Did you know I took the manager position at the Salvation Army in Ankeny at the end of August? Being at the thrift store as the person in charge instead of as a customer has really changed my perspective on a few things! I still love to thrift, but I had absolutely no idea how much work goes into getting donated items onto the sales floor for customers.
Being a successful thrifter comes down to several key aspects, and working on the other side of the thrift store has helped me discover some of the best thrifting tips from a thrift store manager that I can share with you.
Thrifting Is a Skill
People often say they don’t like thrifting because they can never find anything or they think the prices are getting too crazy. While prices are higher than they used to be, thrifting is still one of the most affordable ways to shop.
But why can one person come home with a cart full of treasures while another walks out empty-handed? Part of that is perception. For every five times a person thrifts, they might only fill a cart once—but because they go often, it seems like they always have good luck. The person who rarely goes, however, feels like they never find anything.
Thrifting success also takes a trained eye. One person can walk right by an item and totally miss the treasure, while the next shopper grabs it up and is thrilled no one else spotted it. That’s where these thrifting tips from a thrift store manager might help!
Look Everywhere
Have you seen the meme that says, “I cleaned my house—too bad my family has to live in it”? That’s kind of how the thrift store feels. We do our best to keep things organized and in their place, but we have a constant stream of customers. That means things aren’t always going to be where they should be.
Once, I walked by a couple who had an entire cart of clothing they were sorting through. After they decided what they wanted to buy, they left the rest in a random spot in the store. This happens a lot.
Someone picks something up, walks around with it, then sets it down somewhere else for whatever reason. That’s why you should literally look in every corner of the store—you never know where something great might be hiding.
Thrift Daily
We have several customers who come every single day. Maybe they speed shop on their lunch break, maybe they stop in between appointments, or maybe they spend half the day looking at every single thing in the store just for fun. Who knows their reason—but they’re consistent.
Believe it or not, our store tries to put out 2,500 new items a day! I’ll be honest, we haven’t hit that number every day since I started because we’ve been short-staffed. By the time I’m done hiring, I’ll have added almost 10 people—which will definitely help us reach that goal.
With that many new items, it’s like shopping at a brand-new store every single day. That’s one of the biggest thrifting tips from a thrift store manager—go often!
Know Truck Routes
In Ankeny, our evening and weekend donations are placed in the front of the store. That often means when I come in Monday morning, there’s a lot of furniture and other items that need to be moved before we open. So for our store, Monday mornings usually mean new furniture!
If you’re looking for furniture, ask when your local store gets its furniture trucks. Most thrift stores have them. These trucks come twice a week to deliver furniture. For example, I know St. Vincent de Paul on 6th gets theirs at a set time on their days, but for us it can be anytime between noon and 4 p.m.
Our back room is so small that as soon as we get furniture, it goes right onto the sales floor—whether we have room or not.
Furniture is typically priced at or under $100, and smaller pieces are under $40. Our store floor plan is small, so we price things to move.
Shop Sales
I don’t think a lot of people realize this, but when the Salvation Army has a color tag that’s 50% off, it includes everything in the store with that color tag—furniture, artwork, shoes, kitchenware, knickknacks, holiday items—everything is half off.
Other stores may only discount clothing, so always ask to make sure you understand that particular store’s sale system.
Very few clothing items in our store are over $10, so at 50% off you’re looking at paying just $2–$5 per piece. Marked-down furniture runs $5–$50, and artwork or knickknacks could be $1–$10. Overall, it’s all very inexpensive.
Go Thrifting with Me
More Thrift Tips
Looking for more thrift tips? I share a few more HERE and HERE.
Happy Thrifting!
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