best and worst thrift store experience (please tell me your story)

[kingluke]

Hello,

So I went to two thrift stores today. (No pony luck, but a nice yellow sweetox neopet plushie for 50 cents, yay)
The first thrift store was fine, and where I found the plushie. The second I have at least spend 10 minutes trying to find the toy aisle...

So do you have any thrift stories? Was it good? Bad? Did you come back/never come back for any reason? But like only because of the store/people,not necesarily because of any good finds.



I would love to hear from you.


cheers,

Luke

[tailrustedtealeaf]

One time, I was at my new favorite thrift shop and I had gotten a good score of G3. I was super excited! I went to check out. The check out person had just gotten done tearfully hugging the older woman in front of me (ok...probably a relative or something?). When she greeted me, it was like something straight out of a Barbie movie. She was uncomfortably cheery and it was rather offputting. I haven't seen her since which makes me wonder if the retail hammer finally cracked her spirit.
My other story is that I went into a consignment shop for toys and the lady asked if I had my parent with me...I told her "I'm an adult." They didn't have ponies that day anyway...

[Mami Tomoe]

I was at a local thrift store with a cart full of ponies and was asked of i was asked the age of my child
I don't even have kids lol

[kingluke]

One time, I was at my new favorite thrift shop and I had gotten a good score of G3. I was super excited! I went to check out. The check out person had just gotten done tearfully hugging the older woman in front of me (ok...probably a relative or something?). When she greeted me, it was like something straight out of a Barbie movie. She was uncomfortably cheery and it was rather offputting. I haven't seen her since which makes me wonder if the retail hammer finally cracked her spirit.
My other story is that I went into a consignment shop for toys and the lady asked if I had my parent with me...I told her "I'm an adult." They didn't have ponies that day anyway...

Okay they might have accidentaly sold their marbles .

Post Merge: April 11, 2019, 11:28:43 AM

I was at a local thrift store with a cart full of ponies and was asked of i was asked the age of my child
I don't even have kids lol

They always ask mew if I want things gift wrapped in toy stores. Im glad im not alone

[brightberry]

I have a hard time with our local thrift store.  It has this huge AC unit that just seems to roar and pound.  It makes me feel like I'm underwater.   Add to that they never seem to have ponies and I'm just as happy to stay away.  The disappointment + overall experience makes it not worth it to me.   

[Taffeta]

It's actually one of the best charity shops near where my London accommodation is, but they have a heater/aircon RIGHT above where you queue to pay. So if there's someone buying something and you have to wait (and there always is), trying to wait where it's clear you're in the queue - without being cooked or blasted - is interesting.

[kingluke]

It's actually one of the best charity shops near where my London accommodation is, but they have a heater/aircon RIGHT above where you queue to pay. So if there's someone buying something and you have to wait (and there always is), trying to wait where it's clear you're in the queue - without being cooked or blasted - is interesting.

oh dear, don't burn/freeze.

[Taffeta]

It's actually one of the best charity shops near where my London accommodation is, but they have a heater/aircon RIGHT above where you queue to pay. So if there's someone buying something and you have to wait (and there always is), trying to wait where it's clear you're in the queue - without being cooked or blasted - is interesting.

oh dear, don't burn/freeze.

It tests your dedication to buying the ponies, that's for sure! 

[glitterball]

A few near where I used to work, one where I tried on some clothes, the zipper jammed and I had a mini panic-attack in the changing room. The staff were really sweet, offering me a drink and cutting me out of the clothing (I was so embarrassed - but the panic of the stuck clothing brought me out in a sweat and my breathing went crazy).

Walking into one of my local charity stores last year and seeing G1 Nursery + accs. That was a great experience! There is a perma-drought of G1 around here so finding them felt so good!

[kingluke]

It's actually one of the best charity shops near where my London accommodation is, but they have a heater/aircon RIGHT above where you queue to pay. So if there's someone buying something and you have to wait (and there always is), trying to wait where it's clear you're in the queue - without being cooked or blasted - is interesting.

oh dear, don't burn/freeze.

Im sure it does, any ponies you left behind because of it? Just curious.

It tests your dedication to buying the ponies, that's for sure! 

[LadyMoondancer]

Best experience:   Finding Spanish piggy Minty at Value Village . . . in Seattle.

Worst experience:  Finding a single lamp from Paradise Estate in a baggie at Value Village and never ever seeing the playset there even though I visited daily for weeks after that, LOL.

[Sky_Rocket_Sammie]

Having a discussion with a cashier about how great it is to see Disney's recent offerings of characters of color. That our kids and little cousins can finally see themselves in the merchandise. I love meeting fellow Disney fans.

Worst was when someone snagged a mug right out of my shopping car. I'd turned around to grab a book but I was standing right next to my cart! After that, I started using a basket or bringing my own reusable bag.
 

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

My best is kind of find related still... back in October 2017 I was at the local Goodwill, looking at the toys of course. I found a G2 (bed canopy Light Heart) and as I was walking around I saw a little girl holding another G2. She tried her best to beg her mom into letting her get the pony but her mom made her put it back, then I grabbed it. It was the mail order, Seabreeze.

Worst.... two of my more recent trips to the same Goodwill, there's been this man who is obviously just a reseller. I'm fine with resellers generally (I mean, my mom is one, she enjoys thrifting houseware stuff and resells it at her booth in an antique mall, but there's a right and a wrong way to thrift to resell...). He just, puts a significant amount of the toys from their bins into his cart, like enough to cover the whole bottom of the cart and fill a few of their $5 toy bags. It's annoying and when he's there it's impossible to look at things myself, kind of really pisses me off tbh. Give people who are actually interested in the items a chance to look first, dude.

[NightGliderSA]

My worst is that I go to thrift stores, full of hope. But I just don't find ponies. It's so disheartening. But I keep going anyway because I can't help myself. In fact I will try again today.

And the best: the second G1 I ever found in the wild. I was about to go and saw her on my way out in a store that never before had sold toys. She cost hardly anything, and I will keep her forever and I really don't care that she is 'only' Cotton Candy.

Second best: was not actually at a thrift store, but at a toy fair. I asked a lady if she had any ponies and she told me that oh, no she always kept all My Little Ponies for her daughter. But I bought a bag with a G3 in it from her. She was very rude as well so I felt feathers and didn't even tell her what had happened.

[Shaz]

We went into a charity shop once and the shop assistant charged up to us and said in a very haughty voice 'Can I help you?' (I've never been asked that in a charity shop!). We were like 'um, no, we're just browsing....'. Then she watched us menacingly while we looked round. I don't think she wanted us there! Maybe she thought we looked like potential thieves or something

Re buying toys when you're grown-up, when my mum finds ponies or dolls and they ask who they're for, she says she has a little girl that likes them. In reality, I'm 26, but I suppose I'll always be her little girl?!

Because I'm pretty shy and unsociable, my favourite kinds of shops are the ones where they just sell you things and don't make too much conversation . Unless of course it is the kind of conversation that goes 'oh I see you are buying a pony, we have a big box of those just come in, would you like to look at them, if you buy them all we'll give you a discount' (this has never happened, but I live in hope! ).