Goodwill, thrift stores: 8 tips to save money and get the best deals

Oct 31, 2023

With Florida's inflation skyrocketing and bills soaring for groceries, insurance, mortgage rates, gas and more, everyone can stand to save a little money where they can.

And in honor of National Thrift Store Day (Thursday, Aug. 17), let's go thrifting.

There are a lot of reasons to shop at thrift stores besides getting stuff cheap.

But mostly you're probably looking for cheap or unique stuff. I certainly am.

When my wife and I were barely out of our teens and struggling, thrift stores helped us clothe our family and provide household necessities we couldn't have otherwise afforded. As our income levels grew we thrifted for extras or specialty items, and then for fun. Decades later, we spend our weekends hitting our favorite places across Central Florida just looking for cool things.

We have bought thousands of articles of clothing, hundreds of books and toys, and dozens of pieces of furniture over the years. I'd guess maybe 30, 35% of the decorations in our house were bought new with the rest discovered on a shelf somewhere behind SeaWorld coffee cups and old Scrabble games. (I also bought a vintage Scrabble game.)

Florida is loaded with thrift and consignment stores. In 2021, according to the stats site Smartscrapers, Florida had 359 Goodwill locations, the second-most in the country. Wherever you go you can find the Salvation Army, Plato's Closet, Habitat for Humanity, St. Vincent de Paul, and any number of local shops and church-affiliated centers.

The Lawn Love site analyzed the 200 biggest U.S. cities and their thrift store metrics — access, items available, thrifting-related Google searches — put Jacksonville at the 10th best city in the country for thrifting. (The #1 worst? Miramar. Who knew?)

Thrifting can mean ducking in to try to find the one thing you need, or it can mean hours of almost-meditative browsing as you let the universe offer you random surprises.

Whatever your process, here are some tips to make it easier.

You don't have to know ahead of time what you want — for some people, spontaneity and discovery is the point — but you should have an awareness of what you're getting into to get the best deals.

Part of the joy of thrifting is finding valuable or vintage items tossed in with the plastic stuff. But you need to know what you have.

Remember, you're buying used stuff. More to the point, you're buying stuff someone else decided to get rid of, and sometimes there was a very good reason.

Note that even if you have to buy a missing part for an expensive item like, say, a battery for a high-end drill, it still may be dramatically cheaper than buying it new.

Clothing may be the number one reason people go to thrift stores. Here's how to make it count.

When you see broken, worn or shabby items in a thrift store, especially furniture, look at what they could become. Refinishing an item can give you a bright, bold new showpiece for your home and sometimes it's as easy as tightening screws, sanding, and restaining or repainting that old coffee table you wrestled into your car.

Need some fabric for a project? A dress, curtain, sheet or blanket might have high-quality fabric at a much cheaper price than buying it at JOANN.

Every week, the colors change at Goodwill and items marked with that color are 50% off the already low price. Other thrift stores, even locally-owned ones, often do the same. A well-timed visit can save you a bundle, although you always run the risk of someone less thrifty than you buying the item you had your eye on before it gets marked down.

Many thrift stores also offer loyalty programs that earn you points and money off future purchases. Some offer seasonal coupons near peak shopping times, or special sales on Black Friday. And watch for discounts for seniors, first responders, teachers, students or the military.

A lot of thrift stores have gone online. You'll have to pay postage, but suddenly your range has expanded worldwide. Prices will probably run a little higher than they might if you found the item locally.

You can shop ShopGoodwill.com or try online-only resale places like Swap, ThreadUp, DePop, Poshmark, Mercari, even Facebook Marketplace. ThriftBooks offers a massive selection of used books.

However you thrift, some tips can help everybody.

Happy hunting!

C. A. Bridges is a Digital Producer for the USA TODAY Network, working with multiple newsrooms across Florida. Local journalists work hard to keep you informed about the things you care about, and you can support them by subscribing to your local news organization. Read more articles by Chris here and follow him on Twitter at @cabridges