# Thrift Shops



## Kenjuro4449 (Oct 14, 2013)

What's up everyone.

So yesterday I went Thrift store shopping and saw a bunch of overpriced trains.
The only "good" deal I saw was a 1982 Life-Like HO Scale Campbell soup train. NEW!
$49.00

Has anyone here ever found anything good at a thrift store?


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## bill937ca (Jul 18, 2014)

Well I never go to thrift stores. So I won't find anything.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

God has blessed me such that I go to thrift stores to drop off items, not to pick them up. I've browsed through a couple of them, but didn't find anything.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I don't know what a thrift shop is? :dunno:
Maybe we don't have any in Jersey?

I looked it up, we have one in my town. I never knew that. 

Sort of like a garage sale indoors huh?
All kinds of JUNK. 

Different then a pawn shop, right?


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Here is a review of the one in my town, I will have to ask the old (young) lady if she ever went there. Me I go the Home Depot and Lowes that is about it. 

I will have to check it out.

The review,
Thrift heaven! Yes this is one of the largest used **** stores I've ever been to and if that's your thing you'll love it.

Scrounging for a deal whether it be a flea market, yard sale, rummage or army/navy or in this a case a thrift store is always fun time for me and my fam. Someone else's junk is another's treasure holds true. Whether it be vintage or the difficult to find to the very old, I'm always up to the task to see what bargain can be found.

Organized row after row of tagged and hung clothes, shorts,shirts, coats & hats from all seasons and styles for women, men & kids in one side of this huge open floor. Shoes of all sorts for all. On the other side the domestic wear. Furniture of every type of course, appliances, tons of coffee makers, TV's, toys, books upon books, vinyls, and odds & ends thrown in along with the kitchen sink.

There's plenty of clerks to offer advice or point you in the right direction. Whether I pull the trigger on a bargain or not is beside the point. Always cool just checking out all the stuff, finding an item you want or need is a bonus. A 4 rating due to the lack of true vintage ware. Yep if you didn't guess I dig thrifts and this particular store is one of the bigges which typically translates into a whole lot of junk, in a great way.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Ahh, like Goodwill or Salvation Army, I did go to a Salvation Army store back in the 70's. 

We must have some Goodwill's around I will ask "her" when she gets home.


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

Sometimes there are suitable furniture for the garage or basement, i.e. storage shelves, book cases, desks or picture frames.


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Only wandered through thrift stores a few times and I never had much luck at Sal's. Former client had a pawn shop, GAD! People think junk is worth big bucks!


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## 400E Blue Comet (Jul 11, 2014)

I've found good things in Thrift Stores but I can't quite recall finding a model train in one. But I've found them in antique malls of course.


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## mustangcobra94 (Apr 28, 2014)

we have a salvation army store here no trains in it. the best deals i get are right from the seller at a garage sale or swap meet. especially an automotive swap meet. they don't know what the stuff is worth and just want to get rid of it.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

I go to alot of thrift shops, mostly for toys for my daughter. I have only seen one lionel train, which I bought for under 3$. Newer , dicast with smoke and rolling stock. At flee markets I see lots of stuff. Some cheap, some not so much.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

My wife frequently shops the local Sal Army store for clothing for my kids. Most of it is new, on the hangar stuff. Not hard up for cash, just wise with the cash I've got.

Can't beat $2 shirts/pants for kids that wear them out faster than you can buy them. The area I live in is a nice one and TONS of really good stuff gets donated. Funds from the purchases go back into the Salvation Army so it's all good.

I've even picked up work clothes there for pennies on the dollar. It's a great resource for those short of funds or for those who just like to spend wisely.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

We have a chain called "Value Village", which is a thrift/second hand item store. Clothes, furniture knick-knacks, toys, etc.

But alas, you still get what you pay for.....most of the stuff in the toy section is "well loved".....


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## oldsarge218 (May 23, 2011)

I think that a majority of "thrift store" operators/owners all have seen too many episodes of "Pickers" for my own good! Prior to pricing anything, their first stop is Ebay, in an attempt to get an idea of current value. My local store owner, when pricing his items, will add 1/2 of the shipping costs listed on ebay to his items. Alas, no "treasures" to be found! The very best deals that I have found lately, are rummage and estate sales, but even then, you must not get caught up in bidding wars.
God Bless
Bob


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## pennalco (Jun 15, 2014)

I enjoy what we call Opportunity Shops here in Australia, best bargain I picked up was a nice Desktop Shortwave Reiever for $20, I never see any train stuff but have bought some decent Railroad Books for a couple of bucks.

I guess if you know what you are looking for there is money to be made, we get a British TV show called "The Antiques Roadshow" over here, one lady bought a Vase for $5au it got valued at $30,000au, goes to show you never know what you will find in the old Op Shop.


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## Jim 68cuda (Apr 23, 2014)

My brother and I have been cleaning out our mother's house the last couple weeks and have made several trips to the local, Annandale, Virginia, Salvation Army store to drop off donations. I've never been inside, but I think I will need to check it out.
What a huge operation! There is a large store in front and the parking lot is always packed. There is a constant line of cars dropping off donations in the back, several guys working there to unload cars to keep the line moving, and three loading docks where it appears they are loading trailers for distribution to other locations. As for furniture, we found out real quick, that they won't even take any furniture unless it pretty much looks brand new, with no chips or scratches. We were trying to drop off a couple cheap laminate book cases that they refused (a chip we didn't notice on the very back of the bookcase). The car in front of us was delivering living room furniture that looked like it was just picked up from some high end furniture gallery. It does make me real curious about what I might find inside that may have been hidden in someone's house for years.


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## Stultus (Mar 24, 2014)

Old_Hobo said:


> We have a chain called "Value Village", which is a thrift/second hand item store. Clothes, furniture knick-knacks, toys, etc.
> 
> But alas, you still get what you pay for.....most of the stuff in the toy section is "well loved".....


I have one of those near my house too. Never has any trains 
On the other hand, they often have old/vintage sewing patterns which my wife collects.
A couple of times a year they mail out a 50% off of entire purchase coupon which can make a decent deal a great deal.

It's the Goodwill's and to a slightly lesser extent the local Salvation Army stores that have a dedicated 'Internet guy' to price everything old/odd to see if it is rare/valuable... and they'll price it accordingly at pretty much full on retail value. Especially old books. So the stuff sits around forever unsold until they dumpster it. Very annoying!


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

I hit the local Salvation Army store all the time. When I am working around the farm I can get filthy.... The kind of filthy that never really gets clean again, no matter how many times you run it through the wash. I can pick up T-shirts and regular shirts for $2 that are darn near new and darn good quality. You can't find anything under $10 for a shirt in the stores. Then there are the deals... My wife likes fine china. I have found full sets of fine china for under $20! What happens is a person of age passes and the kids give the stuff to Salvation Army. Last week I found a $40 shirt,... in great condition for $2. Last year I found a pair of aviator sunglasses, with case for $3. I took these to my optical place and they said it would cost $400 to replicate them. They even had a small bifocal window with just enough magnification that I could read an aviation chart with ease (ever see the font size on an aviation chart?). The topping on the cake is that the money that the Salvation Army makes contributes to those that need it. It also employs those who need jobs and have a hard time finding employment. Win,... win and oh yeah,... win in my book.


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