Should I go back and snatch this beauty?

This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.

I hit a couple thrift stores this weekend in search of an entryway bench. Instead, I found a wooden chest (image at right) that could double as a bench with storage. After seeing the price tag, I walked away. It was $50! I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the chest. Did I make a mistake leaving it behind?

All it needs is a good sanding, some staining to deepen the color, and lacquer. Except for the backside, the chest is made out of quality wood. The back has a wooden board for reinforcement. I became reluctant after noticing it since I want to use the chest as a bench where we can take off our shoes as we walk in the door.

I’m not sure it can handle daily use though I did sit on it and everything seemed fine — no creaking. But for the $50, plus the time and money I’m going to spend sprucing it up, I probably could find something similar elsewhere. It would also be brand spankin’ new.

Once home, I searched IKEA online and found a few options for less than $50. Of course, the wood quality is not the same. Then a Crate and Barrel search revealed a trunk made out of solid wood for $600. My jaw dropped and a pang of conscience ensued.

Was I right or wrong to walk away from what now seems like a steal? Incidentally, having an idea of prices before heading to shop at thrift stores pays off. I just didn’t plan.

As time passes, I run the risk of not finding the chest. So what do you think? Should I hurry back for this thrift store find or keep searching?

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A baby nursery for less than $260!

Remember my post from October about looking for a pregnant Halloween costume? Well, the time has *almost* come. Here are nine ways I’ve saved money in preparation for parenthood.

• We compared the prices of popular baby gear on Amazon, Babies R Us, and Target to make sure we got the best deal on a car seat and other items we wanted to buy new. You’d be surprised which retailer was the cheapest!

• I stalked craigslist, Freecycle, and my local Mommy & Me consignment store to furnish our nursery, pictured above, for less than $260. I can’t believe how much used baby stuff is free or extremely cheap. Here are more places to look to avoid paying retail for baby clothesand gear.

• We cooked five dinners ahead of time and froze them, including turkey spaghetti, chicken corn chowder, and pork and hominy stew. I also made a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough, which freezes really well for up to a month. Everything but the turkey spaghetti recipe came from my favorite cookbook, America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

• We considered using disposable diapers but the environmental and dollar cost convinced us to go with washable cloth diapers. We’re using the Gdiaper system and were lucky to find a huge stash of them at a garage sale for $.50 a piece!

• We planned family visits to get extra help cooking and cleaning, reducing our take out bill and sleep deprivation. Not sure if this will save us that much, but it will certainly be nice to have the company!

• We updated our budget to live on one salary, nixing a lot of luxuries we used to enjoy.

• We skipped a lot of baby gear money traps. It’s obnoxious how many manufacturers use parents’ fear to sell worthless crap.

• I bought most of my maternity clothes second hand from a local consignment shop, and found hot deals at Sears for new items. In one trip, I paid $133 for two pairs of pants, two sweaters, two bras, and three tops. That averages to $14.78 per item.

• We fully stocked our kitchen pantry and toiletry closet so we won’t have to pay full price if something runs out.

Anything else we should do before baby arrives?

A swap item worth trading for. Credit: knitgirl63/Flickr

Another story that caught my eye in the May issue of ShopSmart magazine is where NOT to shop online. The thing is, I totally disagree! What do you think?

1. Warehouse clubs – ShopSmart argues that non-members pay a surcharge of 5% online, wiping out savings.

   I say, do the math. If you’re spending less than

   $952.38 per year at one online warehouse club, there is no point in ponying up the $50 annual membership fee (at Costco and BJ’s; Sam’s Club is $40 annually). If you go over $952.38, however, the membership fee makes sense. Here’s my math:

$952.37 of toilet paper, ice cream, and tomato sauce at Costco + 5% non-member surcharge of $47.61 = $999.98

versus

$952.37 + $50 membership fee = $1,002.37

Once you go over $1,000 in total spending, you are better off buying the membership because that’s the tipping point when the 5% surcharge is greater than the $50 yearly membership fee.

5% of $1,000 = $50

2. Sample-sale sites – This time I agree with ShopSmart’s reasoning: On sites like Gilt Group, HauteLook, and Zuilily, the best deals go super quick, and shipping can take longer than usual because items are shipping to you directly from the manufacturer. Plus, some sites are final sale.
3. Swap and second hand sites – Big disagreement here. I’ve had great luck buying used items on eBay. Craigslist is an incredible resource. And swap sites can be safe if you know the rules and play safely. True, your purchase does not come with the same guarantees compared to a mainstream retailer, but the prices are no where near as high. It’s a tradeoff that many, many people handle safely. I mean, you wouldn’t boycott garage sales just because there is no guarantee, would you?

jeffk/Flickr

I recently spoke to Michael Gold of TheThriftShopper.com about the three elements of thrifting, how some thrift stores fool patrons, and where the best thrifting can be found. Gold buys all of his clothes at thrift stores, most of his family’s furniture, all of their reading materials second hand.

What is one thing people don’t realize they can find at thrift stores? What people don’t think they can find at thrift stores is everything. People think that thrift stores are only clothes. Larger thrift stores are mini used department stores. I don’t think people realize you can go to Habitat for Humanity and buy a refrigerator.

Do environmental concerns come into play for you? I enjoy the three elements of thrifting: saving money, giving to charity and being environmentally friendly.

What’s special about your website, TheThriftShopper? We only list charity resale shops exclusively. There are many thrift shops out there where they will play religious music, have crosses behind the desk, and say ‘God bless,’ but none of the money goes to charity.

How do you tell if a charity is benefiting? I verify all the listings in my directory through conversations. There is one exception to my rule. Any thrift shop benefiting veterans organizations are for profit. The dictionary definition of charity is giving money or a product to benefit a charitable cause. If you are benefiting yourself, you are not a charitable cause. Yes, people have the right to make money but they do not have the right to forgo the option of the donor to take the donation to a legitimate charity.

How many listings does your site have? 95,002.

What’s the best way to introduce someone to thrift stores who is, for whatever reason, reluctant to buy used? I bet you can’t take anybody into a thrift shop and have them look at things and not find something they’ll want to take home. I work with the National Navy UDT-Seal Museum and the administrative assistant was saying, ‘what can you find at thrift shops?’ I don’t know if you have to do it at gun point, but they’ll walk in and see it.

What is the best thrift deal you’ve gotten? We got a set of Broyhill Brazilia furniture set. Brazilia was a president of Brazil who decided to build a city in the middle of the Amazon. He designed it with jets and space in mind. Broyhill Braziliza came out with a line of furniture to reflect that style. My wife and I found a full bedroom set – men and women’s dressers, side tables – for $300. Once it’s finished it’s a $4,000 bedroom set! The best thrifting is in the best part of town. Whatever ritzy blitzy you have going on, that’s where the best thrifting is.

What are your tips for getting the best deals at thrift shops? Ask about the sale schedule because many thrift shops work on a color tag system and each week a certain colored tag will be on sale. Make sure you sign up if they have an email list. They’ll send you coupons. Find them on Facebook and Twitter. More and more thrift stores are becoming web savvy and they are marketing through social media.

There have always been people interested in thrifting. How has the economy changed thrifting? The economy has opened people’s eyes. ‘We had better find ways to save money. Let’s check out thrifting.’ The traffic on my website has done exactly the opposite of what the economy has done.

I’ve heard parents are shopping at thrift stores for back to school. Is this something you’ve seen? Oh yeah. Some thrift store mangers are really sharp. They do the regular seasonal thing that the regular department stores do. They have a back to school sale going the whole month of August. They’ll put all their school supplies and clothing for young people on sale.

Anything else you want to add? If you thrift shop you have to also consider giving back to thrift shops. My wife and I constantly have a pile that is going to be donated.

She writes, “I’ve done some hunting for deals at thrift stores – there are three in my little town! I found an Ann Taylor Loft denim dress that I love for 50 cents.  For some reason, it’s always fun to find a treasure.”

“My best find was the vintage red Carlo Fiori purse – it’s in great shape, too! And for 50 cents! I’ve used it already and it just feels so fun to carry it!”

Personally, my best thrift store find was a $15 green and white stripped dress made of super soft cotton. I wore it to the Frugal Festival and it is incredibly comfortable. I bought it at a high-end thrift store that specializes in dresses, hence the relatively high price. But it was totally worth it because I’ve already worn it a dozen times.

Do you have a success story? Email me!

back_garage/Flickr

By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains

Bargainistas know not to pay retail for clothes (except for undergarments.) We all have our favorite thrift shops and know when the new stuff is put out.

But, what to do when you are on vacation?  Are you really going to pay $25 for a t-shirt at the seaside resort when you know there is a gently used version for $2.99 at a second-hand shop within blocks?

Let me introduce you to my favorite “don’t leave home without it” web site – The National Thrift Store Directory. No matter where you are in the United States, plug in your zip code and you will find a thrift store near you. Oh be still my beating heart!

I would much rather visit the local thrift shop in some small town than spend time in a tourist trap.  Not only can you pick up local souvenirs for a fraction of the cost (mugs that go for $25 at Disneyland are a dollar or two at a thrift store) but you can talk to fellow shoppers and possibly find out about a local event that you would never know was happening (like a pancake breakfast at the community center or a free concert at the high school.)

The National Thrift Store Directory currently has almost 10,000 listings, but you can help other bargain hunters by adding your favorite store.

What is the best item you ever found at a thrift store?

When I checked the site had 1,633 items for sale. Impressive considering they launched in October. There were 62 pairs of women’s jeans. All the clothes are new or lightly worn. Some items still have the tags!

One of the cool things about Smashion is that browsing the site feels like going over to your girlfriend’s house and trying on all her clothes. How awesome is that?! It’s fun to browse, and you never know what you’ll find, like this sparkly party dress that has got the seller doing her best moves, above. It’s going for $40.

Smashion is focused on fashion forward clothing. Most of the sellers are regular folks though there are also a few independent designers, too.

Clothing prices are set – no bidding – and payment is directly between buyer and seller through Paypal. Sellers agree to ship your new threads within two days.

In between searching for your next clothing purchase, you can chat with other frugal fashionistas about age appropriate clothes, fake handbags, and other trends. The forums page on Smashion.com has dozens of topics and is pretty active. The site also has a gallery section where people can share fashion inspirations with each other. And there is a blog that is updated daily with tips on how to dress for a specific situation, fashion trends, and reviews of up and coming designers.

Smashion.com comes at a great time. Who isn’t looking to save a few bucks these days – while still being able to afford new (to me) clothes?