My wife just came home from thrifting last week with a pair of Inuit-made felt and seal fur mittens with the tags still attached. The tag notes that the mitts were made in 1980 in Spence Bay,...
My wife just came home from thrifting last week with a pair of Inuit-made felt and seal fur mittens with the tags still attached.
The tag notes that the mitts were made in 1980 in Spence Bay, Northwest Territories, Canada. The name alone would be enough to date the mitts back to before 1992, when the place was officially given the name Taloyoak. Never mind that the tag makes liberal use of the word Eskimo, which didn't really start falling out of use until maybe the late 80s.
She paid $20 for them, which I suspect is even less than they would have cost brand new almost 50 years ago.
She's torn. On the one hand (no pun intended), they're incredibly comfortable. On the other, it rarely gets cold enough to justify heavy-duty mittens around us and I kind of want to see if I can...
She's torn. On the one hand (no pun intended), they're incredibly comfortable. On the other, it rarely gets cold enough to justify heavy-duty mittens around us and I kind of want to see if I can learn anything else about them before she does anything to them.
Not me but a very close friend. Said friend worked in and around New Orleans doing body removal and transport. Without giving any specific details she did a pickup from a nursing home involving an...
Not me but a very close friend. Said friend worked in and around New Orleans doing body removal and transport. Without giving any specific details she did a pickup from a nursing home involving an old man who passed.
She saw a Hemingway collection in his room and thought she would love to have that but knew it wasn't possible or moral to do so.
Cut to two weeks later and we both went to the Goodwill in Slidell. She was looking at the electronics then we were perusing the book section. Low and behold the exact copy of collected Hemingway was sitting right there front and center.
She bought it immediately for a dollar or less. We both thought it was hilarious but also so perfectly accidently lined up to happen.
It may have been a North Shore nursing home but she wasn't sure.
I have an old school map from, I believe based on the countries, 1952 or 1953. It's huge, like 5ft x 8ft, and becomes the centerpiece of any room it's in. It was originally $45 and while I was...
I have an old school map from, I believe based on the countries, 1952 or 1953. It's huge, like 5ft x 8ft, and becomes the centerpiece of any room it's in. It was originally $45 and while I was away at the ATM getting cash, my friend's girlfriend talked them down to $35. The memory of getting it home was quite funny as I lived in the Mission District in SF and had to carry it home. On route there was a tour group doing one of their "alternative SF" tours and when they saw me carrying the massive map over my head all turned to take pictures. It makes me smile to think I might be in someone's vacation photo album with my prized thift!
You might already be familiar with it (given that a quick skim also shows a 52-53 overlapping section), but xkcd (always being relevant) has an amusing map dating guide
You might already be familiar with it (given that a quick skim also shows a 52-53 overlapping section), but xkcd (always being relevant) has an amusing map dating guide
There's this here link to the companion site which goes in some more depth regarding the steps. But it's really awesome to hear that the guide might've helped you out.
There's this here link to the companion site which goes in some more depth regarding the steps.
But it's really awesome to hear that the guide might've helped you out.
Back before mechanical keyboards became trendy, I was just getting into them and stumbled upon a Das Keyboard for $20 at a college town's Goodwill. They clearly didn't know what they had because...
Back before mechanical keyboards became trendy, I was just getting into them and stumbled upon a Das Keyboard for $20 at a college town's Goodwill. They clearly didn't know what they had because it was like a $120+ keyboard in pretty perfect condition. The only "problem" with it was that it was a Mac-styled keyboard.
I once saw an IBM model M at goodwill for $12, but I was povert at the time and literally didn’t have the money. When I went back a couple days later when I got my paycheck, it was unsurprisingly...
I once saw an IBM model M at goodwill for $12, but I was povert at the time and literally didn’t have the money. When I went back a couple days later when I got my paycheck, it was unsurprisingly gone :(
I used to frequent local Goodwills and thrift stores for mechanical keyboards. I was usually hunting for IBM Model F and M, especially the more uncommon form factors or the more rare SKCM Alps...
I used to frequent local Goodwills and thrift stores for mechanical keyboards. I was usually hunting for IBM Model F and M, especially the more uncommon form factors or the more rare SKCM Alps boards. I did get a couple of standard Model Ms for $5 each and a couple of Alps boards, never any Model Fs (those I had to buy from collectors).
Recently got a Home Assistant Green for $7.50 (USD). It sells for $100 or so. I have to give my partner kudos for spotting it and asking me what it was. I may not end up using it for Home...
Recently got a Home Assistant Green for $7.50 (USD). It sells for $100 or so. I have to give my partner kudos for spotting it and asking me what it was.
I may not end up using it for Home Assistant (which I have running on a server), but a nice little computer in a sleek case has all kinds of potential uses.
There's a used bookshop in my hometown (McKay) that had a bin out front of books they couldn't sell. They'd draw an X in red marker on the cover to indicate they were worthless. In that bin, I...
There's a used bookshop in my hometown (McKay) that had a bin out front of books they couldn't sell. They'd draw an X in red marker on the cover to indicate they were worthless.
In that bin, I found a first edition 193X hardback version (of that version) of the essays of Montaigne, with illustrations by Salvador Dali.
I keep wanting to frame some of the illustrations but it feels like a crime, even now after 30 years.
Possibly, though I don't know how it would be done without damaging the book, and except for the red X on the cover the book is physically in good shape for its age. Not saying it can't be done,...
Possibly, though I don't know how it would be done without damaging the book, and except for the red X on the cover the book is physically in good shape for its age. Not saying it can't be done, only that I personally am not sure what method to use.
Once upon a time, I spent a whopping $20 on a computer they were selling. That computer was a working A3000, complete with hard drive. It was a fun retro computer to play around with but as part...
Once upon a time, I spent a whopping $20 on a computer they were selling. That computer was a working A3000, complete with hard drive. It was a fun retro computer to play around with but as part of my effort to get rid of things I don't have space or time to use, I ended up giving it to a friend last year.
Edit: I don't know how I forgot to add this detail: it was an Amiga computer that originally retailed for $3000.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Infocom game for Commdore 64 (found early 2000s). I already had a C64 and disk drive, so that was cool. A green box that was misshelved with board games, but...
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Infocom game for Commdore 64 (found early 2000s). I already had a C64 and disk drive, so that was cool.
A green box that was misshelved with board games, but contained Korean export documents and a bottle of what was probably soju (but the cork had degraded and it was empty). The bottle had kind of a dragon shape to it.
A Suzuki Omnichord, which I foolishly passed up, even though I knew what it was...and they promptly blew up in value shortly after. If anyone finds a Roland TR-909, Juno, Jupiter or Korg M1 at a thrift store...trust me, they're worthless and I'll take them off your hands for $3.50.
I recently picked up a Balmain leather jacket in a Japanese thrift store for about ¥8,000. Never heard of the brand but it was a nice fit. Only later did I learn from an incredulous mom and sis...
I recently picked up a Balmain leather jacket in a Japanese thrift store for about ¥8,000. Never heard of the brand but it was a nice fit. Only later did I learn from an incredulous mom and sis that apparently I should have paid a lot more for it (assuming it's not a knock off). Whatever the case, I dig it.
I once got a mini bike for a fiver. Rode it around the office for a day or so because it was that kind of a job where you could ride a mini bike around. Made everyone laugh. Five pounds well spent.
I once got a mini bike for a fiver. Rode it around the office for a day or so because it was that kind of a job where you could ride a mini bike around. Made everyone laugh.
Wait holup go back to having a background in circus! 🎪 My only exposure is from media ( the Simpsons' episode where Krusty rides increasingly tinier bikes and Dumbo's animal cruelty traveling...
Wait holup go back to having a background in circus! 🎪 My only exposure is from media ( the Simpsons' episode where Krusty rides increasingly tinier bikes and Dumbo's animal cruelty traveling circus), and attending a Cirque de Soleil. Which kind :D and how did you get into it?
I taught myself to juggle in my early teens after seeing someone do it on kid's TV, then to ride a unicycle a bit later because why not get a unicycle? Around that time there were some free street...
I taught myself to juggle in my early teens after seeing someone do it on kid's TV, then to ride a unicycle a bit later because why not get a unicycle? Around that time there were some free street circus workshops in my town and it turned out that if you can juggle and ride a unicycle, you can hang out with the cool circus people all day and help with their workshop. Which later became a paid job for a couple of summers - I actually did run away from my first 'real' job in an office to join the circus - and has remained the best paid (by the hour, but lots of downtime between gigs) and most by far the most fun job I've ever had. Hard work though. Lots of 4 or 5am starts in the summer to haul ass halfway around the country and put up a very heavy small big top, then spend all day being fun in it before taking it all down again and driving home, or sleeping in the rickety caravan to do it all again the next day. Exhausting but amazing, although not quite as good a way to meet girls as teenage me hoped.
I always preferred walk-round street circus to big top stuff though, and we did plenty of that as well. I did mostly magic, clowning and a bit of juggling, but I can manage to squeeze a few minutes of entertaining out of just about any piece of circus gear even today. I can still walk a tightrope if I get the chance but I'd like to be a low one please.
Was a partner in running a circus business of my own very briefly. Did... OK. Had a good manager/promoter which helps a LOT. Oh, and I was the bronze medal winner of the three-ball gladiators at the 7 and 1/2th Manchester International Juggling Convention. Age 15, up against actual pros and the entire staff of the legendary Mushy Pea Juggling Company.
I almost went to circus school in Paris instead of studying some boring computer science junk at university in England and I'm still not sure I made the right choice there..
Oh my goodness you literally ran away to join the circus!! Where's the mini bike now? That sounds like an amazing period of life :D how does one "come back" to real life after that kind of...
Oh my goodness you literally ran away to join the circus!! Where's the mini bike now? That sounds like an amazing period of life :D how does one "come back" to real life after that kind of excitement?!
I'm pretty sure I gave the bike to a friend, but it was a long time ago. Maybe they still have it and maybe their kids are riding it to this day! If I ever find myself near some kind of real life...
I'm pretty sure I gave the bike to a friend, but it was a long time ago. Maybe they still have it and maybe their kids are riding it to this day!
If I ever find myself near some kind of real life I'll let you know. :)
I have a double-secret thrift store where I routinely get high-end clothing in great condition. Over the summer, someone dumped their near-new collection of Terry and Pearl Izumi bike gear that...
I have a double-secret thrift store where I routinely get high-end clothing in great condition. Over the summer, someone dumped their near-new collection of Terry and Pearl Izumi bike gear that happened to be in my size and colors I liked... I've now got three jerseys (one merino wool), one waterproof jacket, one set of padded shorts, one knee skirt with padded insert, and lightly padded capris. About $1200 dollars at retail... for $24.
It's not really a secret - I suspect everyone who thrifts locally knows about it. It's just remote, about 20 miles from the nearest major population center, in a tiny no-traffic-signal summer...
It's not really a secret - I suspect everyone who thrifts locally knows about it. It's just remote, about 20 miles from the nearest major population center, in a tiny no-traffic-signal summer cottage village. However, it gets donations from some very wealthy second-homeowners so it's worth the trip.
Good tip good tip ~~ I suspect there's a bit of "rich get richer" with thrifting, as one has to have had previous exposure to quality and rare items to be able to identify them "in the wild"...
Good tip good tip ~~
I suspect there's a bit of "rich get richer" with thrifting, as one has to have had previous exposure to quality and rare items to be able to identify them "in the wild" without external clues of price tag and bougie-ness of the store front.
That's a crazy good deal you got -- the local Value Village usually has poor quality items selling at 50-80% of their regular retail cost; I've even seen dollar store items sold for more than the tag lol gotta find me some independent out of the way near rich peopl stores.
I've been thrifting since college days and got a sense of what quality, timeless pieces look like because there was no way I could afford work clothes otherwise. [And I'm in a bike-heavy town so I...
I've been thrifting since college days and got a sense of what quality, timeless pieces look like because there was no way I could afford work clothes otherwise. [And I'm in a bike-heavy town so I knew what the bougie bikers are wearing and the shop prices. There are practical reasons for good biking togs, especially padded bottoms, and I'd been shopping hard for reliable but affordable gear without much luck until the thrift find.] I don't feel badly about thrifting from the rich folks' leavings because it's a charity store and all the sales go back to bridging the inequality chasm in that community.
Plus I'm now the one donating all the good stuff that doesn't fit anymore...
Having feet sizes on either end of the continuum is a blessing and a curse: either shops will never have them in stock, or if they do they're never getting rid of them and just discounting and...
Having feet sizes on either end of the continuum is a blessing and a curse: either shops will never have them in stock, or if they do they're never getting rid of them and just discounting and waiting for you. Brogues are cute! Great find
it isn’t as bad now. being a 32x36 for pants is way worse :) i’m too skinny for Big and Tall and too tall for the mall… Club Monaco is pretty good for this, though. For some reason they’re the...
it isn’t as bad now. being a 32x36 for pants is way worse :) i’m too skinny for Big and Tall and too tall for the mall… Club Monaco is pretty good for this, though. For some reason they’re the only good ones in the Gap family, which doesn’t make sense.
when i was a kid i had to call around the mall first. it made finding shoes extremely quick because the two stores that had them would only have one or two styles.
I wish i still had my Reebok Pumps. they’d fit like a glove.
I have been on the thrifting train for at least 10 years. In that time I've found a variety of good things: Several signed first-edition novels of lesser known sci-fi and fantasy authors A first...
I have been on the thrifting train for at least 10 years. In that time I've found a variety of good things:
Several signed first-edition novels of lesser known sci-fi and fantasy authors
A first edition volume of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea (gifted to my English teacher back in High School)
Loads of vintage Levi's: silver, white, orange rag and a few big E pants and jackets.
A 50's Underwood typewriter of some sort (I think it was a Leader) but my family made me give it away due to many, many late night writing sessions and the incessant clack, clack, clack ding keeping everyone up well past midnight.
I like to collect old cameras and have gotten a variety from op shops, one I was particularly happy with was a Leotax S with a Simlar 50mm f1.5 lens. This is one of the rarer Leica III copycat...
I like to collect old cameras and have gotten a variety from op shops, one I was particularly happy with was a Leotax S with a Simlar 50mm f1.5 lens. This is one of the rarer Leica III copycat models (many manufacturers were 'inspired' by Leica, most famously Russian ones like Zorki but various Japanese companies also did this) with a lens of unusually large aperture for cameras of the time (and rare enough that people ask silly money for it on ebay). Sadly it needs a new shutter curtain to function due to deterioration of the original material but it's still a cool camera and even non-working has a value considerably more than the $30-40 I spent on it.
A Gore rain jacket for 5$ that retails for about $300. It was completely new, but the label was retro-style so I'm guessing they thought it was from the 80s. I love the jacket and use it anytime...
A Gore rain jacket for 5$ that retails for about $300. It was completely new, but the label was retro-style so I'm guessing they thought it was from the 80s. I love the jacket and use it anytime it's raining :)
Thrifts stores aren’t great here in Switzerland. They’re expensive and don’t have all that much stuff. But because I want to brag, I’ll mention four deals I got on the classifieds (next best...
Thrifts stores aren’t great here in Switzerland. They’re expensive and don’t have all that much stuff.
But because I want to brag, I’ll mention four deals I got on the classifieds (next best thing):
Bang and olufsen 1986 Pentas for 50.-, I recapped them and fixed the rubber on the drivers. Cost me an extra 50.- and I now have amazing speakers for 100.-
Bang and olufsen beosystem 2300 (with a pair of speakers, the wall mounting bracket, a remote, and the glass) for 20.-, just had to change the belts for the cassette tape deck and the sliding doors. I haven’t refoamed the speakers yet. It’s the version with a standard aux input.
30.- HP laser jet workgroup type printer, normally sells for 200–300.-
90.- Brother professional document scanner (standalone), normally sells for 300–500.-
I got a green ball gown perfect for dressing up as Rose Marshall, some jewelry, more clothes, and a cookbook I still use for baking. I also got a dress that's old-fashioned, and elegant, while...
I got a green ball gown perfect for dressing up as Rose Marshall, some jewelry, more clothes, and a cookbook I still use for baking. I also got a dress that's old-fashioned, and elegant, while being practical enough to wear to a babysitting job, so I might dress up as Mary Dunlavy instead.
I was thinking about an anima mundi cosplay and didn't want to spoil! I don't actually cosplay so I don't know it would ever come to anything but I like the idea I'm so excited for more Nancy
I was thinking about an anima mundi cosplay and didn't want to spoil! I don't actually cosplay so I don't know it would ever come to anything but I like the idea
I once bought a vintage polaroid for like $2 and I bought a Canon Vintage Lens - 35mm SSC from the 70s. Got it in Bangkok for a fair price and I love filming with it
A few years before Goodwill realized people drop off cool stuff they can sort and redistribute I found some old, interesting albums I don't remember a ton about, but found a Star Trek vinyl...
A few years before Goodwill realized people drop off cool stuff they can sort and redistribute I found some old, interesting albums I don't remember a ton about, but found a Star Trek vinyl pressing. It's a cast-recording episode of some sort that I'd never heard of before.
Yeah, Goodwill definitely started filtering out the obviously good/cool stuff at some point (probably about a decade ago). They would end up selling those things on eBay or equivalent. I basically...
Yeah, Goodwill definitely started filtering out the obviously good/cool stuff at some point (probably about a decade ago). They would end up selling those things on eBay or equivalent. I basically stopped going to Goodwill after I realized I was no longer finding anything decent.
An HP EliteBook 8770w that served me well for many years, could manage any game I threw at it until Aliens: Fireteam Elite Can't remember what I payed for it, but it couldn't have been more than...
An HP EliteBook 8770w that served me well for many years, could manage any game I threw at it until Aliens: Fireteam Elite
Can't remember what I payed for it, but it couldn't have been more than ZAR 4,000 whereas the cheapest configuration looks like it would've been closer to ZAR 34,000 new
Ipod-nano first gen. 2 euro, sold for parts as it didn't turn on even when plugged in. turns out when the battery is really completely dead, the ipod won't even turn on, so I just had to get a new...
Ipod-nano first gen. 2 euro, sold for parts as it didn't turn on even when plugged in. turns out when the battery is really completely dead, the ipod won't even turn on, so I just had to get a new 8 euro battery and I have myself an as new really cool piece of tech history!
I've been thrifting seriously for almost a decade, so there's some stiff competition but my favorite find of all time is a second hand steel tongue drum that I got for about $50. A new one from...
I've been thrifting seriously for almost a decade, so there's some stiff competition but my favorite find of all time is a second hand steel tongue drum that I got for about $50. A new one from the same artisan is about 5-6 times that. It was clearly painstakingly crafted and the sound is just incredible. I use it as a way to fidget when I need to sit still and it's like a warm bubble bath for my ears.
I haven't found too many super cool finds in thrift stores, but I used to visit them obsessively trying to find rare vintage mechanical keyboards. My best visit ever was when I found two IBM Model...
I haven't found too many super cool finds in thrift stores, but I used to visit them obsessively trying to find rare vintage mechanical keyboards. My best visit ever was when I found two IBM Model Ms for $5 and two HP LaserJets printers for $10 each. I imagine they all got donated at the same time. I was using that same printer at work and I knew it retailed for over $500, though it was no longer a current model. Both needed a small repair, which I already knew how to fix as it had happened with my work printer so much that we stopped calling in a repair guy and I had been doing it myself. I gifted one of the printers to my FIL after I fixed it and he used it for the next ten years.
Not from a physical thrift store, most of those around here don't really have anything worth buying, let alone browsing. I did get a vintage 1980's wool coat from Poshmark for $10 a few years ago....
Not from a physical thrift store, most of those around here don't really have anything worth buying, let alone browsing. I did get a vintage 1980's wool coat from Poshmark for $10 a few years ago. It was just slightly too tight when it came in, but now it fits perfectly, and I've been wearing it every time I go out and it isn't raining!
I bought Gran Turismo 2 for 8€ a few years back. I wanted to finish the collection so this was a perfevt buy for me. And I needed PS1 save card and boughr one from Ebay (let's consider it a thrift...
I bought Gran Turismo 2 for 8€ a few years back. I wanted to finish the collection so this was a perfevt buy for me.
And I needed PS1 save card and boughr one from Ebay (let's consider it a thrift store for this one) and when I got it... What do you know - Gram Turismo 1 save on it after finishing the game!
My wife just came home from thrifting last week with a pair of Inuit-made felt and seal fur mittens with the tags still attached.
The tag notes that the mitts were made in 1980 in Spence Bay, Northwest Territories, Canada. The name alone would be enough to date the mitts back to before 1992, when the place was officially given the name Taloyoak. Never mind that the tag makes liberal use of the word Eskimo, which didn't really start falling out of use until maybe the late 80s.
She paid $20 for them, which I suspect is even less than they would have cost brand new almost 50 years ago.
Wow, that is a freaking come up!
Gasp!! I would love to feeeeeeeel them. Is she going to wear them or keep them in tagged?
She's torn. On the one hand (no pun intended), they're incredibly comfortable. On the other, it rarely gets cold enough to justify heavy-duty mittens around us and I kind of want to see if I can learn anything else about them before she does anything to them.
Uh, today I learned something. Tldr: it's an exonym that's has probably some offensive interpretation.
Not me but a very close friend. Said friend worked in and around New Orleans doing body removal and transport. Without giving any specific details she did a pickup from a nursing home involving an old man who passed.
She saw a Hemingway collection in his room and thought she would love to have that but knew it wasn't possible or moral to do so.
Cut to two weeks later and we both went to the Goodwill in Slidell. She was looking at the electronics then we were perusing the book section. Low and behold the exact copy of collected Hemingway was sitting right there front and center.
She bought it immediately for a dollar or less. We both thought it was hilarious but also so perfectly accidently lined up to happen.
It may have been a North Shore nursing home but she wasn't sure.
I got a second edition printing of the Silmarillion for about $70 once.
I have an old school map from, I believe based on the countries, 1952 or 1953. It's huge, like 5ft x 8ft, and becomes the centerpiece of any room it's in. It was originally $45 and while I was away at the ATM getting cash, my friend's girlfriend talked them down to $35. The memory of getting it home was quite funny as I lived in the Mission District in SF and had to carry it home. On route there was a tour group doing one of their "alternative SF" tours and when they saw me carrying the massive map over my head all turned to take pictures. It makes me smile to think I might be in someone's vacation photo album with my prized thift!
You might already be familiar with it (given that a quick skim also shows a 52-53 overlapping section), but xkcd (always being relevant) has an amusing map dating guide
This is awesome! I hadn't seen this! According to this the map is 54-57, so I will have to double check our assumptions. Thanks for sharing!
There's this here link to the companion site which goes in some more depth regarding the steps.
But it's really awesome to hear that the guide might've helped you out.
Back before mechanical keyboards became trendy, I was just getting into them and stumbled upon a Das Keyboard for $20 at a college town's Goodwill. They clearly didn't know what they had because it was like a $120+ keyboard in pretty perfect condition. The only "problem" with it was that it was a Mac-styled keyboard.
I once saw an IBM model M at goodwill for $12, but I was povert at the time and literally didn’t have the money. When I went back a couple days later when I got my paycheck, it was unsurprisingly gone :(
I used to frequent local Goodwills and thrift stores for mechanical keyboards. I was usually hunting for IBM Model F and M, especially the more uncommon form factors or the more rare SKCM Alps boards. I did get a couple of standard Model Ms for $5 each and a couple of Alps boards, never any Model Fs (those I had to buy from collectors).
Recently got a Home Assistant Green for $7.50 (USD). It sells for $100 or so. I have to give my partner kudos for spotting it and asking me what it was.
I may not end up using it for Home Assistant (which I have running on a server), but a nice little computer in a sleek case has all kinds of potential uses.
There's a used bookshop in my hometown (McKay) that had a bin out front of books they couldn't sell. They'd draw an X in red marker on the cover to indicate they were worthless.
In that bin, I found a first edition 193X hardback version (of that version) of the essays of Montaigne, with illustrations by Salvador Dali.
I keep wanting to frame some of the illustrations but it feels like a crime, even now after 30 years.
Do you think you could do some high quality reproductions (scan and print) of the illustrations and frame them/display them with the book?
Possibly, though I don't know how it would be done without damaging the book, and except for the red X on the cover the book is physically in good shape for its age. Not saying it can't be done, only that I personally am not sure what method to use.
There are these book edge scanners that are made to scan into a book. Sometimes libraries have them.
Cool, thanks. I'll take a look at these.
Once upon a time, I spent a whopping $20 on a computer they were selling. That computer was a working A3000, complete with hard drive. It was a fun retro computer to play around with but as part of my effort to get rid of things I don't have space or time to use, I ended up giving it to a friend last year.
Edit: I don't know how I forgot to add this detail: it was an Amiga computer that originally retailed for $3000.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Infocom game for Commdore 64 (found early 2000s). I already had a C64 and disk drive, so that was cool.
A green box that was misshelved with board games, but contained Korean export documents and a bottle of what was probably soju (but the cork had degraded and it was empty). The bottle had kind of a dragon shape to it.
A Suzuki Omnichord, which I foolishly passed up, even though I knew what it was...and they promptly blew up in value shortly after. If anyone finds a Roland TR-909, Juno, Jupiter or Korg M1 at a thrift store...trust me, they're worthless and I'll take them off your hands for $3.50.
A Harris tweed blazer for about 20GBP.
At retail those things sell for 200-300GBP.
I recently picked up a Balmain leather jacket in a Japanese thrift store for about ¥8,000. Never heard of the brand but it was a nice fit. Only later did I learn from an incredulous mom and sis that apparently I should have paid a lot more for it (assuming it's not a knock off). Whatever the case, I dig it.
I once got a mini bike for a fiver. Rode it around the office for a day or so because it was that kind of a job where you could ride a mini bike around. Made everyone laugh.
Five pounds well spent.
Was it hard to ride?
Not particularly, but I have a background in circus so some experience of balancing weird stuff. It was easier than a unicycle.
I love how low-key you slipped this detail in. How neat!
Wait holup go back to having a background in circus! 🎪 My only exposure is from media ( the Simpsons' episode where Krusty rides increasingly tinier bikes and Dumbo's animal cruelty traveling circus), and attending a Cirque de Soleil. Which kind :D and how did you get into it?
I taught myself to juggle in my early teens after seeing someone do it on kid's TV, then to ride a unicycle a bit later because why not get a unicycle? Around that time there were some free street circus workshops in my town and it turned out that if you can juggle and ride a unicycle, you can hang out with the cool circus people all day and help with their workshop. Which later became a paid job for a couple of summers - I actually did run away from my first 'real' job in an office to join the circus - and has remained the best paid (by the hour, but lots of downtime between gigs) and most by far the most fun job I've ever had. Hard work though. Lots of 4 or 5am starts in the summer to haul ass halfway around the country and put up a very heavy small big top, then spend all day being fun in it before taking it all down again and driving home, or sleeping in the rickety caravan to do it all again the next day. Exhausting but amazing, although not quite as good a way to meet girls as teenage me hoped.
I always preferred walk-round street circus to big top stuff though, and we did plenty of that as well. I did mostly magic, clowning and a bit of juggling, but I can manage to squeeze a few minutes of entertaining out of just about any piece of circus gear even today. I can still walk a tightrope if I get the chance but I'd like to be a low one please.
Was a partner in running a circus business of my own very briefly. Did... OK. Had a good manager/promoter which helps a LOT. Oh, and I was the bronze medal winner of the three-ball gladiators at the 7 and 1/2th Manchester International Juggling Convention. Age 15, up against actual pros and the entire staff of the legendary Mushy Pea Juggling Company.
I almost went to circus school in Paris instead of studying some boring computer science junk at university in England and I'm still not sure I made the right choice there..
Oh my goodness you literally ran away to join the circus!! Where's the mini bike now? That sounds like an amazing period of life :D how does one "come back" to real life after that kind of excitement?!
I'm pretty sure I gave the bike to a friend, but it was a long time ago. Maybe they still have it and maybe their kids are riding it to this day!
If I ever find myself near some kind of real life I'll let you know. :)
I have a double-secret thrift store where I routinely get high-end clothing in great condition. Over the summer, someone dumped their near-new collection of Terry and Pearl Izumi bike gear that happened to be in my size and colors I liked... I've now got three jerseys (one merino wool), one waterproof jacket, one set of padded shorts, one knee skirt with padded insert, and lightly padded capris. About $1200 dollars at retail... for $24.
Score!! What does double-secret mean or just for effect? :) I would keep that one on the low down too
It's not really a secret - I suspect everyone who thrifts locally knows about it. It's just remote, about 20 miles from the nearest major population center, in a tiny no-traffic-signal summer cottage village. However, it gets donations from some very wealthy second-homeowners so it's worth the trip.
Good tip good tip ~~
I suspect there's a bit of "rich get richer" with thrifting, as one has to have had previous exposure to quality and rare items to be able to identify them "in the wild" without external clues of price tag and bougie-ness of the store front.
That's a crazy good deal you got -- the local Value Village usually has poor quality items selling at 50-80% of their regular retail cost; I've even seen dollar store items sold for more than the tag lol gotta find me some independent out of the way near rich peopl stores.
I've been thrifting since college days and got a sense of what quality, timeless pieces look like because there was no way I could afford work clothes otherwise. [And I'm in a bike-heavy town so I knew what the bougie bikers are wearing and the shop prices. There are practical reasons for good biking togs, especially padded bottoms, and I'd been shopping hard for reliable but affordable gear without much luck until the thrift find.] I don't feel badly about thrifting from the rich folks' leavings because it's a charity store and all the sales go back to bridging the inequality chasm in that community.
Plus I'm now the one donating all the good stuff that doesn't fit anymore...
Maybe not cool, but most valuable ROI... Found an early Roy Henry Vickers print, "lighthouse", framed, for $50. The store didn't know what they had.
i got some nice light brown leather brogues recently for fourteen bucks. a rare find since i have size thirteen feet.
Having feet sizes on either end of the continuum is a blessing and a curse: either shops will never have them in stock, or if they do they're never getting rid of them and just discounting and waiting for you. Brogues are cute! Great find
it isn’t as bad now. being a 32x36 for pants is way worse :) i’m too skinny for Big and Tall and too tall for the mall… Club Monaco is pretty good for this, though. For some reason they’re the only good ones in the Gap family, which doesn’t make sense.
when i was a kid i had to call around the mall first. it made finding shoes extremely quick because the two stores that had them would only have one or two styles.
I wish i still had my Reebok Pumps. they’d fit like a glove.
I have been on the thrifting train for at least 10 years. In that time I've found a variety of good things:
I like to collect old cameras and have gotten a variety from op shops, one I was particularly happy with was a Leotax S with a Simlar 50mm f1.5 lens. This is one of the rarer Leica III copycat models (many manufacturers were 'inspired' by Leica, most famously Russian ones like Zorki but various Japanese companies also did this) with a lens of unusually large aperture for cameras of the time (and rare enough that people ask silly money for it on ebay). Sadly it needs a new shutter curtain to function due to deterioration of the original material but it's still a cool camera and even non-working has a value considerably more than the $30-40 I spent on it.
A Gore rain jacket for 5$ that retails for about $300. It was completely new, but the label was retro-style so I'm guessing they thought it was from the 80s. I love the jacket and use it anytime it's raining :)
Thrifts stores aren’t great here in Switzerland. They’re expensive and don’t have all that much stuff.
But because I want to brag, I’ll mention four deals I got on the classifieds (next best thing):
Bang and olufsen 1986 Pentas for 50.-, I recapped them and fixed the rubber on the drivers. Cost me an extra 50.- and I now have amazing speakers for 100.-
Bang and olufsen beosystem 2300 (with a pair of speakers, the wall mounting bracket, a remote, and the glass) for 20.-, just had to change the belts for the cassette tape deck and the sliding doors. I haven’t refoamed the speakers yet. It’s the version with a standard aux input.
30.- HP laser jet workgroup type printer, normally sells for 200–300.-
90.- Brother professional document scanner (standalone), normally sells for 300–500.-
Got a Samyang 12mm f/2 (fuji mount) in a cash converters for about 160.- a couple years ago. To this day it's my second most used lens!
I got a green ball gown perfect for dressing up as Rose Marshall, some jewelry, more clothes, and a cookbook I still use for baking. I also got a dress that's old-fashioned, and elegant, while being practical enough to wear to a babysitting job, so I might dress up as Mary Dunlavy instead.
Please share pics if you do either of these!
I'm now wondering which character from that shared universe I could be (are you all caught up?)
I've read all of her published books already, but Gates of Garnet and Gold comes out tomorrow.
I was thinking about an anima mundi cosplay and didn't want to spoil! I don't actually cosplay so I don't know it would ever come to anything but I like the idea
I'm so excited for more Nancy
I once bought a vintage polaroid for like $2 and I bought a Canon Vintage Lens - 35mm SSC from the 70s.
Got it in Bangkok for a fair price and I love filming with it
A few years before Goodwill realized people drop off cool stuff they can sort and redistribute I found some old, interesting albums I don't remember a ton about, but found a Star Trek vinyl pressing. It's a cast-recording episode of some sort that I'd never heard of before.
Yeah, Goodwill definitely started filtering out the obviously good/cool stuff at some point (probably about a decade ago). They would end up selling those things on eBay or equivalent. I basically stopped going to Goodwill after I realized I was no longer finding anything decent.
No to brag or anything but I found a practically brand new Wii with Tiger Woods 09 for only $35 CAD!
An HP EliteBook 8770w that served me well for many years, could manage any game I threw at it until Aliens: Fireteam Elite
Can't remember what I payed for it, but it couldn't have been more than ZAR 4,000 whereas the cheapest configuration looks like it would've been closer to ZAR 34,000 new
Ipod-nano first gen. 2 euro, sold for parts as it didn't turn on even when plugged in. turns out when the battery is really completely dead, the ipod won't even turn on, so I just had to get a new 8 euro battery and I have myself an as new really cool piece of tech history!
I've been thrifting seriously for almost a decade, so there's some stiff competition but my favorite find of all time is a second hand steel tongue drum that I got for about $50. A new one from the same artisan is about 5-6 times that. It was clearly painstakingly crafted and the sound is just incredible. I use it as a way to fidget when I need to sit still and it's like a warm bubble bath for my ears.
I haven't found too many super cool finds in thrift stores, but I used to visit them obsessively trying to find rare vintage mechanical keyboards. My best visit ever was when I found two IBM Model Ms for $5 and two HP LaserJets printers for $10 each. I imagine they all got donated at the same time. I was using that same printer at work and I knew it retailed for over $500, though it was no longer a current model. Both needed a small repair, which I already knew how to fix as it had happened with my work printer so much that we stopped calling in a repair guy and I had been doing it myself. I gifted one of the printers to my FIL after I fixed it and he used it for the next ten years.
Not from a physical thrift store, most of those around here don't really have anything worth buying, let alone browsing. I did get a vintage 1980's wool coat from Poshmark for $10 a few years ago. It was just slightly too tight when it came in, but now it fits perfectly, and I've been wearing it every time I go out and it isn't raining!
I bought Gran Turismo 2 for 8€ a few years back. I wanted to finish the collection so this was a perfevt buy for me.
And I needed PS1 save card and boughr one from Ebay (let's consider it a thrift store for this one) and when I got it... What do you know - Gram Turismo 1 save on it after finishing the game!