Dum-di-dum

here's what you actually want in a thrift store:

in a rich town

run by a church

staffed exclusively by little old ladies

The best places for thrift shopping are small-medium sized cities (not towns, cities). Bonus points for a city that's seen some population decline in the last 40 years. You want a place where there are lots of wealthy homeowners who are dying, because it's their stuff you want to be buying. A small town thrift shop is going to be 80% sweatpants and t-shirts, a large city thrift shop is going to be curated within an inch of its life and cost a billion dollars. Think Rust Belt.

Small town thrift shops do tend to be quirky, but they're not reliable. I once found one that was dominated by the complete collection of the town's now-former pageant queen. I think it had been there for a while.

Avoid places with universities. The students are your competition.

I know this increases the degree of difficulty (it sure does for me) but the best places will be inaccessible to anyone without a car. The harder a place is to get to, the more likely it is to not be completely picked over.

The best time for thrift shopping is right at the end of a season. The stores will be trying to shift as much of their winter coats as they can before spring hits so they don't have to store them or toss them.

You can find a lot more at a thrift store than you might think. In my experience, the best categories are coats (because they tend to be old, well-made, and indestructable), glassware and cookware (the sort of stuff people get rid of while cleaning out a relative's house), plant pots (after people learn they don't actually like caring for plants), and picture frames (typically sold with terrible art already inside). Just be a little careful about moths or lead.

Hydrangea in Glass - Adriana van Zoest

Dutch , b. 1966 -

ph. Danko Maksimovic - Bochum, Germany (2026)