I’m a regular at the local thrift shops, for my clothes and much else besides.
This isn’t so much about the punk, do-it-yourself aesthetic (although I do approve of that), instead it’s more to do with a skinflint’s refusal to pay more than necessary, and a curmudgeon’s desire to be left alone while shopping.
The pestering I attract at regular stores is never-ending. The last time I made the mistake of going to Best Buy I was interrupted no less than five times, twice by the same person and once to inquire if I’d “heard the latest gossip in the world of smartphones.”
At the thrift shop I am not required to engage in such foolishness, and the prices can’t be beat. As someone who has moved back and forth across the ocean a few times and lived out of a suitcase when the occasion demands, these places have been a lifesaver, especially as the clothes I do have seem to attract spilled coffee and grease stains to an unusually-high degree.
So what options are there here in town?
Starting in the Carrousel District, we have “What Goes ‘Round” on Main Street. Definitely on the ‘refined’ end of the thrift-shop scale, this split-level store has a boutique-y, antique-shop feel very much in keeping with the area.
Pricing seemed straight-forward and simple when I was there last: an even $5 for all clothing items. Although even greater bargains can be found elsewhere this is clearly still an excellent deal, and I should point out that this and other prices quoted do not take into account all the extra discounts, half-price sales and special offers that are constantly in play.
The dedicated bargain hunter really does need to shop around.
Books here are currently at rock-bottom prices, just 10¢ a copy – a danger for me since books and Hawaiian shirts are my Achilles’ heel at the thrift shop. I never miss a chance to enhance my personal library, and I’ve gone hunting for clothes for a job interview only to come out equipped to spend three months with Jimmy Buffett in Margaritaville.
Moving east we have the Pump House Ministry Thrift, out on Ashland Road past U.S 30, opposite Fisher’s Ice-Cream Shack.
We’re in cheap-and-cheerful territory here, with lower prices and more of a muddle of bric-a-brac, including a very tempting $40 foosball table. The books are a more standard 50¢ for paperbacks and $1 for hardbacks.
Here and elsewhere, the vinyl records are always worth a look if you’re a collector, but you’re taking a chance: these are not ‘curated’ collections, and the quality can be very poor, to the point of unplayable.
Still, even without a purchase it’s an interesting snapshot of the pop culture of an earlier time. Names like Bert Kaempfert (eerily familiar from my childhood), and Lawrence Welk, who was clearly almost unfathomably popular in this part of the world. Also, by today’s standard’s, a surprising amount of classical music.
A quick tip regarding the Pump House Thrift: the “fitting room” is actually the children’s toy room. You just shut the door and lock yourself in there (having first ascertained that there are no children present).
The Pump House also has a second thrift store on the west side of town called “Revival’s,” on 4th Street just past Trimble Road. Pricing is similar to the original store, but on my recent visit the book selection seemed just a little weightier, with Twain, Joseph Conrad and Albert Camus in evidence, along with the mysteries, cookbooks and self-help guides.
Then there are the big boys. Moving out further west on 4th Street into Ontario is the Goodwill store.
Initially this was a favorite of mine due to the wide choice and very competitive pricing, I almost never recovered from a visit with my wife during which she methodically examined every item in the store and drew the process out to an inconceivable length.
At first simply bored, I ended up wandering the aisles in a daze, quietly moaning, before staggering outside to grimly circle the parking lot in utter desperation, at the very brink of asking a passing stranger what year this was and what town I was in.
Even bigger, by my rough estimation, is the Volunteers of America on Park Avenue West, next to the Kroger. Like the Goodwill, the prices cover a wide range and the discount system can often be complicated, so a bit of digging around really pays off.
What seems to be an in-house radio station alternates poppy chart music with details of current special offers. A brief word on thrift shop music in general. There’s far too much country music for my liking. Now, wait a minute. Bluegrass? Proper old-fashioned country & western? I love it.
It’s the new stuff – the ‘blue-jeans, Chevy-truck, skyrockets-fourth-of-July’ stuff – that’s what drives me up the wall.
Personally, I think disco music would be far more appropriate at the thrift shop. I’d buy twice as much if “At the Carwash” was playing in the background. I’m also convinced a steady stream of Chic, Sister Sledge and Kool & the Gang would lead to a strong upsurge in sales of clothes in vibrant primary colors.
Last on my whistle-stop tour of local thrifters was the Goodwill on Lexington Avenue, similar to the Ontario store but the jackpot here is the books: an interesting selection paired with a “Manager’s Special Offer” of four books for $1.
It was while carefully scanning the reading material here that a slightly unfortunate incident occurred, when a small child tugged my shirt and asked me to hand him a toy truck that was randomly parked on one of the higher bookshelves.
Of course I handed it over to the young whippersnapper, why wouldn’t I?
But as he dashed off with it, I heard his mother bellow, “NO!!! I TOLD YOU you cannot have the truck!”
Unfazed by the instant screams and tears of the young lad she whirled on the father and demanded “did you give him the truck??” Without a moment’s hesitation he pointed at me and said “No – THAT guy did it.”
I took a sudden and deep interest in the cookbooks, and luckily the moment blew over. I’ve learned that if you want a good bargain, you simply have to ride out this kind of thing and take it in stride.
What Goes ‘Round Thrift Shoppe
113 N Main St, Mansfield, Ohio
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Mon-Sat
Pump House Ministries Thrift Store
1399 Ashland Rd, Mansfield, Ohio
10 a.m – 7 p.m. Mon-Sat
Revival’s Thrift Store
1099 W 4th St, Mansfield, Ohio
10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Mon-Sat
Goodwill Thrift Store
2154 W 4th St, Ontario, Ohio
9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Mon-Sat
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sun
Volunteers of America
1280 Park Avenue West, Mansfield, Ohio
9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Mon-Sat
Noon – 6 p.m. Sun
Goodwill Thrift Store
1280 Lexington Ave, Mansfield, Ohio
9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Mon-Sat
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sun
