7 Lessons I Learned at the Thrift Store: Best Thrift Haul Tips
So I’ve dubbed him “Thrift Store Pete.”
If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I’ve got a thrift store friend named Pete that I met last year at the thrift store (read about him in my post called “This Should Have Been Called Thrift Wars”).
He’s this retired mid-century modern guru that does amazing thrift store transformations.
And every morning, you can find him scouring at least 2-3 thrift stores, looking for the best vintage MCM treasures that people have thrown away.
It’s a guarantee that if I hit my favorite thrift store in the morning after dropping off the kids that I’ll run into Pete.
That’s exactly what happened this time around.
…Three and a Half Hours Later?!
Here’s the thing: when I run into Pete, I know that it will be a long morning.
History has proven that fact.
I can’t have a quick 5-minute conversation with Pete.
No.
It turns into a marathon conversation where we’re bantering about projects…
…whipping out our phones to show each other our latest finds and makeovers…
…and then at some point, I turn into the student and him, the teacher, as he schools me on what to look for at the thrift store.
During one of our run-ins, what started off as a quick drop-off of donated items and a run-through to just see what they have, turned into a 3.5-hour thrift diving excursion with Pete!
Time passes so quickly when we’re talking about our passion for good finds.
And the lessons I learn become “blog post” worthy.
Not just for you guys, but for me to review what I learned from him so that I can become a better thrift diver!
So I wanted to pass along some lessons I learned from Thrift Store Pete the other day! I hope you find them just as valuable as I did!
(And be sure to check out this post about all the awesome things I have found at Value Village and Unique Thrift!
Lesson #1 – Hire Help When Stripping Furniture
During our talk, Pete told me that he will use “dip and strip” furniture stripping services for some of his vintage finds if the piece is large or really intricate. He especially likes to have metal dipped, resulting in a really cool industrial silver look.
I don’t know why I hadn’t ever thought about that!
Yes, there are some pieces that you can strip right at home, but if you’ve got a piece that’s large or with a lot of detail, yes, dipping and stripping is an option.
Pete inspired me to reach out to my local “dip and strip” furniture stripping services and interview them. You won’t believe what I found out. Great interview and very helpful in knowing what to expect when using professional paint strippers.
Read: Dip and Strip 101: Everything You Wanted to Know About Stripping Wood and Metal
Lesson #2 – Only Buy If You Know Exactly What You’re Going to Do With It
I think we all know this, but it’s hard to abide by this rule when things catch your eye at the thrift store!
Pete and I saw these cool round wooden picture frames that were already mounted with clips and hardware for hanging.
They were super cool–but not for $4.99 each.
And Pete reminded me: unless I know exactly what I’m going to do with them and have a place for them, I shouldn’t be buying them.
At the very least, every 2-4 years I could pull them out and recreate the Olympics on my wall. HA!
But that wasn’t enough for me to spend that kind of loot.
So back onto the shelf they went!
Lesson #3 – Sometimes You Can Buy Things Just For the Pieces
This little oak sewing table caught our eye.
It was only $9.99!
We both agreed that, although we could do something with a piece like this, perhaps turn it into a little bar or something, we’d be more interested in it for its parts.
I would remove the solid oak top, which has amazing grain, and Pete said he’d remove the pulls, which were funky.
Once at the thrift store, I bought an ugly, beaten down French Provincial desk for $10.00 and ONLY took the hardware! I left the desk sitting in the thrift store. 🙂
So yes, folks…Sometimes when you find pieces of furniture at the thrift store, you might only want to buy it for parts! Don’t feel you need to take the whole thing!
Lesson #4 – Don’t Skip the Glassware
I’ll admit this is an aisle I usually skip.
But with Pete, we walked every single aisle, taking in each find, with him pointing out to me the things I would normally walk right past.
Like this set of glasses. They were great, but he didn’t care for the color.
But I kind of liked the rose color!
I could see them looking great on a funky bar.
Pete also pointed out the gorgeous glass liquor bottles.
None of them had caps, but they were narrow enough you could use a wine cork.
But wow….I loved how they looked grouped together like this.
These could be a great bar display!
I’ve got a thing for green glass.
If I had a bar, these would make great shot glasses for a party!
Pete sells a lot of barware and says that buyers usually want sets of 8. Perhaps 6, but 8 are better.
Good to know when buying glassware!
Lesson #5 – Inspiration Comes From Everywhere
As we were walking the furniture section, I saw this lonesome 1950’s folding card table chair.
I know….for only $6.99!
What most interested me, though, was the geometric design cut into the back seat of the wood!
I thought of the RYOBI scroll saw that I had recently unpacked. The scroll saw would be amazing to use to recreate this look on another piece of wood for another project in the future! You could also use a jigsaw.
Related: How to Use a Jigsaw: The Easiest Tutorial For a Newbie!
Inspiration can come from everywhere.
It doesn’t mean you have to buy every inspiring thing.
Sometimes you just need to take a picture of it and save it for later. 😉
Lesson #6 – Look For the Valuable Stuff
One thing I noticed that Pete did was he 1) turned everything over, looking for the brand name, and 2) he searched for things on the phone to find their value.
We walked by this cooler and it caught his eye.
Me??–at first it only looked like an ugly brown cooler that I would never in a million years think of buying.
But Pete pointed out something very true: if a company is going to spend time putting heavy metal knobs and quality plastic into its’ cooler parts, such was the case with this vintage cooler, then you know it’s good quality.
With a quick search on his phone, we found that these vintage coolers usually sell for a lot more than the $5.99 it cost at the thrift store.
It was in pristine condition, heavy, and good quality for a bar! All cleaned up and polished, it would be a great piece. I could imagine this being a great piece for backyard patio get-togethers!
He’s got an eye for this stuff. I wouldn’t have looked twice until he pointed it out to me!
He also turned over a lot of things, looking for authentic pieces that weren’t commercial. This vase caught his eye, but after closer inspection realized it was a commercial piece. Still really cute, though!
Pete also found a vintage hairbrush set!
We found a lot of cool plates, like this one.
And the details on this glass was amazing!
Apparently, plates are a “biggie” at thrift stores, even though I tend to skip this section, too.
These ones are scratched up, but still, the craftsmanship on these are pretty cool.
To the average person walking by they were nearly a stack of plates.
I found these stack of Dansk bowls and couldn’t walk away from them.
Our cupboards are full of mismatched bowls, so I bought 6 of these for when the kids and I eat ice cream! 🙂
Lesson #7 – Thrift Diving is a Walk Down Memory Lane
I realized something.
Thrift diving isn’t just about finding stuff at great prices.
It’s also about that feeling of nostalgia when you see something that you hadn’t seen in years.
Like this set of Sweet Valley Twins books that I found on the shelf!
I credit my entire love of writing to Elizabeth Wakefield and her black and white composition books!
She inspired me to start journaling, and over the years, the black and white composition book I mimicked was replaced by a blog.
But finding these books, along with other items from 30-40 years ago, reminds you of where you came from, doesn’t it??
Pete says that plates like these blue and white ones below do sell.
I pointed out to him that the only reason these ugly plates sell is due to nostalgia. They remind people of dinners in their youth with their family.
(I have a theory that people will forever remember their favorite dishes from their childhood! Mine were these two plastic bowls–one was bright orange and the other, bright green!).
Do you remember your dishes from your youth, too?
It’s the memories that are jogged when browsing the thrift store.
It really is an experience unlike no other.
A Couple Other Cool Things
While walking around, we saw a couple other cool things, like these bar stools. Loved the shape! They were in pretty good condition, too, for $14.99 each.
It was just what I needed: hours to explore my beloved thrift store with fresh eyes!
I hadn’t been to the thrift store in a while because I’d been consumed with projects. But when I’m away for too long, I start itching for a good thrift dive. 😉
A big thanks to Pete for hanging with me this week and opening my eyes to some of his favorite things and thrift lessons!
Have you learned some lessons while browsing your favorite thrift stores?
Leave a comment below and let’s chat about it!
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Where do you look on your phone to see if it is valuable
I find clothes I couldn’t find if I looked for a month in the regular stores. Sometimes I buy them for the fabric or buttons for crafting.
Costume jewelry and and necklace
are great for parts to remake some decorations. I find a lot of pieces for my dreamcatchers this way!!!
Thanks for all the tips. Last summer I went into my favorite thrift store. Picked up a heavy oval shaped piece of metal. It had weird picture on it. It was so different I had to spend $2.50 on it. Later in the week I had it looked at by a collector. He offered me 300.00 for it. Turns it was a cover for some type of fire hydrant from the 1800’s. You just never know what you might find.
I’m just a little bothered about the part on buying just for the parts. Someone brought in a perfectly good dresser, that someone may have needed, you bought the hardware and left a useless piece that won’t sell now, just because you only wanted the hardware. If someone does buy it, they’re going to have to spend a whole lot more than $10 to replace those knobs or pulls. That’s IF the store can sell it as is, more than likely they’ll have to get rid of it due to the most important part being gone. Sure you gave the charity the money, but left them with a useless hulk. Next time maybe you should just take the piece of furniture and take the rest of it to the dump or make something out of the drawers. Better yet, leave it for someone else who can’t afford the hardware. Sorry, but I don’t think its fair to the charity or for the folks who could have used it as it was.
Nope, I’ve done this plenty of times and guess what, the dresser/cabinets always sold without hardware and crazy enough usually more than what I paid for the dresser in the beginning. Remember, the old saying “Someone else’s trash is another mans treasure” this fits that bill perfectly. The idea that we shouldn’t do this because it will cost someone else more to replace is ridiculous, if we went by that theory, we should never score bargains because someone else could use it more. You underestimate the market for furniture to upcycle.
You’re not getting the point. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy anything because someone could use it more, and yes, it may sell without the hardware to someone who is also looking to upcycle. Perhaps I’m just seeing way too many things upcycled with prices that are too high because of what it cost to upcycle plus the mark up. Nothing against businesses doing this, there are a lot of people who have started great businesses with it. But I see so much repainted furniture with Hobby Lobby drawer pulls that are really priced higher than what most people can afford. I love what I’m seeing on this blog, just an opinion 🙂
With that mentality it isn’t fair to buy ANYTHING..,because what if someone needed it more than you did?
Once you paid your money the item is yours to do whatever you like with it.
The charity gets the money and you get the item.
You don’t fill out a questionnaire and they decide if you deserve to have it.
Free commerce. Supply and demand.
That is how the whole thrift industry works!
They have cheap hardware, knobs etc at thrift stores. I’m sure they knew what to do with it.
I don’t think this is true. I’m the person that would come in behind her and buy the dresser with no knobs, knowing that I can replace the knobs for less than 20$ and pay the thrift shop another $10 and still have a dresser for hundreds less than a new one.
If there wasn’t a market, people wouldn’t do it… but there is. And if a piece doesn’t sell bec the price is too high, the price drops until it does. It’s that crazy basic economic principle of supply and demand. When there is no more demand, the furniture refinishers will find another way to channel their creativity. Enjoy it for what it is… creative people seeing value in another person’s junk, keeping it from going to a landfill (which I was surprised to see as one of your suggestions), and a happy buyer finding a home for it. I believe we call that a Win Win Win!
Pete is a real find all in himself! lol!
I like those stores in my area, but the furniture is way too pricey for the work and the value of them even after I spend a lot of time and effort on them. But! Some stores have half price days on furniture, you have to read some signs or just ask them. One thrift store near me has half price Wednesdays for everything, Tuesdays are Senior Citizen days.. age 55 and above, as well as Saturdays are half price on furniture days.
In glassware items, I look for pieces that match a rose patterned china set my mother gave me (it was her wedding china in 1957!) and ones that match my blue and white vintage every-day set.
Those rose colored glasses you found in your thrift store trip with Pete – what I saw was a base for a small flower arrangement!
Your bowls yes! I ended up getting a whole wooden salad set because it brought me memories of eating in these bowls at my stepmothers when i was younger. I. Got the whole set which was 4 salad bowls 1 larger bowl to make salad 1 large fork and 1 large wooden spiin for $3. Which was a steal. And it was only nostalgia. That made me buy it
And I bet you love those bowls, don’t you?! 🙂 That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing!!! Treasure the nostalgia!
I will do that, I didn’t realize a drum set new was so inexpensive. You are far away thanks anyway.
With the rain and dreary weather this weekend I didn’t get to venture out so reading your latest adventure satisfied my appetite for thrifting. Most of my trips are quickies in search of something specific. These are good tips to remember when I have more time to explore. Thanks!
Oh, I know! It was horrible! I went to visit my nephew and what should have been a summer springtime day felt like the dead of winter. LOL
Where is this great thrift store? It looks like somewhere that I would love to visit.
Hey there, Susie! This thrift store is in Maryland, off of New Hampshire Ave and Powder Mill Rd! If you live in the area, you must visit!
Yes, it is. I have been known to make a special trip for that one!
In Silver Spring, MD, that is. 🙂
Hey Serena, I loved the tips about Thrift Store buying. I am a thrift store visitor and frequent them alot. I know about the nostalgia items and I loved the cooler. I too am looking for a cooler like this one for our family get togethers. Thank you for all you do.
Thanks, Robbie! Glad you like this post with all the cool tips! I hope you can find a cooler. It was perfect. I would have walked right past it if he hadn’t stopped and pointed out how good quality it was! 🙂