I feel I must vent. You see, I am, and always have been a bit of a bargain shopper. Some may call it cheap, others frugal… I like to think of it as smart. Why spend more than you have to? Sure, it may mean that you have to wait a little bit longer for that perfect item to pop up, or perhaps you need to walk around wearing your “potential” goggles 95% of the time, but at the end of the day, I will admit that for me, it’s not a deterrent. I actually enjoy the hunt. I don’t mind sifting through crap to find my little treasures. I don’t even mind buying something with the intention of painting or recovering it.
The thing that kind of gets my goat, is when *___________ (*fill in the blank with store clerk, greedy guss, crazy potatoes) price things not only as if they were new, but, more than they would be if they were new! I am 2cm away from boycotting Value Village forever, because every time I go in there I feel crazy. NOTE to workers- you can not price junky frames without glass or anything for $4.99. Note to Kijiji users- no one wants to buy your 2o year old couch for $300 or your obsolete “entertainment unit” for $200. It doesn’t matter if you paid over $900 for it… you were a sucker. Also, throwing the word “antique” in front of something (when it is really just old and ugly) does not mean you can ask for crazy $$$ either.
These people should really be asking “Would I pay this?” When the answer is yes, lower that number by 20%. And hey, if you’d rather keep it then sell it, than fine… I just wonder why even try in the first place.
I know this is not the case every where, because I sometimes get thrift envy from my friends in the states. But, in Alberta, the secondhand market can go either way. You just have to hunt extra hard, because generally, you aren’t going to be very thrifty….
Still, there is nothing like walking into a thrift store empty handed, and walking out with a little treasure. Even better when you spot it right away! In honor of the joy of thrifting, not purely the frustrations, and inspired by other blog friends, I will be posting some of the thrift store finds for you to enjoy 🙂 Stay tuned!