Be careful the things you buy at Goodwill

[Matt²]

so we have several Goodwill stores here in my city, and I have been able to buy some pretty nice things (mostly broken) that I've been able to turn around and fix and have good things - most recently my 22" LCD widescreen monitor which I bought dead for $10. It currently works nicely!
So last weekend I was looking for more dead monitors, didn't find any, but I DID find a decent office chair for $10 so I grabbed it and brought it back to the office, then went home for the weekend.

Monday I come back in.. sniff sniff.. what's that odd smell? ... can't find the source of it. It lingers off and on when I go out of the room and come back in. Today I just realized what the smell is - old man smell from the chair! EW! ... think I'm gonna need to get me some Fabreez or something.. but I'm keeping it because 1: my old chair, though about 6 months old, has repeatedly broken and now leans sideways, no matter if you lean forward or backward (I learned : don't buy chairs from Office Depot) 2: it has a nice high back to it.

What sorts of experiences buying secondhand stuff have you had?

 

[Cajungal]

I thought this was going to be a story about getting crabs from the clothing...which has never happened to me. aranoid:

I've never had anything bad happen, really. I don't really shop there much. Once I found some neat jewelry there, and another time I put together an entire costume for a play for about 8 dollars.

 

[Chibibar]

I thought you bought some stolen goods at Goodwills and cops come busting in needing it as evidence

(no that didn't happen to me. Honest!)

 

[Gusto]

I once bought a used PS2 and a library of some 12-odd games form a couple of teenagers who needed $100 REALLY FAST.

hwell:

Call me an enabler if you must, but they enabled my habit too.

 

[Shegokigo]

Thought you dressed the bodies in clothes from goodwill, only to find previously obtained bloodstains on the clothes you bought already....

Totally didn't happen to me.

 

[Hylian]

I usually don;t have any issues with the stuff I buy from GW but than again I usually just buy classic video games. I will say that the GW's by me are starting to get ridiculous with their prices. They had a PS1 with no controller and they wanted $20 it. Another time I saw an item that was priced higher than it would cost to go buy the item brand new.

 

[sixpackshaker]

I went with a friend once to buy a suit at a second hand store for a "costume" party. I have an odd shape, even in college when I was thin. Big shoulders, arms, legs, thinnish waist, long back, short legs. I found a Blue and Purple, three piece, pinstripe suit that fit perfectly. Pants were the right length, sleeves were right, and I found a pair of shoes that went with the suit that fit perfectly.

My friend said, "You know [....], some old dude that was your exact build 20 years ago just died. Now you are wearing some dead man's clothes."


I still wore it to the party, and a good time was had by all.

 

[LittleSin]

I am the queen of goodwill shopping. It's my favorite past time. I'll have a look around to see what my best finds were.

 

[Gusto]

Actually this past Halloween I was able to put together my costume by going to a secondhand shop and using stuff from around the house. The whole costume probably cost me $12.

 

[Cajungal]

AHHH! I love that costume!

 

[checkeredhat]

I actually do a fair amount of shopping at Value Village and other such thrift stores. I've gotten a number of shirts and pants there. Its also fantastic for Halloween costumes. Just make sure to put the clothes through the wash before you wear them.

My best Value Village purchase ever was my Converse All Stars. Exactly my size, $10, pure black and white, Still unlaced, with afootlocker tag holding the pair together. They had someone's initials written in permanent marker on the sole, but no other indication that they were used at all. In other words, brand new, but clearly they were given as a gift and were the wrong size or something. That was a good find.

Value Village seems to be going up in price though. I haven't been able to find a nice cheap suit there in years. In high school I wore a suit to class that I bought for $20, now I can't find a suit jacket at Value Village for less than $50. I find they even carry a good deal of brand new merchandise now as well, so I look forward to any opportunities I have to check out other thrift stores.

 

[Denbrought]

I've only gone to Goodwill twice, got a very nice tie and a good roll of cheap rope for knotting. Almost got a grey inspector gadget coat for 5 bucks too (used to have a picture of me in it, but I lost it, t'was hilarious).

 

[Krisken]

I've only gone to Goodwill twice, got a very nice tie and a good roll of cheap rope for knotting. Almost got a grey inspector gadget coat for 5 bucks too (used to have a picture of me in it, but I lost it, t'was hilarious).

Were you dancing in it?

 

[Officer_Charon]

Den-Den dance + trenchcoat = epic win

 

[Denbrought]

I've only gone to Goodwill twice, got a very nice tie and a good roll of cheap rope for knotting. Almost got a grey inspector gadget coat for 5 bucks too (used to have a picture of me in it, but I lost it, t'was hilarious).

Were you dancing in it?[/QUOTE]
KHAAAAAN! No I was not. If I do ever find one like it again tho, I do solemnly promise to dance in it.

Or if you pay me a trenchcoat *nudge nudge*

 

[Krisken]

I've only gone to Goodwill twice, got a very nice tie and a good roll of cheap rope for knotting. Almost got a grey inspector gadget coat for 5 bucks too (used to have a picture of me in it, but I lost it, t'was hilarious).

Were you dancing in it?[/QUOTE]
KHAAAAAN! No I was not. If I do ever find one like it again tho, I do solemnly promise to dance in it.

Or if you pay me a trenchcoat *nudge nudge*[/QUOTE]
I only have a black trench coat, for use in the fog when I'm wearing my hat to look like a ghost of the 1940's era. Sorry Den, its use is very specific.

 

[Denbrought]

I've only gone to Goodwill twice, got a very nice tie and a good roll of cheap rope for knotting. Almost got a grey inspector gadget coat for 5 bucks too (used to have a picture of me in it, but I lost it, t'was hilarious).

Were you dancing in it?[/QUOTE]
KHAAAAAN! No I was not. If I do ever find one like it again tho, I do solemnly promise to dance in it.

Or if you pay me a trenchcoat *nudge nudge*[/QUOTE]
I only have a black trench coat, for use in the fog when I'm wearing my hat to look like a ghost of the 1940's era. Sorry Den, its use is very specific.[/QUOTE]
Can't you be a 1940's nakedy ghost? The ladies would love it, I get mah coat >.>

 

[Jay]

POGified.

 

[Gusto]

POGified.

Yeah we need more of those. :tsk:

 

[David]

You guys are making me want to find a new thrift store to go to. Had one just down the road I could walk to, but it closed down last year. I got a bunch of good books and VHS tapes from it for super-cheap, plus it usually had specific adapter cords I needed (M-M audio jacks for instance, which I could get from the thrift store for $0.99 or from the best buy for $20)