by Tierney O'Hara

Created on: December 18, 2011   Last Updated: April 20, 2012

Tips for shopping at second hand stores

It’s a pretty Ann Taylor suit and it’s only $7.99 so you grab it quickly before someone else takes it. The tag is ripped out, but it looks about the right size. You don't have time to try it on because the kids' school bus will be on the street in ten minutes, but you buy it anyhow.

The above scenario is how one ends up with an ill-fitting, stained and damaged Ann Taylor suit-one that will live at the back of the closet as it just doesn't look right-another thrift store purchase gone awry. This is the reason why it's important to never buy any type of clothing in a hurry, especially when the clothing comes from a thrift store where tags and washing instructions may be missing.

That great bargain suit ended up costing about $25 after it was cleaned and the missing buttons on the jacket were replaced. It had such potential but it always did look better on the hanger.  The $7.99 suit never fit the way it was supposed to and ended up being a total waste of money.

-Sometimes “vintage” is just old

The Pendleton wool bathrobe has a low price and you like the plaid, so you buy this vintage find for less than twenty dollars. However, once you get it home you realize it stinks like an old barn, the seams are ripping apart and your local dry cleaner wants $12 to clean it. After a while the negatives - odor, split-seams, fraying, elbow holes and missing buttons – are more overwhelming than your desire to revisit the 1950s in your old wool plaid robe. This was not a vintage find but a sad, old bathrobe that had seen better days, and many thrift store shoppers can tell a similar tale.

-Don't get bugged

We all know we should not wear thrift store clothing without laundering or dry cleaning the item. But, did you know that lice and bed bugs may get from one place to another by hitching a ride on your vintage leather pocketbook or by hiding in the lining of your jacket?

Also, that soft, upholstered, vintage rocker might also have some wild-life living under its lovely chintz fabric and even boxes or bags used to carry out your treasures might be hiding some trolls like cockroaches or spider eggs.

Always, without exception, wash or dry clean your thrift store buys and examine carefully any non-clothing item that comes from a thrift store to ensure there are no hitchhikers in the bag with your purchases.

-Dress for battle

If you bring a hand sanitizer product, a plastic shower cap (to cover your hair) and wear socks (to keep your bare feet from picking up any fungus), you can usually feel safe and free to try on clothing and shoes. It's possible to kill fungus on a shoe by washing (if it's a tennis shoe or sneaker) or buy cleaning with bleach infused wipes.

Is this extreme?  Yes. But having lice or bedbugs is no joke and it takes extreme measures to get rid of them, like hiring an exterminator who will cost a lot more than your  thrift store bargain treasure did.

So when trying on clothes, which you usually have to do to get a decent fit, take some precautions when in the dressing room and then if you decide to buy the item, clean it right away.

Shopping at thrift stores can be fun and exciting but it’s important to remember the points above to ensure your thrift store bargain is really a bargain and not going to cost you time, money or aggravation in the future.

Learn more about this author, Tierney O'Hara.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.