I don't know how this little tidbit for DPF (Don't Pay Fullers) has gotten away from the masses. I imagine if I did a search through the forum I might see a little piece on the subject here or there, but it seems to me that the DPF'ers would all come up an demand a full section on this topic. How could any self respecting DPFer get away with not saving hundreds of dollars going to Yard Sales, Garage Sales, Estate Sales, and Thrift Stores. You can read in my BIO where I got the idea from. I've spend hundreds of hours of my life going through these sorts of venues. Oh, and I forgot to mention flea markets. So, what do you say DPF'ers. What sorts of stories do you have to share with the little pieces of gold that you've in these or related venues. Although I lived in the U.S. most of my life, I am now in the Philippines and their version of a "Yardsale/Thrift Store" is something called an Ukay Ukay store where the owners of the store will purchase bulk discarded goods by the shipping container full and then open up a little Shop To sell them. If their Ukay Ukay store does well, then it might last a few months or longer. Just yesterday I purchased really nice wooden frame from an Ukay Ukay store. And since there is always someone looking for work here in this poorer country, I was all too happy to pay someone a fair price for sanding down the scratches and nicks on the frame and varnishing it. I picked it up this afternoon and it looked really nice. So, not only did I save money but I was able to have a bit of a Diy job where I paid someone else (a DIS "do it someone else" job) to fix it up for me which helped put food on another persons table. Sounds like a win win for everyone
I agree that this topic should have a section. I buy many of my clothes at thrift stores because I'm able to afford better quality clothes and better brands than if I bought them new. I'm also starting to research thrift shopping for reselling on eBay because apparently there are certain things I've donated that I didn't know I could have sold for good money and apparently other thrift store donors don't know it either. I've seen Youtube videos by ebay sellers who choose certain brands of clothes when picking at thrift stores and turn a $3 shirt from a thrift store into a $20 profit because that brand is worth something to someone else.
I love shopping at thrift stores. I can buy clothes and antiques much cheaper than if I went to a regular store. Not to mention I can get crafting items a lot cheaper. I use to run an Ebay store where I'd buy items at a thrift store for a few bucks, find out its worth, and sell it for way more because of it's worth. Thrift stores generally don't know what they have or the worth. Occasionally they do. Not to mention if something is pricey at a thrift store I found if you have cash and are willing to negotiate, you can usually get a good deal.
