If you love the thrill of the thrift hunt, then this question has probably run through your mind, maybe even more than once. Is there a better time of day to visit thrift and consignment stores? And by “better” of course I mean a time that results in the best prices or the first looks at the newest merch. I’ve owned a home consignment store for 20 years now and I can tell you that the truthful answer for most shops is it depends on where you’re shopping.
My shop is open 7 days a week. Most days we start at 10am and close at 5pm, except Sundays when it’s 11 to 4. Peeople often ask me if there’s a best time of day to visit us. It really depends on what you’re looking for. At Consignments Ltd., if you’re looking for furniture, you’ll probably want to check us out at the end of our furniture appointment days (Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays). Or definitely first thing in the morning on the days follwing.
Because we are such a big shop, however, if you’re looking for smaller items, the time of day really doesn’t matter. That’s because we put new items out constantly, from the time we get here until the time we leave. I literally have to say, “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s be done now. It’s time to go home!” Great problem to have, I know. I’m grateful beyond words for these folks.
Learn The Schedule And You’ll Know The Best Time of Day to Visit a Thrift Shop
There’s a consignment shop in the northern part of my state that I love to visit. The best time to go is as soon as they open on Monday or Thursday. Do you know why? It’s because they are closed on Sunday and Wednesday. I have learned that the owners use those days to do house clearouts and to pick up purchased items that they plan on re-selling. If you get there first thing on Monday and Thursday you get first looks. You should see the parking lot! LOL
You can see where I’m going with this. Here’s the rule: Understand the way that a shop operates. Figure out when they put out new items. Plan accordingly.
What About Bargains?
OK. So we’ve talked about getting first looks at new merchandise. What about the best time of day for bargains? Again, at my shop it doesn’t really matter. We’ve got great prices all the time. For us it’s more about when the items come to the end of their 90 day contract, but things “end/time out” every single day. Other shops, however, tend to mark items down later in the day. For example, they’ll give something a sale price that they don’t want to pull back inside again. And if they are marking items down by hand, they need time in the day to do it.
Other shops timeout their inventory by color coding their tags. If a tag is a certain color you get a percentage off the price. Again, this doesn’t indicate a best time of day to visit the thrift, more the day, week or month.
Insider Tip: When thrifting always try to sign up for a shop’s email for early notice of promotions and sales. Look for manager specials, senior and military discounts and loyalty programs.
For more on consignment and thrift, check out my previous blogs like: How Consignment Shops Set Prices and Fall Is A Good Time To Buy: The Thrift Version.
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