What would you trust from a secondhand store such as the Salvation Army?

Underwear
A mattress
Cloth furniture

When I go to thrift shops, I head straight for the music CDs, books, and electronic gizmos. Generally, I don’t go there for clothes, but every now and then I’ll find something interesting. I have no interest in getting anything else (maybe a few candles here and there), but really, I’d trust just about anything except things that could’ve been soiled as @tinyfaery mentioned.

I bought a $6 vacuum cleaner at a thrift shop that would’ve regularly been $40. It was dirty, yes. But I cleaned it and it works perfectly. So I would draw the line at a vacuum cleaner.

t shirts, household appliances, anything except underwear and plastic cups and shitty vcr’s.

A vibrator or other sex toy.

I agree with @tinyfaery. I must admit I shop 2nd hand stores quite often. Mostly for books. But I’ve come across quite a few designer handbags and clothes that are in excellent shape. I also give a lot to VOA, Salvation Army, Good Will (I use to be an auction junky and now I’m trying to downsize). Last month I donated some drapes and to make a long story short, decided I wanted to use them on my windows in a spare bedroom, so I went to buy them back but the price was too high. LOL!

I inspect every purchase as much as possible, and make sure it is in good condition, and not overpriced. There isn’t much that I wouldn’t buy. Not everything is used, because stores donate unsold merchandise so even underwear is not out of the question.

At Goodwill, my bought a brand new Quizenart(spelling) coffeemaker, $110 to 200 value for $3.00. it was in the original box and never used. we have been making 3 pots of coffee in it each day and its great. she took the chance that it worked and it did. it was a $3.00 bet that paid off. sometimes, buying items at thrift stores can be tricky. after you go for so many times, you learn whats good and what to ignore.

Hard things like wooden furniture or glass items, or clothing that can be sanitized. I would not buy fabric covered furniture (unless it could be easily recovered) . I probably would not buy electronics because I only donate them when they don’t work. I would not buy shoes unless they were sneakers that could go into the washer.

I buy fun clothes, and various odds and ends, have bought a really cool painting and had it reframed. ( $15 painting, $150 frame job, but it’s an awesome piece! )

I recently bought a cool bedspread type cover for my outdoor futon and some neat pillows that were clean and in brand new condition because everything I put outside on my deck fades in the sun after only a short while.

I would not buy underware, shoes or anything that has too personal a flavor to it.

I love thrift stores though and while I can and do buy higher end items as well, I like the treasure hunt feeling of the second hand stores.

Actually I just started helping weekends for the season at the new books & bargains store in my little river tourist community, I am paid, but also get 1st pick of whatever, we have a vendor that brings dvd’s, all newer titles and we sell them for $4.50, whatta deal!

Because our community caters to rafters & kayak’ers and all sorts of hiking and river action we also have a really cool camping section with everything from backpacks to inner tubes to life jackets, ours is a really awesome set up and it’s very fun to go through all the donations and pick out prices and arrange the store.

I hang out with Crackers the shop dog and we have a woodstove and a river view too! :-)

I’d get anything I could machine wash.

I’ve never seen underwear in a second-hand store (maybe its just not a British thing) and I wouldn’t buy second-hand footwear. I also wouldn’t buy board games or jigsaw puzzles because I’d worry that there would be pieces missing. Most other things, sure.