Ever since quarantine started, I have developed a new love for thrift shopping. It is the perfect inexpensive alternative to online shopping. You can find name brands for cheap and they are all good, high-quality clothes. Because I have now spent 6 months in the thrift shopping world, here are some tips and tricks on thrift shopping.

One thing to do while thrift shopping is to look for name brands. It always amazes me how inexpensively you can get name brands. A Nike hoodie, for example, can be anywhere over $50 dollars not on sale. At a thrift store, you could get that same hoodie in good condition for $20. Most thrift shops have at least some name brands or knock offs for an affordable price.

Something to watch out for is the condition of the clothes before you buy them. Especially since people have been going through their clothes during quarantine, the employees have been swarmed with tons of clothes being donated to the stores. This makes it difficult to check every single piece of clothing for rips and tears. Always check for small rips in the armpits for shirts, and crotch for pants. Also, check the seams and other things that easily break with wear.

Something to keep in mind while shopping is what season you are shopping for. For example, if you are looking for summer clothes, you have a higher chance of finding them during the spring and fall months while people are going through their clothes either before or after summer. This goes for winter clothing. Always keep in mind that the displays will be the current season, so you have to look for those long sleeves.

One thing that I always do while thrift shopping is goes into the men’s section (if they have one) for oversized hoodies/t-shirts. These can also be name brands for an inexpensive price and are in good shape. It is a super easy thing to do and look for, especially with winter right now, we take all the warmth we can get.

One extremely important thing to not forget is the shoes! At the stores I go to, they always have brands like Converse, Vans, and Nike. They are super inexpensive for name brands. Especially after Homecoming and Prom, there are tons of heels and dress shoes. 

People tend to have issues with finding stores with good clothes. Whenever people think of a thrift shop, they automatically think of Goodwill. There are thousands of other places other than Goodwill that sell better clothes. For example, there is a Salvation Army in nearly every city. My personal favorite thrift shop is Revolve off of Myer Road. I have suggested this thrift store to a lot of my friends and they all love it.

After you do your shopping, you should consider donating some of your own clothes to thrift shops.  Do a good closet purge and donate! Some places even offer money for donations. This frees up space in your closet and you are giving back to the community.