I Say That the DAV Has the Best Thrift Store

Let's be real... Many of us have suffered from the recent economy and for may it seems taboo to talk about shopping at a thrift store to save money. The thought of buying used clothes for my family actually disgusted me at one time in my life. One day I was looking for a shirt with a Jaguar logo and was searching on eBay. I purchased a shirt for about $20 plus shipping. When I got the shirt, a relative commented that it wasn't brand new and asked "How do you know that it wasn't bought from the Salvation Army?" Well, I couldn't answer that question and I survived wearing that shirt and so my curiosity was peaked and the search was on. I was finding all sorts of great name brand shirts at the thrift shops. Eventually with my pocketbook shrinking, I started to find clothing for the whole family.

Being a father to 3 girls and 1 boy, I found myself in a situation where my clothing budget could disappear with a single trip to the mall. Well, believe it or not, Daddy has become quite the avid thrift store shopper... Yes, Daddy is the primary clothing shopper for the whole family! So through my countless trips to the local thrift stores, I have formed my opinion about who has the best stores around. Here is my list of stores that I frequent the most. I hope this may be helpful to some you:

#1 The Disabled American Veternas (DAV) Thrift Shop. 8050 N. Middlebelt Rd in Westland. (open 7 days)

Note: This store has sales every week on certain color tags. Here's an example: One week green tagged items may be half off, the following week it's 75% off and on the Sunday of that week they will run a sale where all green tags are 5 for $1.00 regardless of what it is. The line for this weekly sale starts nearly 45 minutes before they open and can get intense when they unlock the door. It may not be for the weak at heart and you should have a game plan when entering to get the best items.

#2 Salvation Army - Canton. 43504 Joy Rd in Canton (closed Sundays)

Note: over 39,000 square ft of serious bargain shopping. Not only do they post their sales on a borad at the entrance but they also list their sales on-line http://www.salarmythrift.com/ 

#3 Goodwill - Canton. 41937 Ford Road in Canton (open 7 days)

Note: Used clothes do not have price tags on them. It doesn't matter what brand, condition or age. All tops are the same price, all jeans are the same price, all coats are the same price, etc. Signs are posted with prices. They have weekly sales and if you join their email list, you'll get a monthly email that includes a 25% off coupon that can be printed over and over! Sales are also posted on their web site http://www.goodwilldetroit.org/

#4 Salvation Army - Livonia. 33600 Plymouth Rd in Livonia (closed Sundays)

Note: The parking lot is small. On the weekend I've found myself parking at the Tim Horton's next door.

#5 Value World - Westland. 35300 Central City Parkway (open 7 days)

Note: When it comes to cleanliness and neatness, this place fails but with some patience and the fact that I like the idea of supporting Purple Heart, I still get motivation to seek out good deals here. I usually found their coupons in direct mail, Metro Times or you can join their email club on their web site http://www.valueworld.net/

#6 St Vincent dePaul Thrift Store - Westland. 6613 N. Wayne Rd (closed Sundays)

Note: Although pricing can leave me scratching my head at times, I find enough good deals to make it worth my trip to this store.

Now keep in mind that I'm concentrating on "Thrift Stores" and yes, I know there are great "second hand" shops like Once Upon A Child in Canton for kids clothes where I often visit. So my question is...

What is your favorite thrift store?