The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

[pitboss12]

I found a Robert Talbott tie with Mercedes, Rolls Royce, etc. logos with thin rep stripes made up for the Concours D'elegance in Pebble Beach for $1.50. It's just and odd tie. There were several other ties for the event, but this was the best of the bunch.

 

[83glt]

Originally Posted by KaiserSose

WTF at NYC being a good place to do thrift shopping. I guess I was just looking in the wrong places, but the prices I encountered were outrageous. For example, in one housing works I found a very nice paul smith shirt... for $45.. at that price I might as well check ebay. Granted I was only looking in Manhattan and mainly at non Goodwill / SA's, but still. From now on I will no longer be shopping at Angela Street, Housing Works, Filene's Basement (lol at this one especially), Spence-Chapin, Cancer Care Thrift and Memorial Sloane Kettering Thrift.
You fucked up bra. Goodwill/SA is where it's at. Those other places are total rip-offs most of the time - though every once and a while Housing Works will have a 75% off sale.

 

[Nataku]

Originally Posted by 83glt

You fucked up bra. Goodwill/SA is where it's at. Those other places are total rip-offs most of the time - though every once and a while Housing Works will have a 75% off sale.
I've found this to be true in any city. They seem to receive the most donations, being they are large, well known charities. Thus, they save time by group pricing (all shirts $4, all suits $10, all ties $1....etc). I worked at a Salvation Army thrift store for a couple years and this is how it went. Well, most of the time. All the pricing was done by rehab workers at the main center and we'd get the occasional "free" , whacky drawings, "$100,000" and one particular "this shirt was worn by a Columbian drug lord" tags. Ah well, everyone needs to have fun, right? What makes me mad is the waste. In my time there, I've befriended many managers of metro-area SAs. One particular one likes to throw away stuff when they don't have the room, opposed to sending it back to the main center. This means if they got a box of high-end ties and their tie rack is full - to the dumpster they'll go. I ran into this very situation a couple months ago. I was combing over the tie rack and picked a couple Brionis, a Hermes and a Charvet up, IIRC. A volunteer walked by and said "I'm glad someone appreciates those ties. I went through a lot of trouble to save these few from the dumpster. They threw the rest of the box out because there was no more room."

To think what was lost.... One more painful story. I was helping unload the day's shipment of donations from the truck when I saw a mint Pioneer RT-707 reel-to-reel tape deck staring at me from one of the big metal carts. My heart skipped a beat and the moment the cart came off the truck I grabbed it and brought it inside. The truck driver commented "Man, I used to have one of them back in the early 80's. Those things were high-end back then! I'm surprised you're taking it in, though. At other stores, those don't even make it to the sales floor - they just go straight to the dumpster. Managers say people don't use them anymore and they're just a waste of space."My jaw dropped....these damn things go for $700+ on fleabay. Damned ingorance

 

[AlohaAloha]

Coffee mug with my name in Hawaiian for seventy five cents. Matthew- Makaio

 

[likeitaloud]

Originally Posted by AlohaAloha

Coffee mug with my name in Hawaiian for seventy five cents. Matthew- Makaio

that's gross you buy drinking utensils at a thrift store?

 

[mdisbell]

I posted this in a different thread, but it went unanswered. I found this thread and thought it was more appropriate.

I picked up an interesting belt made in France, and I need help identifying it. I can only find that this is supposedly a French designer, but that is all that I can find. I have seen ties that this designer makes with the same facial logo on them, but that is just about all I can find out about this designer. It says 24K on the reverse side, along with some codes, but I am pretty sure it is 24k plated and I have no idea what the codes mean.

Does anyone know anything about this belt and what its worth might be?

 

[tonylumpkin]

Originally Posted by likeitaloud

that's gross you buy drinking utensils at a thrift store?

You eat at restaurants? You drink at bars? Guess what...those drinking and eating utensils have been used by other people...and WASHED!

 

[merkur]

..

 

[mdisbell]

Just because you don't know the person who made it doesn't mean they are a nobody.

As for it being gold plated, I had that checked and confirmed with a jeweler. So apparently someone went to a lot of trouble to make this so called "fake fake", just like some people go to a lot of trouble making fake Coach items.

Real or fake, it was worth the few dollars I paid for it, and it is certainly an interesting looking belt buckle. It catches peoples attention.

 

[SimonC]

A day of two halves - our local TJ Maxx was clearing out 7-fold Daks ties, and some lovely Turnbull & Asser styles, for less than $20 each.

On the other hand, I went to an upmarket thrift store and they had two immaculate three-piece Andersen & Sheppard bespoke suits and an unworn RTW Huntsman DB, plus some other Savile Row suits. The problem was they're all a 46R, a good 8" larger than me....

Having seen one 'in the flesh' I can confirm RTW Huntsman is as nicely made as bespoke A&S - anyone know who makes for them?

 

[ThinkDerm]

where were the T&A ties... which TJ Maxx location?

I keep telling myself I do not need more ties, but I keep getting more...

 

[emptym]

Originally Posted by Nataku

...What makes me mad is the waste...
Me too.I worked at a central receiving area for thrift stores too. Instead of throwing things away though, they'd bundle excess items and ship them abroad or dirty items for use as rags.

Originally Posted by likeitaloud

that's gross you buy drinking utensils at a thrift store?
Most of my dishes are from thrift stores. I'd think it could be more hygenic than used clothes.

 

[likeitaloud]

I guess I just think it's in bad taste. Yes if you boil it and it will probably kill all that there is but the same reason I dont buy anything in thirft stores like swimwear or robes because it is discusting on a mental level even if you wash it.

 

[SimonC]

where were the T&A ties... which TJ Maxx location?

Both of the London stores I've visited have had some in - Kensington and Hammersmith. Both down from £70 each to a far more reasonable £12.99

 

[otc]

Originally Posted by Nataku

I did pay a visit to this Second Debut to find it a mishmash of stuff. A lot of Tommy Bahama and Greg Norman, but they did have some nice stuff from Zegna, Canali, Brioni and the like. They also had a couple mtm shirts from Marty Mathis, who owns a clothing store in Minneapolis and was a poster on here some time ago. Prices weren't bad for what the place is - about $10 for a shirt, $20-$60 for suits, $7 for ties, etc. I got a nice Talbott Seven-Fold for $7 that day.

I stopped in today (home for thanksgiving). This place sucks.
How long ago did you visit? the standard price on a shirt seemed to be $27 and the shirts weren´t super nice (saw no zegna, canali, brioni, etc). I saw a lot of stuff that I see all of the time NEW at nordstrom rack for the same price (or at most $5 more).

Didn´t catch too many prices on the suits other than remembering one was 68 and not super nice. It seemed like a slightly filtered selection of stuff from the goodwill down the street at many multiples the price (the junk was gone and it was sorted by size but...$$$)

Wondering where else I should try to visit while I am in the area