Let Thrift shopping thrive in 25!

goldfinches

@Rosa_Damascena - thanks for that fascinating read that struck much closer to home than was comfortable for me. I shall have to give it some thought. I do think part of my buying at the moment is related to being able to get out and about again now the warmer weather is here, but having a tottering to be read pile is perhaps not as good as it feels.

@Brie - I see your point about sizing, what particularly annoys me is the variation within the individual sizes from particular brands. I don't understand why brands can't be manufactured to fit the same block across all their ranges but plainly they can't or it isn't profitable to do this, which seems odd to me because surely it would increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. 
PS I found this video on how to pronounce tsundoku How to Pronounce Tsundoku (Japanese)

@Coxy11 - hope your hike is going well and that you're enjoying the good weather there.

@Magpie100 - I'm a big fan of Uniqlo basics too, my only gripe is that their colour palette tends towards the grey and black end of the spectrum but otherwise I think they're fantastic and I don't see many of their things in charity shops so a great find. Your warehouse-style shop sounds like a lot of fun too.

I went to the posh suburb yesterday morning to see an exhibition of ceramics in the library garden and was early so popped across the road to the Animal Sanctuary shop and found this lovely salmon pink Land's End polo shirt, £4, and a pair of BNWT pyjamas, £7.50. The pyjama set label says they're made of 49% cotton and 51% regenerated cellulose fibres and the fabric feels lovely and silky, they're here if you want to know more.



Then in the afternoon I was cycling home from fetching a loo plunger from Screwfix and realised that I could detour past the Hospice shop in Rose Hill and get there half an hour before they closed so I pedalled like a woman possessed and got there at 4:50 pm. Exercise is good for you after all! 

I was thrilled to find a Silverwood anodised aluminium rectangular baking tin for only £1.50, a 28cm fluted flan tin, £1.50, a small springform tin, £1.50, a bundle of barbecue skewers, £1.



Also a pair of 19cm square baking tins, £1 each, a Lakeland hexagonal scone cutter in its box, £1.50, a jigsaw reproduction of an old Underground advertisement, £2.50,  an Australian Women's Weekly low carb cookbook, £2.50, and an Eric Lanlard baking book, £1.



I really liked the Hospice shop and their prices are noticeably lower than the shops in the centre of town so I've resolved to make the trip out there more often.

Rosa_Damascena

I tested my chazzer-mettle once again yesterday afternoon when I found myself in Tower Hamlets. I nipped into the place in Watney Market (there is a thriving daily market outside overlooked by council flats on both sides and has a real sense of community). I didn't bother to look at the clothes, the bric-a-brac is usually of interest but nothing. The JD Sports mega mugs offered a good guide to the pricing system....all mine have been free of charge with Amazon back in the day, those on display were had clearly never been used and were marked up at £2.50 each.

The books too were similarly over-priced but I would have yielded for something worth having - there wasn't!

Rosa_Damascena

Read all about an illicit chazzer-haul  : https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/25086549.police-uncover-38k-worth-stolen-charity-shop-clothes/?ref=ebmpn&nid=914&block=article_block_a&u=5c1db56e277eb891a926350a9f6124f0&date=130425

goldfinches

That's astonishing @Rosa_Damascena, what on earth were they doing with it all and where did they steal it from in the first place?
If they'd just gone round leaving a preprinted plastic sack through people's letterboxes along with a leaflet asking for particular types of donations they'd probably have been given far more than they managed to steal and all legitimately as well. Daft nitwits who probably think they're god's gift to entrepreneurship.

Magpie100

@goldfinches love the pyjamas! And what a great haul of bits. Agree the pricing is very competitive, too! 

Our warehouse-style shop is amazing. Big trolleys outside so you can just drive up and drop off donations. The main area is furniture/electrical appliances/household goods. I have had some lovely things from there including a 1950s-style sofa bed which is in our open-plan kitchen. They also have a brilliant team of volunteers who will drop off and collect big items. You have to pay for delivery but it's not much and they are very reliable. They have a clothes section opposite which as I said you do have to be cautious about as there is a lot of very strange stuff there, but it is all £2-3 so always worth a cruise through. 

I am always on the look-out for Uniqlo. I have a couple of shirts for summer from there (via a charity shop, of course) in a nice dusky pink. Agree a lot of their palette is grey/cream/black but they are very good for basics. 

Brie

goldfinches said:

That's astonishing @Rosa_Damascena, what on earth were they doing with it all and where did they steal it from in the first place?
If they'd just gone round leaving a preprinted plastic sack through people's letterboxes along with a leaflet asking for particular types of donations they'd probably have been given far more than they managed to steal and all legitimately as well. Daft nitwits who probably think they're god's gift to entrepreneurship.

Don't know if you watched Big Bang Theory but there was an episode where the women raided a charity bin.  I expect it happens fairly frequently with any bin that can be easily accessed - most bins can't.  But face it - clear a bin and put anything decent on vinted.  Quids in. 

Wednesday2000

I saw a Fatface dress in the hospice charity shop on Friday, but I didn't buy it as I was on my way out to London. I went back today and it was still there. I also bought some silver trainers, a brown sweatshirt, a blue dress, a navy top and a yellow butterfly scarf. 🙂

Miró

A few goodies from the week-end….

A pair of B/N navy suede Moda in Pelle shoes, £5 from the Northallerton car boot and a nice little RHS  book, with beautiful illustrations, “An Illustrated History of the Garden Fllower”, £2 in the BHF shop, Northallerton.  I was hoping an ancestor of mine might have got a mention - he discovered lots of rare orchids in Costa Rica, but sadly …nope!

An M & S long smocky type of shirty thing in navy and dark pink, £1 in the YMCA shop in Ripon

goldfinches

@Miró - those shoes look very elegant and very you as well. Pity about your sharp-eyed ancestor, I shall be eyeing books about orchids with more interest from now on.

@Magpie100 - your warehouse style shop description inspired me to see if I could find any in the nearby town I'm visiting tomorrow and there were two so watch this space.

@Brie - I had no idea that anyone would do such a thing, and now that I think about it, I don't think I'd object to someone who was really hard up using my donation to help themselves so there is more nuance here than was made clear in the article. Food for thought.

@Rosa_Damascena - you'll be glad to hear that I thought of tsundoku in the Age UK shop this afternoon and determinedly didn't buy anything even though I was very tempted. Instead I called in at the rather upmarket antiques and vintage clothes emporium just across the road and snapped up this 100% cashmere navy v-neck for the incredibly low £4. It was reduced because it has three tiny moth holes and a small darn on the back which I've tried to show in the photo here, the holes are in the rhs shoulder area. It's currently in the freezer in a bag and then will be washed and darned, if I can't make the repair invisible I'll keep it for wearing at home in the cold months.

Rosa_Damascena

Wednesday2000 said:

I saw a Fatface dress in the hospice charity shop on Friday, but I didn't buy it as I was on my way out to London. I went back today and it was still there. I also bought some silver trainers, a brown sweatshirt, a blue dress, a navy top and a yellow butterfly scarf. 🙂

Pics or we won't believe you