel competitive when thrifting with people who have a similar style to you. That may seem silly, but there have been so many times my friends picked something up that I am dying for, and all I can do is be jealous. Lastly, when you are alone you can take however long you want to without anyone else waiting on you. The worst feeling is when someone is following you down the aisles and you feel extremely rushed. 

In conclusion, thrifting is something that takes a little bit to get used to, but once you start shopping second-hand, you won’t go back.