In my last article, I highlighted the pros and cons of shopping at resale stores.  I hope that post provided some valuable food for thought for you.   While there are definitely pitfalls involved in shopping at thrift and consignment shops, many of you will decide that the advantages outweigh these potential drawbacks.  As for me, I will continue to shop resale, but as with all of my future shopping, I will endeavor to do it smarter!

Do you know how to avoid the pitfalls when resale shopping?

In this post, I offer some tips for successful resale shopping.  If you never shop at such establishments, I still suggest you read on, as many of my suggestions also apply to retail shopping.  However, the “final sale” policy of most thrift and consignment stores makes it all the more important that we have a “game plan” when we shop resale.

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For most of my adult life, I purchased all of my clothing at retail stores.  It wasn’t until about eight years ago that I discovered a new type of place to shop, the resale shop.  These stores are known by all types of terms – thrift, consignment, second-hand, opportunity (or “op-shops” for short), to name a few.   The common thread is that the items sold are not new; they were previously owned by someone else, or “pre-loved” if you will.

Do you shop at resale stores?  Know the pros and cons!

Many people swear by the virtues of resale shopping and a number of bloggers have pledged to only shop at such stores for a year or longer.  I don’t think I’ll go that far.  For one, the availability of pants with tall inseams at such shops is in short supply (pun intended – sometimes I can’t resist…).   That alone gives me pause when considering a “resale only” pledge.  I also like to keep my options open, especially now that I’m aiming at being smarter in terms of what I buy and using my head more than my heart when shopping.

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