For me, thrifting TikToks generally have a romance to them. An explorer goes to a thrift store, finds something relatively cheap or unique, wanders the aisles with a sense of wonder and relaxation, and, ultimately, finds a fabulous one-of-a-kind item. These items are beautiful, vintage, or even worth much money. These explorers look calm, relaxed, put together, and haven’t been harassed by people. I love watching them explore the old estate sale. I love watching them try on those pants and think, “They look great.” I love seeing their success. It’s romantic because whenever I try to thrift in Los Angeles, I don’t experience that.
The city of Los Angeles alone has a population of four million, and I wouldn’t be surprised if more than half of them described themselves as creative. Getting people in LA, you will likely be face-to-face with people who love fashion, want to explore new styles, and love to create things. But creating is a demand, and with it comes a demand to find things in any way. Thrifting becomes one of those ways. With thrift stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army, item prices increase, and more excellent things get snagged up quickly. People must hustle for creative pursuits, and finding treasure becomes a full-time job. Thrifting in Los Angeles is hard. It is a battle Royale against resellers, fashionistas, and experienced thrifters. In the end, you can never win.
Thrifting in LA tends to happen in tiers. On the bottom is the Goodwill outlet or the occasional junkyards, places only true adventurers would go. Those places are for people who do this for a living and come prepared with gloves and masks to protect them from diseases that sit on the items they touch. These places are dirty, but whoever comes here is generally ready to fight tooth and nail to find that hidden treasure. Some people post about the stuff they find (mostly designer), which causes newbies to see this exciting. Still, generally, this tier is not for the faint of heart. The next tier is for the standard thrift store like a Goodwill or a Salvation Army. While other cities offer some delicious items, most thrift stores in the center of Los Angeles are heavily picked over. The stores sell some cheap Dollar Store items or even pure trash, and even if you find something that isn’t pure trash, you’ll find items being sold for the price it was sold when it was new. For those that want to experience thrifting for the first time, having the option for trash or expensive used clothes sucks the fun out of it. The last tier is the designer thrift stores, which offer actual designer items and higher-priced items. They are usually consignment shops, but people mix them with thrift stores. Those places are a bit more expensive for someone who knows nothing about designers, so the upper tier is generally hard to come by. On a different area, all on its own is estate sales.
I love thrifting, but I am also not aggressive. I don’t generally get aggressive when it comes to anything, and being around aggression makes me anxious. When I find something quirky or unique, I get excited about the possibility of it looking weird in my house. Still, I don’t want to fight over that item. I wasn’t expecting to find it, so I don’t want to be the one who is the first to grab it. It’s why I generally don’t like going to estate sales. Once I discover one and go to the event, resellers have already been waiting in line for the past two hours, beating me at getting it first. Also, if I like an item and try to get it, the reseller that was there before I bought out the whole place, so the one thing I wanted was already sold.
So how does one thrift if there aren’t any options? How do you discover when ruthless competition is typical? Get out of LA. While Los Angeles is overrun with explorers, the pockets outside Los Angeles are golden for those who aren’t as aggressive as seasoned thrifters. Certain suburbs tend to offer charming things, and most people don’t want to risk doing the drive. Most of the towns/suburbs/areas outside of Los Angeles aren’t popular, so they offer products for a more affordable price and aren’t heavily picked on. These areas would have to be where they aren’t well known, so Palm Springs or Big Bear wouldn’t be a good option. Finding a good thrifting area option in LA would require some research. If you are willing to go 30+ minutes, there are dozens of suburbs in the valley, San Gabriel area, and lower Long Beach area that can offer reasonable prices for whatever you’re curious to find. Even though these places might not be fancy or pricey, they still provide some excellent items. I have seen various vintage items at thrift stores all across the Deep Valley. I haven’t been as successful finding stuff at estate sales (truthfully, I haven’t tried). Still, thrifting in towns that aren’t as busy offers so much for those who don’t want to fight over an item.
Los Angeles has been cited as the world’s capital, and with that comes many people who love to shop as a creative or a hustler. I can’t hate that; really, I have to respect that. However, I am just not as aggressive as that lot. I love to thrift, but fighting for an item sometimes takes the fun out of it. So, if you live in Los Angeles and are like me, I hope this suggestion of trying to thrift helps a lot in your journey.
