Need to brag about thrift shopping/after-Christmas sale finds?

[Julie Herbster]

My sister and I enjoy shopping at thrift stores, especially when we're together...so that's where we found ourselves yesterday afternoon. We were at Savers, which is a somewhat 'pricier' thrift store, but they were having a 50% off green tag sale. Anyway, rooting around in the back of the home goods section, we unearthed some 'floor chairs' (floor cushions supported by backs made of fabric-covered metal frame) in a nice chocolate color. Perfect for watching TV, extra seating for casual gatherings, etc. Two bucks apiece. We bought all nine of them. We kept saying how nice and practical they were (they 'nest' nicely and don't take up storage space, etc.). So, we thought we'd search online to see if we could find a comparable item's retail price. Well, we found these exact chairs, called Back Jacks...at $65.99 apiece! We paid $18.00 for nine of them! Gotta love it.

 

Anybody else have a good 'steal story' from after-Christmas sales or thrift store shopping?

[Denise in Florida]

I love thrift stores.

 

This was a small find but one of my favorite gifts I gave this Christmas. My 18yo dd plays piano, loves jazz and makes artwork/crafts from found objects. I found a lovely player piano roll, in good condition with its original storage box. The song was Maple Leaf Rag (one of her favorites). I bought it at Goodwill for $2.50. She loved it and is trying to decide if she will keep it as is or create a music theme art work with it.

[PollyOR]

Wow! What a deal.

 

Sadly our house is so full of stuff that I'm not allowing myself in the local thrift stores except to make donations. sigh...

[Julie Herbster]

I love thrift stores.

 

This was a small find but one of my favorite gifts I gave this Christmas. My 18yo dd plays piano, loves jazz and makes artwork/crafts from found objects. I found a lovely player piano roll, in good condition with its original storage box. The song was Maple Leaf Rag (one of her favorites). I bought it at Goodwill for $2.50. She loved it and is trying to decide if she will keep it as is or create a music theme art work with it.

 

Oooh, nice! Vintage stuff! Post a pic if she uses the roll in a work of art.

[ConnieB]

Best deal ever....unopened copy of Rosetta Stone (full version not those demos) Spanish for $5.00 at a thrift store.

[5knights3maidens]

I just posted on my blog this: I went to the thrift store this morning and found boxes of beautiful Martha Stewart shatterproof ornaments for .25 a box and the large ornaments for less than .75 a box!! I got a total of 5 boxes of the small ornaments-12 each pkg. And 2 boxes of the large ornaments-18 each pkg.! They are purple, turquoise, silver, blue and some have sparkles. They look like they have never been used. :D

[Julie Herbster]

Best deal ever....unopened copy of Rosetta Stone (full version not those demos) Spanish for $5.00 at a thrift store.

Whoa! That blows my find out of the water!

 

5knights, nice grab on the Martha Stewart ornaments!

 

Here's a quiz question for hard-core thrift shoppers who never fail to look through the children's book sections: What one children's book seems to pop up at just about every thrift store? (I would say EVERY thrift store, b/c I think I've seen it at every single thrift store I've ever visited.) Any ideas?

[clarkacademy]

Good Night Moon??? I have seen that and that Foot Book by Dr. Suess I think it is. I see those an awful lot.

 

Whoa! That blows my find out of the water!

 

5knights, nice grab on the Martha Stewart ornaments!

 

Here's a quiz question for hard-core thrift shoppers who never fail to look through the children's book sections: What one children's book seems to pop up at just about every thrift store? (I would say EVERY thrift store, b/c I think I've seen it at every single thrift store I've ever visited.) Any ideas?

[lotsofpumpkins]

I did very well at the Goodwill yesterday. On Mondays all the clothes are 50% off. I was really needing some clothes for myself, so I decided to check there before paying full price somewhere else. Well, I found 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of capris, and 8 shirts, all in excellent/like new condition (AND they fit great!). I also got dd a shirt since she was with me and put up with watching me try on tons of stuff. So, 12 items in all. I paid $24.30. :D

 

As for books, whenever I search the Goodwill's children's books, there always seems to be an abundance of the Dora, Disney, etc type books.

[i.love.lucy]

 

Here's a quiz question for hard-core thrift shoppers who never fail to look through the children's book sections: What one children's book seems to pop up at just about every thrift store? (I would say EVERY thrift store, b/c I think I've seen it at every single thrift store I've ever visited.) Any ideas?

 

Charlotte's Web

[DawnM]

My older two needed slippers.

 

We found two really cool pair that matched and looked new, and were $2.50 each. I looked them up when I got home and they are $25 each retail!~ YEAH!

 

Dawn

[tammi]

I didn't buy it after Christmas but I did buy just before Christmas for my son. I found it at a thrift store for $75. I went on-line to check if I made a good deal and found ones just like it for +1,000 dollars. It is in excellent shape. I call that a very good deal!:001_smile:

[Julie Herbster]

Good Night Moon??? I have seen that and that Foot Book by Dr. Suess I think it is. I see those an awful lot.

 

OK, so I was at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in the place where I'm visiting my family 1000 miles from my home...and, sure enough, I saw The Children's Book That Is in Every Thrift Store again! It wasn't Good Night Moon...or The Foot Book...or Charlotte's Web...I'll see if any more are interested in guessing, and then I'll reveal the answer. Hint: It is a small hardback book that is part of a larger series...but I rarely see any other books from this series in a thrift store. Maybe there was a massive overprinting of this book years back???

 

BTW, I snagged some great deals today...All books at this place are 39 cents!

[gardening momma]

I went to the thrift store the day after Christmas, hoping they would have a sale (nope, but they will on New Year's Day--I'm going back!).

 

I got myself 2 nearly-new pairs of heels...I desperately needed church shoes; a nice multi-photo picture frame; a nice rustic coppery/rust-colored candle holder thingy--hard to explain, but I'd put a tall pillar candle inside, and it has a tall open frame that surrounds the candle; a 4T summer dress that either my dd4 will wear this summer, or I'll give as a gift to a niece. Can't remember if there was anything else. It all cost just over $26. Most of that was my shoes, about $7-8 each.

[LibraryLover]

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?

 

The Series of Unfortunate Events?

 

 

 

 

OK, so I was at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in the place where I'm visiting my family 1000 miles from my home...and, sure enough, I saw The Children's Book That Is in Every Thrift Store again! It wasn't Good Night Moon...or The Foot Book...or Charlotte's Web...I'll see if any more are interested in guessing, and then I'll reveal the answer. Hint: It is a small hardback book that is part of a larger series...but I rarely see any other books from this series in a thrift store. Maybe there was a massive overprinting of this book years back???

 

BTW, I snagged some great deals today...All books at this place are 39 cents!

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I'll play. I found plate chargers (linked below), identical to these from Crate & Barrel (@ $12.95 each) for 50c at our local thrift store. I got 16 of them for $8.00.

 

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=14376&f=32215&q=charger&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1

Edited December 31, 2009 by Suzanne in ABQ

[Julie Herbster]

Maybe it's a Beatrix Potter book but which one. The Tale of Benjamin Bunny? I also always see the first book in the Bible Story series by Arthur Maxwell http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Story-Ten-Set/dp/0828012652/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262231987&sr=8-2 but those aren't little hardbacks.

 

You know, I've seen a lot of these books, too, so good guess! But the one I'm thinking of is a Bible story...The very thing that makes it stick out to me is that it is this one, and only this one, Bible story in the whole series that is at every thrift shop I visit. For as long as I can remember, I've headed to the children's book section first to see what treasures I can unearth...but now there's this weird compulsion to search for the additional purpose of seeing if This Book is there. I was almost defeated yesterday at the Salvation Army store...kept searching...digging...pulse quickening...It's not here???....Oh, yes. It is. Unbelievable. I'm 1000 miles away from the ten or so thrift stores I frequent, and it's here, too. It has been in the thrift stores I've visited on vacations, too...Pigeon Forge, Williamsburg, etc. It's STALKING ME!!! I...can't...get...away...from it.

 

I went to the thrift store the day after Christmas, hoping they would have a sale (nope, but they will on New Year's Day--I'm going back!).

 

I got myself 2 nearly-new pairs of heels...I desperately needed church shoes; a nice multi-photo picture frame; a nice rustic coppery/rust-colored candle holder thingy--hard to explain, but I'd put a tall pillar candle inside, and it has a tall open frame that surrounds the candle; a 4T summer dress that either my dd4 will wear this summer, or I'll give as a gift to a niece. Can't remember if there was anything else. It all cost just over $26. Most of that was my shoes, about $7-8 each.

 

Awesome!!!

 

(Architect drafting table) I didn't buy it after Christmas but I did buy just before Christmas for my son. I found it at a thrift store for $75. I went on-line to check if I made a good deal and found ones just like it for +1,000 dollars. It is in excellent shape. I call that a very good deal!:001_smile:

 

 

Oh, yeah!

 

My older two needed slippers.

 

We found two really cool pair that matched and looked new, and were $2.50 each. I looked them up when I got home and they are $25 each retail!~ YEAH!

 

Dawn

 

Love it! There's just something about getting an item at 90% off the retail price that gives me the warm fuzzies. I have to resist the urge to tell everyone I know what I just found. That's why I started this thread!! :tongue_smilie:

[hsmom3tn]

You know, I've seen a lot of these books, too, so good guess! But the one I'm thinking of is a Bible story...The very thing that makes it stick out to me is that it is this one, and only this one, Bible story in the whole series that is at every thrift shop I visit. For as long as I can remember, I've headed to the children's book section first to see what treasures I can unearth...but now there's this weird compulsion to search for the additional purpose of seeing if This Book is there. I was almost defeated yesterday at the Salvation Army store...kept searching...digging...pulse quickening...It's not here???....Oh, yes. It is. Unbelievable. I'm 1000 miles away from the ten or so thrift stores I frequent, and it's here, too. It has been in the thrift stores I've visited on vacations, too...Pigeon Forge, Williamsburg, etc. It's STALKING ME!!! I...can't...get...away...from it.

 

 

 

 

I know exactly what book you mean! I can't think of the name of it either. :confused:

 

It's going to drive me crazy now! Maybe I should run down to the Goodwill store and find it - I know they'll have at least one copy. :tongue_smilie:

[Julie Herbster]

So, here's the link to an image of The Book That Is Stalking Me. The title of the book isn't in the link, so those of you who want to keep guessing what it is can do that. Hey, maybe if I just broke down and bought this book, it would leave me alone...then I'd donate it to a thrift store...

 

(Notice that the price for used copies is $0.01. Yeah, I'm thinking this book must have been the victim of a massive overprinting, and it's getting its revenge by stalking innocent thrift store-goers.)

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/0837850681/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1?ie=UTF8&index=1

[hsmom3tn]

Is it this one????

 

 

It's from the Alice in Bibleland series. I think this was the first one and it was a freebie that was mailed to every house in America, LOL.

 

It may have been a different title, but I know the one that I'm thinking of was definitely from that series...

[hsmom3tn]

So, here's the link to an image of The Book That Is Stalking Me. The title of the book isn't in the link, so those of you who want to keep guessing what it is can do that. Hey, maybe if I just broke down and bought this book, it would leave me alone...then I'd donate it to a thrift store...

 

(Notice that the price for used copies is $0.01. Yeah, I'm thinking this book must have been the victim of a massive overprinting, and it's getting its revenge by stalking innocent thrift store-goers.)

 

 

 

I just posted my guess at the same time. :D

 

I couldn't think of it, though, until another poster said it was from a bible series.

[Julie Herbster]

Is it this one????

 

 

It's from the Alice in Bibleland series. I think this was the first one and it was a freebie that was mailed to every house in America, LOL.

 

It may have been a different title, but I know the one that I'm thinking of was definitely from that series...

 

Bingo, hsmom3tn! You win the hard-core thrift shopping award for the day! And bonus points for your explanation; I didn't know that. Hey, maybe there's a money-making opportunity here. We could buy up all of the copies of this book, seal them in a capsule, and when we're ninety years old, sell them as 'vintage books' at $20.00 a pop! (But I'm thinking they'll still be haunting thrift stores in the year 2063...)

[hsmom3tn]

Hey, maybe there's a money-making opportunity here. We could buy up all of the copies of this book, seal them in a capsule, and when we're ninety years old, sell them as 'vintage books' at $20.00 a pop! (But I'm thinking they'll still be haunting thrift stores in the year 2063...)

 

:lol:

[Julie Herbster]

The other day, when I was still 'back home,' I called my sister after finding this book in yet another thrift store. My sister (an even harder core thrift shopper than I am, if that's possible) travels the country full-time with her husband, an itinerant speaker, and their three girls. I just had to know...was this book stalking her, too? I asked her the same question I asked on this thread. She answered, without hesitation, "The Story of Jonah." Funny!

 

Any more fabulous deals y'all want to share?

[ConnieB]

So, here's the link to an image of The Book That Is Stalking Me. The title of the book isn't in the link, so those of you who want to keep guessing what it is can do that. Hey, maybe if I just broke down and bought this book, it would leave me alone...then I'd donate it to a thrift store...

 

(Notice that the price for used copies is $0.01. Yeah, I'm thinking this book must have been the victim of a massive overprinting, and it's getting its revenge by stalking innocent thrift store-goers.)

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/0837850681/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1?ie=UTF8&index=1

 

 

That book was a free give away a number of years back, as I recall....I think it was the first in the series and you could buy the rest if you liked that one.....obviously more people just chucked the first in the series and did NOT buy the series, lol.

[LibraryLover]

lol I have seen that. Although I never wouldhave thought of that one.

 

So, here's the link to an image of The Book That Is Stalking Me. The title of the book isn't in the link, so those of you who want to keep guessing what it is can do that. Hey, maybe if I just broke down and bought this book, it would leave me alone...then I'd donate it to a thrift store...

 

(Notice that the price for used copies is $0.01. Yeah, I'm thinking this book must have been the victim of a massive overprinting, and it's getting its revenge by stalking innocent thrift store-goers.)

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/0837850681/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1?ie=UTF8&index=1

[Colleen in NS]

I was going to guess any version of Noah's Ark.

 

I adore thrift store hunting. I haven't gotten to one yet this week (maybe Sat. - I'm thinking that now's a good time to go, with people unloading their "junk."). But last week before Christmas, oh yeah. I found tons of games and puzzles this time around. One game is called Reversi, from the Ravensburger company - about $2. I found a 1000 piece puzzle that will NOT be frustrating to my kids, because it's full of little pictures that are well defined, instead of great swaths of one colour. (It's pictures of America's First Ladies, all the way up to Laura Bush - put out by what looks like a good puzzle-making company in Vermont - it's a well-built puzzle) That was $1. We are in Canada, but we are dual citizens, and it was a good puzzle to play with! :D

[Colleen in NS]

Oh, you also said after Christmas sale finds, too! OK, with my Michael's craft store gift card, I bought only sale items - 13 skeins of coloured cotton yarn - Bernat Handicrafter - for .99/skein (excellent price here)!!! Bright colours. Lime, hot purple, hot blue.

[Momling]

I went to a Gymboree outlet and found 2 pairs of slim-sized jeans for 4.99 each and picked up seven shirts for 2.99 each and 4 summer skirts and a dress for 3.99 each. I was never that fond of Gymboree... but now that my girls are starting to wear those 'tween sizes, I find I can't stand the 1980's teenybopper styles at other shops.

[EarleneW]

I just got a pair of barely used heeleys today for $2.60! My dd was estatic!

[Mandamom]

Dh has decided to get into wood crafting due to his unemployment and we needed a few pieces of wood to get started.

 

We walked into Home Depot into the lumber section and there was a huge cart of culled lumber for $20. Yes, there were a lot of defects but he figured that if he had tried to buy the amount of useable lumber that he was able to cut it would have cost over $200.

 

So, we were thrilled with our find.

[Serendipity]

This thread inspired me to go to Goodwill today. I found two boxes of Kapla blocks. They are NIP and each one has 75pcs. I bought them for $5 apiece, plus tax. I can't find them online so I don't know how much the blocks cost before they ended up at Goodwill. We have Keva planks, but I am going to keep these, too. :)

[Guest Katia]

The children's book that I see in every Goodwill I've ever been in (and I'm talking several different states), is Love You Forever. It's such a disturbing book I think everyone gives their copy away and they end up at Goodwill.

[cin]

Hold onto those kapla blocks. Apparently, they are no longer delivering to the U.S. In addition, the 75 piece set was available only to educators. So yeah, you got a GREAT DEAL!

[gardening momma]

Is it this one????

 

 

 

That's the one we have!

[Serendipity]

Hold onto those kapla blocks. Apparently, they are no longer delivering to the U.S. In addition, the 75 piece set was available only to educators. So yeah, you got a GREAT DEAL!

 

Wow! I, obviously, had NO idea. Thank you!!!

[Corraleno]

The children's book that I see in every Goodwill I've ever been in (and I'm talking several different states), is Love You Forever. It's such a disturbing book I think everyone gives their copy away and they end up at Goodwill.

 

I'm so glad to hear that someone else is creeped out by that book! I know someone who gives it as a gift at every baby shower, and then weeps while she rereads it for the 1500th time. She is also waaaaay too attached to her 27 yo son (who dropped out of school and lives in his parents basement and plays video games all day). Ick.

 

Jackie