The Hunt for a Bargain in Waukesha

With the New Year comes a new resolve to spend less money.

Credit card bills are due from Christmas, in addition to taxes and other expenses. Let the belt tightening begin!

For some, that may mean getting a gently used belt, preferably with a matching pair of shoes or cute outfit.

For others, it can mean following the trend of decorating on a dime and buying unique home accessories or searching high and low for a used leather couch, appliance or other big ticket item.

Nearly everyone I know has a thrift store story, either in buying or donating something.

My mom bought a favorite artist’s signed print for a bargain price. My friend helped her son decorate his first apartment with furniture from area thrift stores. I bought a great coat worth much more than I paid for it.

For frequent thrift store shoppers Rebecca York and her mother, it’s all about finding “treasures.”

The mother and daughter team were shopping at St. Vincent de Paul recently. York looks for stylish, name brand clothes while her mother shops for crafts and household items. Both look for things they can remake into something useful.

York’s memorable find was a $200 pair of brand name jeans that she purchased for $5 from Goodwill.

“It’s fun. Kind of like digging for treasures,” York said, explaining the attraction of shopping thrift stores.

The resale industry thrives in a slow economy, according to NARTS, the Association of Resale Professionals.

When consumers run low on money, they cut back on discretionary spending and change the way they shop but they still shop, according to the association.

Business has been good at Waukesha area thrift shops, according to store managers.

At the , Jean Coshun said that business has been almost normal despite West Avenue being torn up for as long as it was.

“People have found us,” she said. The non-profit store has been at its present location a little more than two years and the recent reconstruction of West Avenue didn’t keep customers away. In early January, it was particularly busy as people shopped their 50 percent off sale.

The WSC thrift shop is a non-profit and staffed by volunteers, Coshun said. Money raised is donated to Waukesha-area community agencies such as the Waukesha Memorial Foundation, ACAP, ARCH, Christmas Clearing Council, Family Service of Waukesha, the Food Pantry, Girl Scouts and Interfaith Senior Programs, in addition to others. Unsold items are donated to churches, Hope Center and other organizations that clothe people in need.

She credits their donors who give them good things to sell, knowing that they’re a non-profit, and workers who know merchandise.

“We do a pretty good business,” she said.

Thrift stores in the area report that their customers are usually just regular people, many of whom are repeat customers, browsing or looking for certain things but that they also get visits from dealers looking for items to resell on eBay or other stores.

“If you’re looking for something and you look long enough, eventually it’s going to show up here,” said Kaia Poulson, assistant manager at the . “It’s amazing what kind of finds there are.”

She also said that she sees a lot of people buying items to repurpose, refinish or repair, like picture frames that can be easily spray-painted a different color instead of buying a new frame or an entertainment center.

According to store manager John Erdmann, the store is doing good business and not yet experiencing the usual after-Christmas drop in sales like other stores experience. He’s hopeful that pace will continue. The store, which recently moved to its current bigger location in May, is a non-profit; after store expenses, he said, 100 percent goes to help the needy in the community.

Last month, through the St. Vincent de Paul Waukesha Council’s voucher system, the store gave away $7,000 in clothing alone, not counting vouchers given for furniture, Erdmann said.

People ask why there seem to be many thrift shops in Waukesha.

It’s a clear case of supply and demand, one thrifty friend theorizes. Waukesha has a balanced mix of people who want to donate things and people who want to buy them, she said.

It’s a win-win for donors and shoppers – donors get the tax deduction by donating items to the area non-profit thrift stores and the shoppers get a good deal.

Other thrift shops in the area include two  stores, one on the east side of town and the other on the west at 2015 Meadow Lane; and the .