Thrifty Business

Dennis Bondarenko, left, checks out skis with his brother Alex at the Goodwill store on Third Avenue.

The young woman at the end of the Goodwill aisle wriggled into a slinky, black cocktail dress but found it to be too small.

“Sometimes I’m in a dress mood,” said Emily, one of a legion of thrift shoppers in the Inland Northwest.

The 22-year-old explained that she took up thrift shopping as a child, accompanying her parents into the world of good used deals.

“It’s fun. It’s amazing and cheap,” she said, declining to give her last name.

Goodwill couldn’t be happier.

Business is up at the larger charity thrift stores in Spokane. The trend has spread to smaller nonprofits and the for-profit sector, where smaller variety shops are capitalizing on the demand for lower-priced, used merchandise . Mike Prager, SR

I miss thrift store shopping. Don’t know how I could have clothed 4 growing boys on 1 income without it. Now, I have more income to spend and less time to shop which makes thrift store visits rare.
Do you have a favorite thrift store? Any finds that made you especially happy?