The Thrill of the Hunt
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – thrift stores rock! Not only are you giving back to your local communities when you shop at them (giving to charity is totally cool!), but you never know what treasure or bargain you’re going to find when enter through those thrift shop doors.
Here’s a case in point.
On Friday my family and I took a little trip to our local Good Will, and lo and behold my husband picked up what may be the best thrift store find ever!
We usually split up when we shop – it’s faster to shop that way when kids are in tow. I was in one section of the store with my daughters, and my husband was in another section with our son. My husband happened to go past the handbags (which I usually find my way toward eventually – I love a good bag), and he spotted something he thought I might like (yeah, he’s sweet like that). He showed it to me, and while I didn’t inspect the bag too closely, I liked it enough to throw it in my basket.
Long story short, after heading home, relaxing for a while, and perusing our thrift store bargains, I noticed what I came home with. Let’s just say I could probably sell it on Ebay and make a sweet profit (I won’t though - I’m too sentimental. My husband found it for me, plus I think it’s a really nice handbag).
What’s All the Fuss About?
I looked closely at the bag – nearly perfect in it’s condition. Only one tiny little scuff, hardly visible at all. Then I noticed the logo…
and it said…
TOD’S.
TOD'S bag in my favorite color, chocolate brown.
TOD'S logo on the inside pocket.
TOD'S signature zipper pull with T and lion's head.
See the $4 price marked on the inside pocket?
TOD'S signature logo on the outside of the bag.
I knew the bag was very nice, and that it was genuine leather – you could tell just by looking at it that it was a very well made piece. I loved it’s beautiful simplicity, and the fact that it was in such impeccable condition made me very happy to have come home with it.
After discovering exactly what I had purchased, I couldn’t believe that I was fortunate enough to walk away with such a high-end designer piece - I mean the bag looks like new. Here’s the best part – I paid a whopping $4 for the bag! Talk about a deal, huh?
Of course I did a little research to be sure that it wasn’t a fake. According to everything I found, I scored a 100% authentic TOD’S handbag, and for $4. That’s an awfully frugal buy if I may so so myself! (Had the bag been priced for more than $5, I would have left it at the store – $5 is my limit when it comes to a used handbag – that would have been a bummer!)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a slave to any label or brand. I’m a bargain lover pure and simple – and when I can find a designer bag that costs into the thousands of dollars range for practically pennies – that pretty doggone exciting stuff!
The moral of this story - it pays to be a frugalista. 
What about you? Do you have a passion for thrift store shopping? Have you uncovered the bargain of the century? Feel free to leave a comment an let us know.
