@thumper1, my aunt built a house that may very well be worth close to a million bucks. Her kitchen is mostly goodwill, etc. finds. She loves the hunt, so to speak, and has fun finding things.
I love thrift store hunting. I’d say 90% of the time I walk out empty handed (and my rule is I have to donate if I want to shop there), but every now and then I’ll score a Thierry Mugler evening gown in my size for 10 bux :).
It’s all about the thrill of the score for me.
Plus, we are big into making crazy halloween costumes and I know how to sew, so we’ll go hunting for “parts” over the summer for whatever anime/superhero/fantasy person the girls want to go as (yes, there are a lot of opportunities to wear costumes for Halloween where we live), and I’ll rip apart and frankenstein together some fun costumes.
You’d be surprised at what can be washed that says “dry clean only”. I’m a big germaphobe, and I have a really sensitive sense of smell, so stepping foot in a Goodwill or other thrift store is usually a battle with my neurotic side, but one wash later and the creative side of me is happy to have won the battle of thrift store skeevy vs. awesome score.
Consignment stores are good, too. My 17 yo just found an $800 Tony Bowls prom dress, unworn with the tags still on it, for $300. It fit her perfectly and is stunning. Score!!! 
When I think of all the school plays my daughter was in, and all the costumes we had to come up with, I am very glad we had Goodwill (and at the time, also Salvation Army) in our town.
I donate often, shop less often (and usually just housewares), and have been very happy with my finds.
I am not a Goodwill shopper. Our stores here are quite nice, and we donate often, but I can’t stand to bargain shop. I just don’t have the patience. In Dallas there was an extremely high end resale shop in my neighborhood (secret entrance for the very wealthy sellers) and I did get some things there.
Formal wear—most people only wear it once or twice—is a fantastic value at consignment stores and thrift stores. In Hollywood and Pasadena, given the local movie industry, there are plenty of extraordinary gowns to be had for next to nothing. And besides at most the “skeeviness” comes via “star sweat”. It’s the kind of B.O. people pay big money for. 
Family friends owed a trash hauling company for many years before retiring. They named their boat “Off the Truck” as they had found many items of value over they years left out for the trash guys to take away. Full sets of sterling silver. Antique furniture. Electronics.
We don’t have a GW or SA near us but I shopped consignment for both my kids well into elementary school. They both lived in name brand (Osh Kosh, Carters, nothing too upscale). I never bought winter boots or snow clothes brand new, these things get used only a few times before they are outgrown. I now shop at an upscale consigner boutique for myself, but in the end I’m not a label whore (son is, daughter is not lol) I wear what looks good and will wear well. That is often more upscale clothing. When D was going into kindergarten she loved all the matching outfits in Gymboree and begged for one to start school. I started looking around and found someone on Ebay that sold me five or six complete outfits (tops, bottoms, tights/socks, headband, etc) for under $100 and she worn these nearly every day…that began my odyssey on Ebay lol.
I’m not a Goodwill clothes buyer, but I always check their furniture… I learned how to refinish furniture on Goodwill finds – used the cheap stuff to practice on – and once I had some confidence bought a few more expensive pieces. It was a lot of fun. Now that I’ve downsized, I don’t have room for any more refinished projects… or stuff for the kitchen, which was also fun to look at… kinda sad.
When the kids were little, we used to shop (and donate) at a local consignment shop that specialized in quality kids clothing and related stuff. I couldn’t bring myself to spend $80 on a blazer for my 8 year old son when I could buy a quality $10 one from that shop (and resell it in six months when he grew out of it!). They were very picky.
Goodwill, on the other hand, is a one-way trip for me - donations. Although DH did find a retro windbreaker there for $4 after checking the other stores which had too high-tech styles for too high prices recently. (We pretty much boiled it before using…and the activity we bought it for never ended up happening anyway…)
I buy second hand stuff from The Real Real, but I draw the line on shoes. I will not wear someone else’s shoes. I can wash and dry clean clothes, but there is no way to clean out someone else’s sweaty shoes.
Our Goodwill has an annual “Glitter Sale” in November. They fill up the entire back section of the store-like an area as big as the main store itself, with designer gowns, shoes, purses, etc. People start lining up the night before-it gets on the news. D has bought formal dresses there since she was little (well, I bought those).
Another CCer told me that her local GW had quilts for sale – I ran up there (about an hour away) and got a couple crib-size quilts for $6 each. I converted them to twin-size and then donated them to a women’s shelter.
I got a lot of vases and bowls for S1’s wedding at thrift shops. They are now in the pool of supplies I have for nieces and nephews who are starting to get married. When that cycle’s done, back to the thrift shop they go!
Some of my quilting friends in various parts of the country have found fabric at thrift stores. Must investigate this option!
Regarding buying used shoes…I was not referring to buying old, skanky down at the heels seen better days shoes. The shoes I find are barely worn, haven’t worked out for someone, or like many of mine, so rarely worn as to be almost like new years later. In terms of sanitation for used clothing items, extremes of temperature as well as sun are helpful for anything not immediately going in the washing machine. Leave that bag in the car in the sun for a few hot summer days. Hang the wool sweater on the back porch when it is 0 at night. Put the shoes in the sun in the yard.
CD, you remind me of my old sewing days. I’d find full women’s skirts in interesting 50’s fabrics and make peasant blouses out of them.
The shoes I’ve bought have been like that too. I scored red Ferragamos never worn for $40! Also, with good leather shoes, it can be worth it to resole / reheel.
Very best thrift store find in recent memory goes to my son. He got dragged along to a thrift store in Aspen , CO where he found a very lightly used pair of Lowa hiking boots for $2. New they would have been closer to $200. He wore them for the rest of our trip and outgrew them as soon as he got home, I’m sure he could sell them for a hefty profit.
My daughter finds nice stuff all the time at thrift stores. Some modern, some…older. We joke that her style is “old lady chic.” There’s a few stores out here that benefit hospice. Those always have great stuff. Some really amazing vintage furniture, cute brand name clothes. We only occasionally go to Goodwill.
My charity thrift shop sells ferragamo shoes for $15 a pair! Gently worn.
D16 is wearing a dress every day of her senior year to school. It’s been a fun project – she probably owns around 50 dresses now! she’s tall and thin and everything seems to look good on her.
Goodwill has been GREAT for this. Several dresses have had original store tags, and usually the dresses have very little wear/tear.
Like several posters above, i see goodwill as treasure hunt. I’m always looking for Dept. 56 snow village pieces, greeting cards, books and thick, inexpensive coats to donate to the local homeless shelter and inner-city schools once winter starts.
What a great idea.
Our best goodwill story is last year when we went on a family spring break trip. After a long drive we are unpacking the car and daughter’s suitcase is missing.
“Did you pack your suitcase?”
“Yes”
“Did you carry it down and add it to the pile of suitcases by the door?”
“No, no one told me to do that.”
When we arrive back home her fully packed suitcase was sitting in her bedroom.
A quick trip to Target for socks and underwear and Goodwill for the rest and we were good to go.
And people wonder why I worry about sending this one off to college next year.
There’s a GW in the LA area (Los Feliz) where the studios donate all sorts of crew t-shirts, jackets & sweatshirts from a bunch of shows/films (unworn) I don’t live anywhere near but anytime I’m up in the area (hitting up the Greek Theater) I will stop in to see if I can find something - there’s another store “It’s a Wrap” (which I think might even be online) that sells (for charity) clothing that has been worn in episodes of shows, with each item marked who, what, when. In addition to household goods as props. I purchased a red glass dinner plate (that’s right just one) from a favorite General Hospital episode (a Christmas episode where many regulars came back to “Ruth & Joe’s” for Christmas) - I proudly display it and get eye rolls all the time. HA!