Vintage Fashion YouTuber Shares 5 Ways To Save Money Thrifting
YouTube’s Jacob Starr is a vintage fashion content creator who specializes in thrifting. For over 10 years, Starr has traveled around the country visiting various thrift stores. He has a collective 450,000 followers across YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, where he promotes the best ways to thrift and find high-quality clothing cheaply.
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Starr’s videos entertain, but he also aims to educate his viewers and help them find the best thrifting deals. Here are some of Starr’s methods for thrifting.
Download the Whatnot App
One of Starr’s most recommended apps is Whatnot, a reseller marketplace that specializes in vintage goods and collectibles. He frequently mentions this application in his videos and is a seller on the app. Whatnot is ideal if you are searching for a specific item or brand, so you won’t have to waste time going to various thrift stores. Although you can purchase an item on Whatnot without bidding, Whatnot does offer an auction function, with goods starting at $1.
Find Vintage Items at Goodwill
Starr is a Goodwill expert, often frequenting the Goodwill bins. His most recent videos are a vlog-style documentary where he visits every state in America in hopes of finding the best deals at Goodwill.
For vintage thrifting fans, Goodwill often has old clothing from the 1980s or ’90s, and some of these finds are easier to pick up in small towns. In bigger cities, vintage goods can get snatched up by other thrifting enthusiasts. If you have the time and resources, it may be worth it to find a small-town Goodwill — there may be a nice, cheap hidden gem there. Small-town Goodwills will often have cheaper prices as well.
Ask Around for Local Tips
Starr often gets recommendations on which thrift stores might have good finds. In one of his videos, he was told that the Goodwills in Northern California near the Reno, Nevada, border were supposed to have great bins of clothing.
Ask around — friends, family or utilize online resources — to find the best thrift stores near you. They may have recommendations for hidden gems that you’ve never even heard of. If you know where to look, you won’t have to travel very far to find the best thrift deals.
Attend Thriftcon
Thriftcon is an annual thrifting convention held in various convention centers around the country. If you are in search of more upscale or luxury goods, Thriftcon has vendors who may help you find a specific piece or style you are looking for. The vendors are often individuals or people who run small businesses, so Thriftcon functions more like a resale market, unlike a Goodwill or other chain thrift store. This might make talking down an item of clothing easier. At a big convention like this, bargaining is expected — and can often net you the best deal.
Explore Abandoned Buildings
This one is not for the faint of heart. Throughout his series of thrifting across America, Starr has visited many abandoned buildings in order to find potential thrifting gold mines. Obviously, it is better to find a way to ask for permission to enter these spaces. There may be old sneakers or shirts in these abandoned spaces that can be resold online or re-donated back to Goodwill.
Obviously, this is not the ideal method, and it takes a particular type of person to find clothes this way. But if you are brave enough, there could be something worth wearing in these places.
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