Overheard a lady at Goodwill say she never pays more than $3 for dishes

I was digging through the kitchen section yesterday at the Goodwill on Broadway when I heard this older woman tell her friend she won't buy any plate or bowl over $3. Said she's been doing it for 20 years and her whole cabinet is matching sets she found one piece at a time. That hit me because I've been grabbing random mismatched stuff forever paying $4 or $5 each thinking I was getting a deal. So I started checking prices more carefully and realized half my stuff was overpriced. Now I'm gonna slow down and hunt for the $2 and $3 racks first. Anyone else ever catch a random tip like that from a stranger that changed how you thrift?

2 comments

2 Comments

grace_gonzalez466d ago

so my mom is like that but with lamps instead of dishes. she's been doing the same thing for years, she will not pay more than five bucks for a lamp base and she has like thirty of them in her house now. one time she found this ugly green one for two dollars and it ended up being worth like two hundred bucks on ebay or something crazy. i think the trick is really about patience and knowing what things are actually worth. like that lady at Goodwill probably passes on stuff that's four dollars even if it's nice, just because she has this rule in her head. i've been trying to do that more with clothes too, like if it's not under five bucks i just put it back even if i really like it. it's hard to do at first but once you get used to it you start finding way better deals.

reese_nelson5d ago

WAIT, TWO HUNDRED BUCKS for an ugly green lamp? That's INSANE. Your mom is a GENIUS for sticking to that five dollar rule.