Saturday, January 14, 2012

What I Didn't Buy at the Thrift Store: Robots, Toys, Oh My!

Drew of Kitsch Café does a what I didn't buy feature where he shows items he decided to leave behind while thrifting. I can relate. So many thrift store treasures speak to me, but with a limited budget and space some get left behind. They say things like...


There is no guarantee that I will not return for these items as soon as my seven dollar thrift budget challenge is up. I can still hear them, calling to me. Their pull is hypnotic.Yes, I am insane. But I can confess my insanity to you, my Thrift Comrade. You understand.

What do you force yourself leave behind at the thrifts? (Even when they beg and plead. Or do you give in?)
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35 comments:

  1. Great post! I actually wrote a "What I Left Behind" post right before the end of the year. You can check it out here: http://www.williambrucewest.com/2011/12/21/thrift-justice-what-you-leave-behind/

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  2. William: Woah, will power! It would have been hard for me to leave a lot of those items on the thrift store shelves. I'm a sucker for toys and 90s stuff...

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  3. BWAHAHA! I resemble the suitcase remark a little too close for comfort. I'm on a luggage ban until I list the suitcases, carry-on bags and overnight cases I have.
    Besides having a vintage suitcase addiction, I find I'm drawn to vintage staplers. I had four in my grubby little hands at an estate sale but they were out of my price range.
    I'm not sure I would have been able to resist that red number....

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    1. The only thing stopping me from buying these items today is my $7 budget. Okay, I guess I could have left the robot behind. But not the rest!

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  4. I totally saw that rainbow mug today too!

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    1. I love that mug! They seem to resell well, but I'd prefer a pair if I'm going to sell it.

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  5. Oh I could fill a book with my loves and losses of the thrift. Whenever I'm tempted to buy something impractical/unnecessary/over-budget I have to keep the latest episode of Hoarders in the back of my mind. Those items with a special allure? Creepy playthings. I love strange dolls, plushies and toys that look entirely too deranged to actually be meant for children. But of course, you probably could've guessed that. =P

    <3 Jackie @ Let's Go Thrifting!
    http://LetsGoThrifting.blogspot.com

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    1. Oh, same here. We need to start a creepy curios museum of some kind. And keeping Hoarders on the mind, definitely effective in keeping more items on those thrift shelve!

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  6. My husband is still carrying that red suitcase which we bought new about thirty five years ago. When we arrived at our daughter's she laughed at him and demanded to know where the new ones she gave us for Christmas a couple of years ago were. Those rainbow cups were everywhere back in the day. It was a rule..every home had two or more.

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    1. 35 years ago? Well at least I know that's a sturdy case! Oh, the temptation still rages...

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  7. This made me smile real big. So cute :D Poor items in thrift prison! I would so have bought that red suitcase! Gorge!

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    1. I'm still so tempted to go back for the red suitcase. So very tempted...

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  8. I don't think I could resist the rainbow mug. I think I regret it more when I don't buy. I went to an estate sale and saw an old shabby chic wooden pink chair. The next morning I returned to purchase it and they had chopped it up firewood and were burning it right there. Oh the horror!

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    1. The horror is right! Poor damn chair!

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  9. The mugs always whisper that same damn thing to me ... usually I give in.

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    1. I think I will be giving in to the siren's call of some of them tomorrow....if they're the right price ;)

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  10. I have to say that I agree with that little honey bear! I'm so glad that you showed one of those mugs. People keep selling those for $10.00 each on Etsy - and making sales. I'm stumped.

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    1. Knowing my luck, I'd buy the mug and it would sit on the shelves...forever. With no buyers. I think I did the right thing trusting my instincts and leaving it behind.

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  11. I was out and about today and saw 3 of those poor left behind items. My husband thinks I am a dork when he told him I recognized the items.

    I was able to leave behind some of the many 8 track tapes that store had. The biggest selection I have ever found. If only I was more into swing and big band music. Someone had a huge collection.

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    1. The Thrift Center is cursed, I've been browsing those records for years and never find the groovy style the appeals to me. Just cheesy stuff ;)

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  12. Got a pair of the rainbow mugs here at the homestead. :D

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  13. PS, I find it cathartic to photography what I don't buy as well, lol. The other day I posted an old reel to reel on my FB page (http://www.facebook.com/ThriftTrick) that was KILLING me. I just couldn't justify buying it. But, as a musician and a thrifter/antique lover/vintage junkie, I was dying inside, lol.

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    1. I regret the impractical purchases every time...I still have this vintage check printer that I can't get rid of. It was only $1.00, but still...

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  14. hey, thanks for the shout-out!

    love the photo captions!

    those mugs would have come home with me and ended up in the shop.

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    1. No prob! I'm still tempted to go back from the mugs and suitcase. This may happen before the day ends...

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  15. Oh girl, i would have so waived that budget away and scooped up that red suitcase. In a heartbeat. Plus that green floral one next to it. Can't never have to many vintage suitcases. Stack them up and call it storage.

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    1. Next time...I will ;) Assuming it's still there.

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  16. I'm loving the thought bubbles.

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    1. I miss speech bubbles and making comics. They may be appearing more 'round these parts...

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  17. Sometimes I leave things behind. If I really like it, I'll keep thinking about while I'm at home until I go back to buy it :P

    hall-of-randomness.blogspot.nl

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