The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

Originally Posted by TheWGP

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Want to share the method? I've usually settled for trying to pry up the prongs, slip one side off, then the other. Unfortunately I occasionally still get holes in things like shirt collars.

That's basically it. I'll carefully pry up both prongs straight up and then gently pull it out. It works 95% of the time for me. Sometimes on a white or very light colored shirt it'll leave a dirty mark where the staple was, though.

Originally Posted by potemkin_city_limits

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I assume that 90% of the nicer stuff I find is because some rich guy died.end.

I assume the converse- that less than 10% of the better clothing in a thrift store is there because of a death. Probably more like 5%.
Many affluent people buy a lot of stuff-not just clothing but furniture, other home decor items, recreational toys, etc. They will get rid of these things just because they've been sitting around for a while, and buy newer replacements. The older stuff gets sold, given away or thrown away.
Rich people have a lot of "inventory turnover" of their consumer items, and don't forget that they are tax-savvy, and get deductions for charitable gifts.
Some rich people are also fashion conscious and will dispose of serviceable clothing because its style is a few years out of date.
Also there is the closet space issue- if you keep buying clothes eventually you run out of room even in large closets. The older or less worn stuff goes to the thrifts.
Finally, people frequently lose or gain significant amounts of weight, making their older clothes unwearable.
It's not unlikely that you have been wearing an item of thrifted clothing and passed its former owner on the street.

Originally Posted by Chillax

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It's not unlikely that you have been wearing an item of thrifted clothing and passed its former owner on the street.

More like passed through...

Originally Posted by potemkin_city_limits

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More like passed through...

A friend of mine was in an elevator wearing a particularly bold, recently thrifted suit.

One of the guys in the car told him, "I love that suit, I used to have one just like it, same fabric and all but my wife just made me donate it o Goodwill".

That's hilarious.

Originally Posted by ruben

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A friend of mine was in an elevator wearing a particularly bold, recently thrifted suit.

One of the guys in the car told him, "I love that suit, I used to have one just like it, same fabric and all but my wife just made me donate it o Goodwill".

Originally Posted by greekgeek

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Not a resole job based on the picture. $250-$350 w/o trees IMO.

+1 on the not resoled.

used shoes are worth that premium? amazing

Originally Posted by ruben

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A friend of mine was in an elevator wearing a particularly bold, recently thrifted suit.

One of the guys in the car told him, "I love that suit, I used to have one just like it, same fabric and all but my wife just made me donate it o Goodwill".

Epic.

Originally Posted by Nataku

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That's basically it. I'll carefully pry up both prongs straight up and then gently pull it out. It works 95% of the time for me. Sometimes on a white or very light colored shirt it'll leave a dirty mark where the staple was, though.

+1

My big issue is that my favorite place employees people who are not the most conscientious, to say the least. They have been known to go off of the paper when pricing something. I'm still trying to get red ink off of the collar of a Zegna dress shirt that is otherwise pristine.

They used a Sharpie so even 3 passes with the "technique" didn't get it out.

Originally Posted by EBTX66

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+1 My big issue is that my favorite place employees people who are not the most conscientious, to say the least. They have been known to go off of the paper when pricing something. I'm still trying to get red ink off of the collar of a Zegna dress shirt that is otherwise pristine. They used a Sharpie so even 3 passes with the "technique" didn't get it out.

I would take it back and show the manager what happened, and explain why this carelessness is bad for business. I used to just shrug these types of things off, but lately I've been confronting the managers with these types of issues, and surprisingly they've been mostly receptive. I complained to one manager about all the broken up suits in his store, and that because they actually charge more for full suits than they do for separate pants/jackets, I attempted to explain that not only will his store make more money from doing a better job of keeping the suits together, but also because people are more likely to buy a gray pinstripe suit, than just an orphaned jacket. At first he tried to claim that it's the customers who break up the suits and then the staff can't find the parts to put them back together. I countered this by showing him three suits that I had "put back together" by locating the pants, with one pair having been found in the ladies section. I told him that number one it didn't take me that long to do it, and number two, the pants had been individually priced, so they must never have been put out on the rack as a paired up suit. He had to concede, and was somewhat embarrassed I think for trying to bullshit me. I really emphasized the part about it being better for his business, and if he really cared about bringing in as much cash as possible, it was worth the extra effort. By the end he seemed to suggest they'd do a better job. Let's hope so.

Originally Posted by 83glt

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I would take it back and show the manager what happened, and explain why this carelessness is bad for business. I used to just shrug these types of things off, but lately I've been confronting the managers with these types of issues, and surprisingly they've been mostly receptive. I complained to one manager about all the broken up suits in his store, and that because they actually charge more for full suits than they do for separate pants/jackets, I attempted to explain that not only will his store make more money from doing a better job of keeping the suits together, but also because people are more likely to buy a gray pinstripe suit, than just an orphaned jacket. At first he tried to claim that it's the customers who break up the suits and then the staff can't find the parts to put them back together. I countered this by showing him three suits that I had "put back together" by locating the pants, with one pair having been found in the ladies section. I told him that number one it didn't take me that long to do it, and number two, the pants had been individually priced, so they must never have been put out on the rack as a paired up suit. He had to concede, and was somewhat embarrassed I think for trying to bullshit me. I really emphasized the part about it being better for his business, and if he really cared about bringing in as much cash as possible, it was worth the extra effort. By the end he seemed to suggest they'd do a better job. Let's hope so.

im starting to like you

Hello,

I am relatively new to thrifting but it is great fun. I have found in last two weeks: brioni shirt, an RLPL tie, few other vintage ties, shirts from Thomas Pink and Zegna and my favorite a topcoat from Chester Barrie for Gieves and Hawkes .
Here are labels for the coat:

Originally Posted by frenchy

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im starting to like you

Thanks. I just think that as regular devoted customers, and not merely high school kids looking for a hallowe'en costume, we're the ones who keep these businesses going, and the least they can do is consider our feedback, if not actually choosing to cater to the demand of their best customers. It can't hurt to remind them of this. Next I'm planning to correspond with the regional headquarters with these issues, if they remain or worsen.

Originally Posted by 83glt

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Thanks. I just think that as regular devoted customers, and not merely high school kids looking for a hallowe'en costume, we're the ones who keep these businesses going, and the least they can do is consider our feedback, if not actually choosing to cater to the demand of their best customers. It can't hurt to remind them of this. Next I'm planning to correspond with the regional headquarters with these issues, if they remain or worsen.

Most charity thrifts employ people for vocational rehab after long/bad addiction. It will improve their chances of finding real retail jobs if they learn how to handle merchandise. So, I'm with you in this.

Just don't start teaching brands, presentation, and eBay!

Originally Posted by 83glt

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I would take it back and show the manager what happened, and explain why this carelessness is bad for business. I used to just shrug these types of things off, but lately I've been confronting the managers with these types of issues, and surprisingly they've been mostly receptive. I complained to one manager about all the broken up suits in his store, and that because they actually charge more for full suits than they do for separate pants/jackets, I attempted to explain that not only will his store make more money from doing a better job of keeping the suits together, but also because people are more likely to buy a gray pinstripe suit, than just an orphaned jacket. At first he tried to claim that it's the customers who break up the suits and then the staff can't find the parts to put them back together. I countered this by showing him three suits that I had "put back together" by locating the pants, with one pair having been found in the ladies section. I told him that number one it didn't take me that long to do it, and number two, the pants had been individually priced, so they must never have been put out on the rack as a paired up suit. He had to concede, and was somewhat embarrassed I think for trying to bullshit me. I really emphasized the part about it being better for his business, and if he really cared about bringing in as much cash as possible, it was worth the extra effort. By the end he seemed to suggest they'd do a better job. Let's hope so.
hell, i'd be happy if the thrifts i go to could even reliably separate the women's clothes from the men's.

Originally Posted by catside

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Most charity thrifts employ people for vocational rehab after long/bad addiction. It will improve their chances of finding real retail jobs if they learn how to handle merchandise. So, I'm with you in this.

Just don't start teaching brands, presentation, and eBay!

Yeah. Our local Salvation Armies have all the clothing priced at their Central Distribution Center. The prices are written on 3"x3" squares of colored paper with a grease pen. The 3"x3" blank canvass gives them an opportunity to be creative. I've seen everything from a $10,000 price tag on a Stafford shirt to very detailed drawings/artwork, some of which can be quite disturbing.