Expensive sheets at the thrift store?
02-06-2014, 05:26 PM
#12
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 16
I live on the west coast. Thrift buys seem to have gone up in general overall though. I used to go to a thrift store and come away with two or three items within my budget. Now I'm lucky if I come away with even one thing, clothing wise.
02-06-2014, 06:38 PM
#13
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Alturas, CA
Posts: 9,393
I do agree with you on the price of that particular stores price of sheets, so I would check out other thrift stores. I've found nice sheets at thrift stores, yard sales and auctions. I use them as backings because I can't afford to buy fabric for backings, since I donate 99% of my quilts. I've never had any problems with quilting with sheets as backings.
02-06-2014, 06:58 PM
#14
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: West Texas
Posts: 2,073
I agree that those sheet prices were too high. I find my sheets at estate and garage sales. I find that sheets sold individually are usually a better price than those sold in sets with pillowcases. I usually stay away from fitted twin bed sheets -- too small after cutting away at the corners, and bottom sheets are often more worn. If it is cotton, new in the package, and I don't need it for a backing, then I will buy it.
02-06-2014, 11:21 PM
#15
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Jozefow, Poland
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I have noticed that main line thrift store prices have gone up dramatically in the years since we've been in Poland (since 1994). I notice it quite a lot since we come back to the US only periodically and tend to notice the jumps in prices.
Check for "stuff a bag" sales or periodic sales.
But you are right--your price was too high for sheets! Someone was hallucinating when they priced those or they expect people to wait for the 50% off sale and even then, it is pretty high for a used sheet!
Check for "stuff a bag" sales or periodic sales.
But you are right--your price was too high for sheets! Someone was hallucinating when they priced those or they expect people to wait for the 50% off sale and even then, it is pretty high for a used sheet!
02-07-2014, 03:19 AM
#16
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Woodmere, NY
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We have a couple of for profit thrift stores, and I have done really well.. They have 1/2 off the day before a holiday, and the holiday. I've bought new sheet sets for $5 a set.. The store is called Unique. Kohs donated to a charity, and sells it to Unique.. I buy all the time, and use them for the backings.. They are new, and high quality.. Unique has a couple of stores in our area, and I think some in other areas..
02-07-2014, 06:53 AM
#17
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Selma Alabama
Posts: 3,628
There is one store where I used to buy great sheets for under 3.00 ea. I made a trip there last weekend and prices were up 8 to 10.00 ea. I didn't buy any, can get new on sale for less. I thought maybe they caught onto our use for them and decided to cash in on more profit.
02-08-2014, 04:18 AM
#18
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Montana
Posts: 565
We have a few thrift stores here but I have to be careful which one I shop at. One has opened recently and was a reasonable at first but now they charge almost as much as new at Walmart. I don't buy there so much anymore. I like the Salvation Army thrift store.
Lynda
Lynda
Originally Posted by jemsister
I live around the corner from a thrift store, and I went in there looking for sheets and pillowcases. I'm new to sewing, so I don't want to spend a bunch of money on new fabric without first having a feel for my machine and whatnot. Anyway, they were asking $8 to $10 per sheet set. This seemed really expensive to me for a thrift store! Especially since most of the sheets were pretty well worn, and definitely outdated. They had a few separate pillowcases for 79 cents each, and I bought a couple of those (most were kinda ugly patterns), but there were very few of them because if the pillowcase went with a set, you had to buy the whole set. It just seemed way overpriced to me. Is this because people are repurposing them? You know, like they're trying to capitalize on other peoples' habits? They did have a fabric remnants section, but there wasn't much to choose from. I did find a bit of brown calico for cheap, so that was nice. I came away moderately successful in the end, but I was just so surprised at the prices of the bed linens.
One thing I will say, though, is that they had a whole bunch of bias tape and piping for only 39 cents a pack. And they had one random spool of thread for 10 cents, so I grabbed that. I only bought a few packs of bias tape, some rick-rack, and a package of elastic. I was so tempted to buy the whole bin, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. So I made myself put back things that I didn't have a clear purpose for.
Anyway, what I'm getting at is that everything seemed like a great buy except for the sheets. =P
One thing I will say, though, is that they had a whole bunch of bias tape and piping for only 39 cents a pack. And they had one random spool of thread for 10 cents, so I grabbed that. I only bought a few packs of bias tape, some rick-rack, and a package of elastic. I was so tempted to buy the whole bin, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. So I made myself put back things that I didn't have a clear purpose for.
Anyway, what I'm getting at is that everything seemed like a great buy except for the sheets. =P
02-08-2014, 04:47 AM
#19
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Maryville, TN
Posts: 2,008
The price on those sheets does sound high. maybe someone thought they were vintage? Who knows. I've shopped at thrift stores for various things and to me it's like a dollar store...you have to shop very carefully and know your prices. If I want something in particular, I usually ask my son to look for it. He has the absolute best nose for a good buy!
02-08-2014, 04:54 AM
#20
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,061
Originally Posted by Silver Needle
Most of the time you would get better results buying sale fabrics at a fabric store like JoAnns. Especially if you get coupons of the internet. Another option is buying 100% cotton shirts at the thrift store and cutting them up for piecing. Sheets do not make good backing fabric because of the density of the thread count. When we first got our longarm and were getting instruction on it the instructor suggested we not accept quilt tops from clients who insisted on using sheets for backing. It makes it very difficult to balance the tension on the top and bottom stitches. Just my humble opinion.
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