Thrift Tip: Know Your Discounts

A Thrift Tip is a little something I've picked up over the years that makes thrift shopping easier, cheaper, or more fun. Some of them are basic or seem like common sense, but I'll try to keep you on your toes.

Let's start with the basics: sale days. Most of the thrift stores I've visited have one day a week where everything is on sale by about 25 percent. Other stores may have colored tags on items and offer a discount on a different color each day of the week. Sometimes, the color discount can be as much as 50 percent off.

It's a bonus if a store offers a discount card that you can register for, but watch out: you probably can't sign up for the discount card on the day the discount is offered. Keep an eye out for signs in case a discount with membership card is offered on a certain day of the week. Between 25 percent off Mondays and another 25 percent off with my discount card on Thursdays, I'm pretty sure the cashiers at Value Village in Hyattsville know when to expect me.

Vintage and smaller thrift stores probably don't offer these kind of regular discounts, but they may have special discounts of their own.

The discounts might not seem like much when you're buying secondhand items, but if you're on the fence about an item, that extra percentage off can sometimes make the decision for you.

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