The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

[barrelntrigger]

also ... random celebrity story of the day ...



while waiting to be seated for dinner last night Ric Flair ... yes Nature Boy Ric Flair approaches me and asks if I would drive his supercharged camaro SS up to the gas station to grab some Skoal and Fuel energy shot. That car was a beasstttt.

Holy ****!

^ ehh i think you got it backwards my dude, don't sweat the label. fit comes first (think of it as a threshold question before you even begin the inquiry), then styling, then you consider quality.
everyone on here gets hard-ons over old-ass high-end labels, when in reality they'd probably look better by walking into j crew and plunking down $400 or whatever for a made in china suit.
EDIT: watch the Put This On video where Jesse goes thrifting with the Street Etiquette dudes. i'd bet money that those SE dudes would s**t all over (almost) anyone in this thread in terms of style, but one thing that stood out to me is the fact that they gave exactly zero f**ks about labels. all they cared about was whether or not the piece looked cool and whether or not it would fit correctly after tailoring.

+1 I think those dudes only wear pieces they've thrifted once for photo shoot.

Time for a quick ***** about eBay buyers....
Sold J Press pants size 36 X 27.5....clearly some short ass pants. Sent them off, delievered sucessfully, no messages from the buyer.
Received some lovely negative feedback today, "The trousers were indeed 36" in waist, but the leg length was munchkin size".
Clearly not checking the pants length before you buy them is obviously my fault and I am so very deserving of your negative feedback.

Damn, that's cold. How you respond back?

 

[barrelntrigger]

Non-clothing pick up about a week ago:


Took them to Sunglasses Hut to make sure they were real (I did some research last night and was 99% sure they were) and the worker confirmed their authenticity. They came without a case so I bought one of their extras for $5.00 and am throwing in an old Oakley soft cloth I had lying around. These are going on the 'Bay to help cover moving expenses. I'd have kept them if they were polarized.

Nice find, bro!

 

[cptjeff]

So, I was on a road trip down 29 recently, and hit a few thrift stores on the way. For the number of stores I hit, not a whole lot, but a few nice pickups.


First, some ties. From left to right, Vineyard Vines (made in USA), Ferragamo, Holland and Holland, and two Brooks Makers.

Debating keeping the Holland and Holland and/or the Vineyard Vines.


And today's lesson in not being an ass while thrifting. After not seeing anything on the jacket rack, I walk by the pajama rack, and for some reason, there's a jacket there amongst the sleepwear, looking like it was hidden for a future sale. Somebody wanted half off a week later, even though it was only $5. I got it for 25% off full price. But since they tried to cheap out over a few bucks, they get nothing.

Oh wait, that's Prorsum.

Has a few stains, but I'm gonna get it cleaned before selling to get them taken out. Pure Lambswool, I'd call it a lightweight tweed.

And yeah, 52 Long. Not a small jacket.

 

[Evil Abed]

52 L you say? What are the measurements like?

 

[Klobber]



You never know what you're going to find and where. Was pretty shocked to find this at my local thrift today on my way home.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Wow, that is a rare rare find. Really nice looking shirt as well, hope it fits you.

 

[LooknGr8]



That's funny you say this because the tie looks like it has a butthole and sperm pattern on it.

this reminds me of a famous (to me) quote from a coworker uttered 20 years ago but I still carry around. I couldn't stand her. She was a page designer at a publication, her hair made her look like she was wearing either a Darth Vader helmet or a cap like Donald from Fat Albert. And her soul could be described as either black or at least charcoal gray.

She comes to give me pages for final approval before publication of a monthly we were putting out together. I look at one of the hideous ads, which was one of our own (a "house ad" touting some offer we were doing to subscribers) and I ask her something along the lines of "WTF is up with THIS?"

"Just following orders from above," she says, scowling. "I'm not paid to like it."

Same deal with a lot of flippable ties. Wouldn't be caught dead with some of them. However, if someone will pay $80 for it on eBay...

 

[TheNeedMachine]

Thought some of you vintage stereo dudes might like to ogle these before I send them off to their new owner tomorrow. Pair of Goodmans Of England Axiom 301 12" twin-cone whizzers. Weight is 18 pounds each. Picked up on CList a while back, finally threw 'em on the bay and didn't do as well as I'd hoped but not complaining too loudly.






Half-packed: still need to go into individual boxes with peanuts, then both smaller boxes into a larger box with peanuts. Over-packed, as usual...




I bought them from a guy who claimed to have bought them new in the late 1960's, and I had no reason to doubt his claim. The experience to check them out / buy them was a cross between American Pickers and Deliverance. The guy lived on 20 acres with (by his best guess) 30 old Camaro's parked hither and yon - this was after he already sold 10 or 15 of them for parts recently. He lived in a trailer but had 5 or 6 giant out-buildings. My car wouldn't make it up his driveway, so he met me "at the end of the hard road" and walked me down the dirt road and up a driveway to one outbuilding...which was stacked floor to ceiling, front to back, side to side, with vintage stereo equipment...silver-faced and walnut-wrapped receivers, tape decks, amps, reel-to-reels, etc. Old Bozak, JBL, AR etc speakers. Tube equipment a-plenty. I've never seen anything like it, even in a showroom or place that specializes in vintage audio - this guy had them all beat by 10x, and I have no idea what was in all the other out-buildings (nor did I want to ask - he seemed a lonely sort, and more than a little Ed Gein-ish).

 

[LooknGr8]

OK, I have to ask, being a practical audiophile (i.e. looking for value and sound quality): WHat is the appeal in 40 year old speakers? Even the best back then were inefficient and muddy sounding compared to most of today's speakers, let alone the top 10% worth talking about. I am not ripping on your find -- and God bless you for making $$$ off them!!!!!!!! Good job. But what does the buyer see in these speakers? Why are they classics (or at least appealing?)

PS if you can pry the reel to reels off him...thrift thread proves they're worth $$$

 

[ATLjon]

Listen to Spoo, he knows his stuff. That being said, I think that is hilarious and would be more willing to buy something from a seller with a personality.

 

[frenchytoo]

thats like asking whats the appeal of a 1957 vette vs a new one or to stick with the music theme a Vintage Strat guitar vs a new one.
its just a different sound,you have to hear it to believe it.thats why vintage amps are so expensive and desirable as well.
the only speakers i would buy new retail are Focal,if i had $15K burning a whole in my pocket.
go buy brand new $2000 Pioneer speakers (probably made in malasiya) and then go buy vintage $200 Pioneers (japanese made) or B&W and listen to the difference

OK, I have to ask, being a practical audiophile (i.e. looking for value and sound quality): WHat is the appeal in 40 year old speakers? Even the best back then were inefficient and muddy sounding compared to most of today's speakers, let alone the top 10% worth talking about. I am not ripping on your find -- and God bless you for making $$$ off them!!!!!!!! Good job. But what does the buyer see in these speakers? Why are they classics (or at least appealing?)
PS if you can pry the reel to reels off him...thrift thread proves they're worth $$$

 

[TheNeedMachine]

OK, I have to ask, being a practical audiophile (i.e. looking for value and sound quality): WHat is the appeal in 40 year old speakers? Even the best back then were inefficient and muddy sounding compared to most of today's speakers, let alone the top 10% worth talking about. I am not ripping on your find -- and God bless you for making $$$ off them!!!!!!!! Good job. But what does the buyer see in these speakers? Why are they classics (or at least appealing?)
PS if you can pry the reel to reels off him...thrift thread proves they're worth $$$

The general consensus among folks that salivate over vintage audio is that 40 watts in the 1960's sounded better than 200 watts does today...back then, manufacturers were obsessed with creating the best sounding equipment they could, as opposed to mass-market appeal and stamp them out a thousand at a time with little to no real world specs and practically zero hands-on craftsmanship. My father's 1960's Pioneer receiver, Marantz amp, AR speakers and belt-drive turntable (I forget the brand) sounds better than anything I find at Best Buy or in their smaller Magnolia Audio booteek. I suppose one could spring for the high-end stuff and spend a few thousand on each component (I'm partial to McIntosh)...but why, when for a few hundred you can get great, warm-sounding analog for your annex hi-fi (i.e.: vinyl). I think it's in the ears of the listener. Inefficient, probably...muddy, not to me, if it's the right stuff. It's like asking "Why would you buy a 1970 Mustang Mach 1 when they only got 16 MPG and weren't very safe and didn't even have a tape deck, when you can get the new 2013 model?". Some things just are.

 

[frenchytoo]

LooknGr8:
thats like asking whats the appeal of a 1957 vette vs a new one or to stick with the music theme a Vintage Strat guitar vs a new one.
its just a different sound,you have to hear it to believe it.thats why vintage amps are so expensive and desirable as well.
the only speakers i would buy new retail are Focal,if i had $15K burning a whole in my pocket.
go buy brand new $2000 Pioneer speakers (probably made in malasiya) and then go buy vintage $200 Pioneers (japanese made) or B&W and listen to the difference

 

[frenchytoo]

LooknGr8:

thats like asking whats the appeal of a 1957 vette vs a new one or to stick with the music theme a Vintage Strat guitar vs a new one.
its just a different sound,you have to hear it to believe it.thats why vintage guitar amps are so expensive and desirable as well.
the only speakers i would buy new retail are Focal,if i had $15K burning a whole in my pocket.
go buy brand new $2000 Pioneer speakers (probably made in malasiya) and then go buy vintage $200 Pioneers (japanese made) or B&W and listen to the difference

 

[TheNeedMachine]

Correct - with that tie, definitely a no. However, the cat stays in the picture.

 

[TheNeedMachine]

LooknGr8:

thats like asking whats the appeal of a 1957 vette vs a new one

Great minds . . .