3 reasons why I shop at thrift stores

By Tenisha Mercer
www.BargainistasATL.com

My name is Tenisha Mercer ... and I am a thrift store addict. I swear, I need a 12-step program. My closet overfloweth with thrift store goods. I shop thrift not because I cannot afford to pay retail, but why pay retail when you don't have to?

1. More is less. Have you ever tried to go in a retail store with $20? I double dare you. Seriously. I promise you it will be difficult, if not impossible, to walk out of there with more than one thing in your hand. But at thrift stores? I can get a whole bag of stuff for $20. Nothing like the feeling of walking out of there George Jefferson style with a bag (s) in hand and your wallet is only $20 lighter.

2.Sense of adventure. Generally, when you go to a retail store, what you see is what you get. And that can get VERY boring. A thrift store is like an adventure that varies from day-to-day: You never know WHAT you'll find! You just might see a to-die for vintage top from the 1980s, a Louis Vuitton bag (sometimes real, most times knock off) and a trendy dress from H&M. I have gotten many new items, many with the tags still on them. SCORE!

3. Thrift and I go wayyyyy back. Like close cousins, back. I hated thrift stores as a kid. I mean,what kid wouldn't? My grandmother would drag me to them, all dark and dank. Racks of clothes. My young eyes just saw stuff from DECADES ago - stuff that I'd never, ever wear. It was a place that no teenager wanted to be. I wanted to be at the place that sold the cool, hip clothes.

Trust me, it was nothing like Ryan Lewis & McLemore song, "Thrift Shop." I didn't want to pop no tags. Fastforward a good 20 years later and it's my favorite place. I grew to like them, actually love them. Funny how that works, huh? Guess my grandmother knew what she was doing.

Do you thrift and if so, why?