Shop in the Right Area

One of the best ways to get value for your money while thrift shopping is to make sure that you scope out high end areas. Wealthy areas mean wealthy people, which increases the chance of finding good quality items, big name labels, and better fabrics.

Call before going to a thrift shop to ask two important questions:

• When does the store restock their shelves? Thrift stores do not put out new goods every day.  By finding out when a store restocks, you most likely get the chance to have first pick of the higher end merchandise that comes through the doors.
• Are there any discount days? Many thrift shops have clearing events once a month to make room for new merchandise. Thrift stores also have color tags which means those items are marked differently. At most thrift stores they have days where you can get up to 25%-50% off of items or your whole purchase.

Hunt for Quality Brands and Fabrics

Due to the low prices of thrift stores, it can be tempting to fill up your cart with purchases. Before you buy a designer outfit for low cost, remember that in the long run, high quality clothes always look better than cheaper fabrics. Looking for name brand items that have a reputation for being high quality, you can be sure that your thrift store finds don’t fall apart or show wear too soon.

Looking for name brand goods, you might have better luck at consignment stores. Many consignment stores have strict rules regarding name brand clothes, so while you might pay more than an average donation, you can be assured of name brand stuff. I’m not saying you cant find good name brand stuff at the thrift store its just better finding at the consignment stores.

Shop According to Trends

Find out what’s trending on social media. Check out what celebrities are wearing today and get inspiration from them. Is everyone going with accessories? What about layering clothes? Go to a thrift store and start looking for items that expresses those trends.

Know What to Avoid

There are a few things that  thrift shoppers don’t look at while shopping because they’ll always look cheap or clearly worn. By knowing what you should avoid when shopping, you won’t get stuck with a clothes that is unwearable.

What to look out for:

• Clothes with heavy embellishments: Secondhand clothes that have embellishments such as sequins, stitching, and glitter might look cute, but remember that they already been worn. Even if the embellishments seem good, over time they can loosen and fall off. What’s more important to notice is that embellishments might be missing when you first grab the item. Look for quality clothes with unique fabrics, instead of sewn or glued on embellishments.
• Damaged Clothes: A hole may seem like not a big deal at first. However, if you have no idea how to repair items, pass the stuff with holes, embellishments that are falling off, and areas of clear damage
• Clothes with stains and smells: Do they stink? Even if you could wash out the stains and the smell, it’s a sign that the person who had that piece of clothing before might have not taken good care of the clothing.
• When buying clothing at the thrift store you shouldn’t spend more than five dollars on a piece of clothing and your total shouldn’t be more then $20

Eliminate Signs of Wear

Once you’ve taken your clothes home from the thrift store, you should check if the clothes looked like they been worn, and if so it’s easy to take care of them. If the clothes look worn you can do little things to spruce them up. Like buy dye to make them not look faded anymore or just do little touches to the clothes to look wearable again.