More Charity Shop Bargains for 2018 & beyond!

Gem-gem

Visited a different area today. Visited six cs.
Bought John Grisham hardback book for £3 (looked brand new. still atleAst £7 on Amazon. I used to buy his books when thy first came out for £10. £20 onthe inside sleeve).
Another book for £2.49 from Oxfam - more than I would normally pay but this author has only written three books and I have not long finished reading the other two (couldn't find it in any of the other five charity shops so went back and bought it - It had not been read - has that new book feel.
Finally bought a (looks) brand new real leather beige across the body handbag. Paid £9.99 for it. Saw it in the shop, first walked away. It is not a designer bag but it is made in Italy and their leather goods can be very nice. Went to the pub to wait for husband. Looked it up on the internet. Brand new on Amazon any price from £20 - £30+ Another site !!!8364;40. Thing is, the colour matches a pair of sandals that I have. So I went back to the shop had another good look at it. Couldn't see a mark on it (inside or out). So decided to buy it.
If I had bought all three items brand new - would have cost £48+. I paid £15.49, so a not as cheap as some things that I have found but happy with what I got.

dolly84

My DD is a big Dan Brown fan and she wanted to buy his most recent book for £10 when it came out, I said it was too much but she insisted she needed the full set of hardbacks, I won and made her wait and reserved it from the library so at least she could read it. Yesterday she picked it up in hardback for £1.25, perfect condition. All good things come to he who waits.

I have been looking for some grey curtains for DS's room, we must have awkward window drops and I have been struggling. Anyway yesterday I found a pair of Dunelm Mill ones, floor length, grey crushed velvet effect but actually velour, lined for £8.

DigForVictory

dolly84 wrote: »

All good things come to he who waits.

As she who can be gracelessly impatient, I struggle a bit with this idea.

Not least as I'm of the view It Was Meant school - if something is there, and calls to me, it is supposed to come home with me. If as I flip the pot for a basestamp or run fingers for cracks, chips etc it's singing to me, then the raw logistics of lugging a 20 piece assortment of Denby home does weigh with me, as in where are the chaps, has the shop got a robust cardboard box, if paid in full would thy hold it for me to fetch the car despite intending closing in another 10 minutes etc.

I very rarely walk away from something knowingly without a reason. It's not a pattern I'm especially fond of, or it's so overpriced it needs to stay there a month until they realise that "Denby" alone does not sell an ugly pot, ah well. Unless I have that (sometimes very) tenuous reason, the thing comes with me.

It's why I hold a pot, or book, or garment until a child or spouse can rejoin me (with money, or vigorous health, or both) & my phone has a one button dial for Himself.

Doesn't mean I cannot & do not appreciate the patience of the hunter checking the waterholes and pouncing on the hunted critter!

Pollycat

DigForVictory wrote: »

As she who can be gracelessly impatient, I struggle a bit with this idea.

Not least as I'm of the view It Was Meant school - if something is there, and calls to me, it is supposed to come home with me. If as I flip the pot for a basestamp or run fingers for cracks, chips etc it's singing to me, then the raw logistics of lugging a 20 piece assortment of Denby home does weigh with me, as in where are the chaps, has the shop got a robust cardboard box, if paid in full would thy hold it for me to fetch the car despite intending closing in another 10 minutes etc.

I very rarely walk away from something knowingly without a reason. It's not a pattern I'm especially fond of, or it's so overpriced it needs to stay there a month until they realise that "Denby" alone does not sell an ugly pot, ah well. Unless I have that (sometimes very) tenuous reason, the thing comes with me.

It's why I hold a pot, or book, or garment until a child or spouse can rejoin me (with money, or vigorous health, or both) & my phone has a one button dial for Himself.

Doesn't mean I cannot & do not appreciate the patience of the hunter checking the waterholes and pouncing on the hunted critter!

I'm with you on the 'it's meant for me' theory.

If I see something in a charity shop, it'll usually be a one-off (as in I can't go on-line and order one in a different colour or size) so if I really, really want it, I hot-foot it to the cash desk.
If I'm a bit unsure, I'll walk away to think about it and if it's gone when I go back, it just wasn't meant for me.

I think in dolly84's example about her DD, it was a brand new book, just published, which would be available everywhere - from Waterstone's, Amazon to Tesco.
In that scenario, I agree with dolly84 that it definitely made sense to adopt the 'All good things come to he who waits' attitude because - as is the case with dolly84 - a brand new book will generally come down in price and if it's by a sought-after author as Dan Brown is, it will quite often appear in a charity shop sooner or later.

Gem-gem

dolly84 wrote: »

My DD is a big Dan Brown fan and she wanted to buy his most recent book for £10 when it came out, I said it was too much but she insisted she needed the full set of hardbacks, I won and made her wait and reserved it from the library so at least she could read it. Yesterday she picked it up in hardback for £1.25, perfect condition. All good things come to he who waits.

I have been looking for some grey curtains for DS's room, we must have awkward window drops and I have been struggling. Anyway yesterday I found a pair of Dunelm Mill ones, floor length, grey crushed velvet effect but actually velour, lined for £8.

Wow, that was a good price for the Dan Brown book. I am also on the look out for Origin. Hope I can get it for that price too.

Lucy5781

silvasava wrote: »

Lucy - read your thread the other day from before you met DH - very impressed with your determination and tenacity and so pleased for you.
.

Thank you, together five years this October, when we'll also celebrate being married for three.

Married, house and second baby about to arrive lol. I think busy might be an understatement! This will be us done though as with my stepson, three kids for us is plenty.

Getting harder to find suitable CS stuff for my stepson now though as at 11 and a half he's wearing age 15 or small men's stuff and needs shoes in a six or even a seven, which is bigger than my shoe size!

bobsa1

When I'm writing about my purchases I realise just how much cs shipping I do but I suppose it's an innocent enough past time. Yesterday dh and dad aged 14 went to the £1 cs. Dd hates cs shopping with a passion but was persuaded to come along on the promise of lunch from the posh sandwich shop! We bought a gorgeous vintage heavy glass vase, a DVD for dd a tie for dh and a pair of black trousers for work for dh princely sum of £2. I then spotted two handmade pottery goblet things on a sort of stem so I got those and a brand new pillar tea light holder and tea light also for the total of £1. I intend to paint the pottery and have them as candle holders as they are quite large. We ten popped to the everything £3 and under cs and I got dd another DVD for £1. So we had a trip to the shops and mooch about for little more than it would have cost for a large latte from a chain coffee shop

retiredinfrance

Exactly, Bobsa1, CS shopping is cheaper than most hobbies, saves money, helps a good cause and is more interesting than normal shops as there is a real thrill about not knowing what you might come across. I think it is very psychologically satisfying as it is a link with our earliest hunter-gatherer ancestors.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I met an old friend at the weekend, who asked me which part of London "I shop in" these days. I realised I was puzzled by the question, as shopping to me means nearest supermarket for food, and charity shops for pretty much everything else (undies and shoes excepted). I don't class shopping as an activity these days; food is just necesssity, and chazzers are a fun bargain-hunt; a totally different experience to High St clothes stores.

Latest finds:

Smart black M&S formal trousers 50p
Black TM Lewin shirt with ruffle detail £2
Soft green linen top with lovely silk/bead neckline detail, label removed but seemed good quality £2
Hardback collection of James Herriott cat anecdotes with lovely colour illustrations 50p

Pollycat

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

I met an old friend at the weekend, who asked me which part of London "I shop in" these days. I realised I was puzzled by the question, as shopping to me means nearest supermarket for food, and charity shops for pretty much everything else (undies and shoes excepted). I don't class shopping as an activity these days; food is just necesssity, and chazzers are a fun bargain-hunt; a totally different experience to High St clothes stores.

Latest finds:

Smart black M&S formal trousers 50p
Black TM Lewin shirt with ruffle detail £2
Soft green linen top with lovely silk/bead neckline detail, label removed but seemed good quality £2
Hardback collection of James Herriott cat anecdotes with lovely colour illustrations 50p

I want one of those!

I've had a clear out of some of my clothes.
Some will go to my sis to see if she's interested, she usually passes anything she doesn't want onto her friend.

The rest will go to the hospice shop.
Some good brands - Mantaray, White Stuff, East, Fat Face.
And 2 Next shirts from OH's wardrobe that he doesn't know about - but hasn't worn for years so won't be missed (I hope). :eek:

I'm going to try to be more picky with what I buy.
I have enough dresses - long and short, trousers and tops, coats & jackets to last me a lifetime.