Thrift store shopping meetup group scores big deals

Taiysha Brown rattles off the day’s itinerary to each attentive listener. Hot coffee has jolted them awake and now they are on their toes, minds fixed on the rush of low, low prices.

“Let’s go get some deals,” Brown shouts, and they are off, this band of bargain hunters connected by a single thread of thrift store shopping fanaticism.

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They call themselves The Original Thrift Store Shopper’s Group. Brown organized the online club on meetup.com in an effort to find like-minded deal seekers. On its first in-person gathering, the group convenes on a Saturday morning at Starbucks in Roswell briefly before starting the day by caravan, hitting nearly every thrift store within 10 miles on Alpharetta Highway.

Vicki Roberts (left) and Wendy Cha try out a new belt while bargain shopping. Credit: Phil Skinner

And there were deals to be had. Like the $50 Vera Wang pillowcases, price tag still attached, Joanne Mann picked up for $2 at The Thrift Store. Wendy Cha, who says it hard to walk away from an inexpensive book, found two — The Golden Notebook and The Boy In The Striped Pajamas — plus a pair of earrings, all for $5.50 at Bargain City.

“At the mall, everything is the same; it’s the latest trends,” Cha said. “I love the variety at thrift stores. My favorite find was an $8 rocking chair; it’s beautiful!”

Brown, a thrift store convert, can relate to the thrill. A native New Yorker with an eye for high fashion and designer labels, Brown was at first reluctant.

“At first I would sneak into stores,” she confessed while standing in the aisle at “Just” Stuff Thrift Shop. “I didn’t want to be seen. It was a source of embarrassment.”

She’d made money, plenty of it, bartending. Then, she bought a house and took out student loans. She had no savings and soon, no more desire for things she knew — if no one else did — that she couldn’t really afford.

“I kept going and I kept finding great deals,” she said, decked out from head to toe in $10 worth clothes bought at thrift stores. “I realized all the other stuff is for the birds, and I’d been brainwashed.”

Now Brown, a mortgage broker, is the recruit, inviting others to join in her march for the cheapest finds.

It’s 8:55 a.m. on a Saturday, still five minutes before Bargain City opens its doors. The group is lined up out front, waiting to get in. Vicki Roberts goes in and darts toward a dusty, wooden rocking chair that grabs her attention. She consults with her fellow shoppers, wanting badly to make the purchase.
But, upon closer examination, they see it’s falling apart. She leaves the chair, but is in no way deterred.

“It’s amazing what people throw out,” she said. “That’s what keeps me coming back.”

One person’s discarded garment is a treasure of potential for Alexis Mills. The beautiful red scarf will be cut into pieces for a collage. And why would anyone get rid of the brand new arts and crafts kit? As for the purse, it can keep her pocket change handy for the rest of the day. Total: $4.25.

“I have somewhat of a social-phobic problem, and I needed a way to get out and meet people,” Mills said. “This is great for me.”

Albert Mathebula just needs a frame for his new place. It doesn’t matter that he is the only man, at least for the first part of the day.

“This is what I was expecting,” said Mathebula, one of seven people on the shopping trip; about 50 are members of the meeetup.com group. “Most guys take their women shopping, or they go by themselves. They don’t go out with a group of women, but I don’t like shopping. This way, it’s not so boring.”

Not surprisingly, they all shared in his find, a set of glasses for 40 cents each from Value Village. And socks. “You can never have too many socks,” he said.

Each of the four stops lasted about 30 more minutes or so. “Ten more minutes,” Brown said, corralling the shoppers before heading to yet another store.

They’ve all done enough thrift store shopping to formulate opinions. Goodwill, which was on the list but willingly bypassed: “It’s too expensive now; they’ve gone up on their prices since the recession,” Brown said. Said Mann about Value Village, the second stop on the list: “This place is too clean for me.” Bargain City, where everything on this day was half off: “Oh my God,” Roberts said.

At Value Village, with bright lights and polished floors, there were items like an Express cashmere sweater for $6.79, and a $49.99 dress from JC Penney, with the tags still on it, for $7.29. Still, not grungy enough.

The more it felt like a scavenger hunt, the better. Vintage jewelry and classic furniture. Belts, bags and books. For nearly four hours, they sniffed out – literally, smelling for smoke and mold in some items — and found, bargains galore.

Not that everything made its way into shopping bags. There were budgets, of course, starting from as little as $12. It comes with the territory.

“This is exciting,” proclaimed Roberts. “I can feel the energy. I usually have to do this by myself.”

Not any longer now that she’s found a group of fellow bargain busters.

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