So about once a week I drag my mom out thrifting with me. Here in Butte we have 3 stores that we hit up. I've been hitting up thrift stores for years and I've learned a few things.
1. If you like it and might want it put it in your cart then think about it. Yesterday I was looking at some sheer curtains and an old woman in the next aisle saw me looking at them and she wanted them. I knew she wanted them because the nasty old woman reached through 2 racks of clothes and grabbed 2 of the panels! I noticed that the bottoms were horribly shredded and let go. She saw it when I did and let go... I wasn't going to deal with her again so the set next to them went right in the cart for inspection. She was in the process of trying to grab them too, but she couldn't get close enough to get a hold of them. Some people! This leads me to #2
2. Don't walk away or turn your back on your cart! She wanted my curtains and was circling my cart waiting for me to leave it unattended so she could swipe them. It happens. It's rude. And most stores really won't care about it.
3. If you show a lot of interest in an item and walk away from it, it probably won't be there if you go back to get it. Somebody else might not have seen that treasure till you brought attention to it. Hey I've done it! I saw a man looking at a typewriter really hard and when he walked away I went to look. It was a 1932 Remington Rand for $6! I snagged it and put it in the cart. When I was checking out I saw him go back and look for it.
4. Wet Wipes! For the love of all that's good in the world, a wipe from a fast food place can be your savior. I throw them in my purse when we eat out and I also keep a package in my car. Why? Pockets can hold anything from dirty tissues to used gum. Small plastic containers can contain somebody's used toothbrush. Yes Mom and I have come across these while out, the gum one almost made me scream.
5. Just because it's old doesn't mean it's worth reselling. Old cameras are becoming more available, making the value go down. Before you invest any serious money into something you want to resell think... Mom and I are pretty good at spotting decent resellables... But I still screw up like the $10 Westinghouse Ashtray that has a resale of $10...damn
6. Watch those auction shows! You can learn so much and the advise is free
That's it for now... I'm going to go clean and oil my new White Zigzag machine that I scored for $14.24... Yes that's what they charged me.
