There’s A New Thrift Store In Town

I'm a fan of thrift shopping. I mean, who isn’t, right? You can usually find a good deal on something you need or, often on things you didn’t know you needed. Macklemore said it best: “One man’s trash, that’s another man’s come up”

In case you need a thrifting partner, my brother is among the best. He finds the coolest stuff that looks like it’s never been used. He also finds stuff that’s been heavily used, cleans it up, repurposes it, and makes some seriously cool thrift shop treasures. I, on the other hand, have far less luck. I can usually only find things like a half-used pad of Post-It notes.

Probably the biggest reason that I don’t have the same luck as my brother is my lack of patience. Most people know that you really have to dig to find the good stuff. And, I don’t mean dig through the shirts to find a good shirt. I mean, you dig through the shirts to find a good CB radio. There’s no real rhyme or reason to a thrift shop’s sales floor. It’s like someone took a donated bag and just dumped all the contents on the floor.

That is, until now. America’s Thrift Stores has just opened a location in Augusta on Bobby Jones Expressway.  I, along with some of my coworkers, was invited to tour the facility and I gotta admit, I was pretty impressed. There’s a whole operation going on behind that back door that the average thrift shopper knows nothing about.

America’s Thrift Stores has a process that inspects, catalogs, and prices each item in a donated bag appropriately. For instance, they process 350 articles of clothing each hour, inspecting for stains, holes, loose threads, etc. before they rank it and price it, placing a tag on each and every item.

Then they put it on the appropriate rack, sorted by garment type and queue it for its moment on the sales floor. Periodically, the staff will wheel the rack out onto the floor and hang the clothes in the section in which it belongs, keeping the inventory fresh and where you can find it. That’s why they say “It’s like a new store every day.” You’re going to see new items every day. And you’ll know where to find it: the summer dresses are all together, the shorts are all together, and so forth.

The same goes for the other items. Household items, furniture, décor, etc. are all carefully inspected, cataloged, and placed in their department. Yes, a thrift store with carefully defined departments. Crazy, right? Actually, I think it’s crazy that someone hasn’t thought of this before.

America’s Thrift Stores has definitely made thrifting fun for an impatient guy like myself. If I’m looking for a picture frame, I know that I don’t have to search through a sock bin to find it.

August 17  was recognized as National Thrift Shop Day. It is a day to not only shop at thrift shops but also to donate items that you no longer want or need.

There is a certain art to thrift shopping. Sometimes you might have a good day and find all the best stuff. Then other days nothing really catches your eye.

While one of the most known thrift stores in the south, Final Cut, which was located in Augusta recently closed, there are still a number of thrift shops here to enjoy.

Thrift shops are not everybody's thing - it can surely be a bit overwhelming. But if you needed a bit of convincing -

Here are some reasons you should give thrifting a try, if not already:

Did you know that there is a difference between a consignment store and a thrift store?

This thrift shop is located on Wrightsboro Road. They offer everything from gently-used clothing to toys, furniture, jewelry, household goods, books, collectibles, and more

3229 Wrightsboro Rd.
Augusta, GA 30904

The CSRA has tons of Goodwills! From Grovetown, to North Augusta, and more.

This is an antique thrift store located on Davis Road. They sell good, used, vintage furniture, decor, clothing, collectibles and architectural salvage.

135 Davis Rd, Augusta, GA, United States, Georgia

This thrift store is located on Washington Rd. They sell new and gently used items.