AROUND-TOWN

Why two shoppers love thrift stores

Sarah Ann Craven StarNews Correspondent
Local thrift shoppers Andreana Buckenburger and Lindsey Bockover try on their finds. [Sarah Ann Craven/For the StarNews]

WILMINGTON -- A good bargain is a dream for any shopper, and many people have found ways to get the best deal by shopping at thrift stores and local consignment shops rather than going straight to the stores with brand-new items lining their shelves.

Many of them help nonprofit organizations.

It doesn’t matter if you are shopping or donating; the benefits of thrift shopping in the community are abundant, and the reasonable prices are attractive to everyone.

At least two local shoppers think so.

“Thrift stores are way cheaper than regular stores, but you can find a lot of good things at thrift stores if you make the conscious effort,” said local thrift shopper Andreana Buckenburger.

Places like Goodwill, Salvation Army, Vintage Values and other thrift stores are important to members of the community who may need inexpensive clothing or household items, local citizens who are unemployed and looking for work, or community members who are looking for a way to give back and donate their items.

The general view about thrift shopping has become much more positive in the last decade for several reasons. One factor is the variety of reality television shows that focus on budget-shopping and extreme couponing. These shows help people to see the value and purpose in consignment shopping, and that getting the most for your money is a reason to be proud.

“During my younger years, it embarrassed me to shop at stores such as Plato's Closet and this really only changed about five years ago,” said Wilmington resident and consignment shopper Lindsey Bockover. “It has less to do with popularity of these stores and more to do with an increase in self-confidence on my part; I stopped caring whether others thought it was lame.”

Bockover and Buckenburger were shopping at the Goodwill store on Kerr Avenue.

The excitement of being able to get name-brand items for a cheap price is something that attracts a lot of young people to thrift shopping. College students are a group that tend to go to thrift stores often for quick and inexpensive buys.

“Consignment stores offer cheaper prices than regular shops,” said Bockover, a third-year student at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. “This is a big motivating factor in my own life because my parents no longer pay for my clothes.”

The economic benefits of shopping at consignments stores and thrift shops are obvious, but sometimes there is a nostalgic value to the experience of thrifting that keeps people hooked.

“My mom loved to thrift shop, so she took me there when I was younger and it has become our thing and something I look forward to,” Buckenburger said. “Every time I go I like to look at all of the old toys and games in addition to shopping.”

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