Make It Count: Shopping For It In Person

Unless you live in Antarctica, chances are there's a secondhand thrift shop in your neighborhood. If you're in an area with a vibrant thrifting culture, look for smaller, independently run stores that'll resell directly from the community. If you aren't, look in chain shops like The Goodwill, whose products oftentimes come from a national distributor, which means that the clothes you're seeing on the racks aren't actually from your 1st-grade teacher's closet.

Start small. Says Amy, "The easiest pieces to shop for are separates like blouses, sweaters, and skirts, as well as dresses and jackets. I'd skip over anything that is damaged or too worn out: pieces that have stains, holes, pilling, or weird smells." Oftentimes, those can't be saved. Furthermore, "be patient and shop often, as you never know what you'll find and when you'll find it. Ask when the stores restock merchandise, as some put out merchandise at the same time every day and those are the best times to shop. Also, be sure to ask about sales. Some stores have half-price sales certain days out of the week or daily color-coded discounts." Ka-ching!