Thrift store savvy

Thrifting can be friend or enemy to your pocketbook

Student Natalia Wolffenbuttel is taking some thrift store gems back home to Brazil. | Constance Brissenden

I admit it: I bought a beautiful pair of new black shoes. The price was $140. Lucky for me, I only paid $12 at the Bissell Thrift Shop at 8818 118 Ave. NW.

Unlucky for me, they just don’t fit.

The gleam of the unsullied leather and the lure of a desirable brand name sucked me in. I wanted to resist buying them, but I came up with excuses. Wear a thick insole, I told myself. Or maybe thicker socks.

Sitting in my closet, my new shoes have taught me a lesson. A thrift store bargain is only a bargain if you can actually use your purchase.

As my practical friend Larry Ellis observes, “I like to drop into the thrift stores. I wander through, and stop if something catches my attention, usually in the housewares area. Then I ask myself, ‘Do I need it?’ If I don’t need it, I walk out empty-handed. Buying can be an open door to hoarding.”

For some thrift shoppers, digging around the racks is a delightful break from reality. “It’s a time for myself,” shopper Joan (last name held on request) told me. We were both flipping through the one-dollar rack at The Mustard Seed Thrift Store at 6527 118 Ave. NW.

I know the feeling, Joan! No one judges you. But, as Joan advised, “I know how much I have to spend every month. On-sale racks are my best friend.”

Both The Mustard Seed and Bissell thrift stores have discount days. Sign up for notifications. If you can, be patient until you get a discount. The discounts usually apply to both in-store and online offerings.

I’ve bought winter coats, boots, hats, scarves, and gloves for winter. Bathing suits, beach shoes, bath robes, and camping chairs for summer.

For some shoppers, like massage therapist Amanda Sayer, shopping seasonally is a strategy. At the start of each season, Sayer allocates a budget and buys a new wardrobe. At the end of the season, she returns the clothes to the thrift shop and starts again.

Sayer is in control of her spending. She knows how much she has to spend and sticks with her plan.

I’ve picked up useful strategies from other thrifters. Like so many, I watch my spending more closely these days. I’m learning when to say yes and when to say no. I keep a record of my thrift store purchases. I “shop my closet,” making note of what I need when I’m looking around. I still enjoy browsing, but don’t always leave with a purchase.

I continue to enjoy my thrifting “mini-holidays.” And I particularly enjoy introducing others to the thrill of the chase.

For Brazilian visitor, Natalia Wolffenbuttel, Edmonton’s thrift stores have been a delight.

The 24-year-old Concordia University of Edmonton student will take back some true goodies when she returns to Sapiranga, a small city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Among her favorite purchases are three pairs of designer jeans, bought for a total of $22. “If I got these back home, each would cost at least $40,” she says.” Yes, there are thrift stores in Brazil. But here, “the size range is better, and the clothing is better quality.”

To prove her point that thrift stores are “one of the best things about Edmonton,” her big red suitcase isn’t enough. Wolffenbuttel bought a second one… You guessed it, from a thrift store.