Jaxon Craig is a full-time thrifter, reselling the clothes he finds as Loveless Vintage. He also shares tips about reselling on his YouTube channel. For this guide to thrifting, he walks through the basics of how to walk out of a shop with an excellent new look for next to nothing.

I spend $500 at thrift stores every month. I know that seems like an excessive amount of money to spend on vintage T-shirts and sweaters your grandma would wear, but it’s actually my job: I’m a full-time thrifter and I find a lot of amazing, unique gear that I sell to make a living. 

Why would anyone shop secondhand? There are numerous benefits:  reducing your carbon footprint, helping a local nonprofit, or just saving a bit of money. Never been inside of a thrift store? Don’t know what to expect? Let the expert (me) tell you about all the things to expect when first setting foot inside of your local thrift and how to make sure you walk out with some new personal pieces for your wardrobe. But first, let me tell you about how my thrift obsession all started.

I always loved clothes growing up. From school shopping, to circling what Element or World Industries skate tee I wanted my mom to order me out of the CCS catalog, to working my first jobs in retail clothing sales at Banana Republic and J.Crew. Hell, I would even lay out my outfits for school the night before, and well… I might be guilty of still doing this. Clothing always had a hold on me. 

I kept at it for years, deeply dedicated to finding more hidden gems. I’d spend all my time on eBay, Facebook groups, even online message boards looking to grow my collection. Over time I realized the value that some of my thrift finds held, and that’s what got me into selling. As of three years ago, thrifting has become my full-time job. I find unique and trendy items to fill up my online Depop shop, or I sell directly on my Instagram page through my brand Loveless Vintage. These days, finding cool pieces at thrift stores isn’t always easy. Here are the basic tips I always follow to find the best stuff.

The most important advice that I can give you: Go in with no expectations. Many times, people enter a thrift store hoping to hit the jackpot, and while it does happen sometimes, it doesn’t happen a lot of the time. If you’re looking to find the perfect-fitting pair of pants or a crazy-valuable vintage tee, it will take lots of work and persistence. So be vigilant, have fun, and remember that it’s all about the thrill of the hunt and the satisfaction of finding a good bargain.

Just a few weeks ago, I bought cases of energy drinks for $3 a case. Name-brand energy drinks, in a thrift store. You truly never know. If you’re looking for clothes, current or vintage, many thrifts focus on and have an abundance of clothing. But there’s also home goods and decor, board games and books, movies and records. One thing I’ve been focusing on more in thrift stores is things to decorate my house with. I’ve gotten a lot of furniture and art for great prices. There’s also so much potential for DIY project materials within the thrift, too!

How can you tell if a thrift store is good? Let’s talk about pricing. If you walk into a thrift store and most of the clothing is under $5, even down to $1 or less, you’ve found a good one. If you’re finding $20 button-up shirts and $40 Carharrt pants, that’s pretty sus, and I’d say you won’t have much luck in finding a bargain. But even if you step into a store with high prices, my advice is still to look.

Look for sales and discounts. Most thrift stores have sales on certain days of the week. They could be whole store discounts, but likely they will be certain color tags that will be on sale. When a thrift store gets newly donated goods, they usually tag them with a date or a color tag to signify the date. The longer an item sits in a thrift store, the more that store is going to want to get rid of it, hence tag sales. From what I’ve learned, most thrift stores will try to cycle through all their inventory within a one- to two-month span, since they get in new donations so often. This is where you have a great opportunity to get some deals on items that have been sitting on the rack too long for the store's liking. Some stores also do coupons through email or Facebook groups, so make sure to ask an employee if they have any sales going on, and they’ll usually give you the rundown.

Check every section. After all, clothing is genderless. When I step into a thrift store, the first place I look is the men’s T-shirts, but I check every clothing section thoroughly. I found an amazing Dazed and Confused movie promo tee in the women’s section recently, and a load of 80s tees in the kid’s section, too. Most times, clothing is organized by size, and sometimes workers will just look at the size on the tag and stick it wherever it fits in the store regardless of if it's a “men’s shirt” or not.

Need a suit? A straw hat? It doesn’t hurt to ask a thrift store employee if they have a specific thing that you are looking for. Since they see most things that come into the store, they are likely to be able to help you out.

Look for new racks. In most retail thrift stores, they will be rolling out new racks throughout the day. This is a great opportunity to see brand-new inventory right before they put it onto the floor for all to see. I’ll often wait until an employee has taken a few things off the rack to put away to look at the new rack or even just ask them if I can go through it. Don’t be annoying and hound employees about new racks or restocks—if anything, just come back the next day to check again!

Stay safe! If you go to a discounted thrift store, where items come out in bins unsorted and untouched by the staff, there can be threats lurking. I’ve found needles, poop, rats, and tons of other stuff in thrift stores that I do not want to take home with me. If you really want to, wearing gloves is always an option while thrifting. Also be aware and cautious of other people in thrift stores. Some people can be very aggressive while thrifting, and I’ve witnessed fights over who found an item first, threats, and even physical altercations. Once, my dad went to a discount thrift store and described it to me as “contact thrifting.” People become very territorial in thrift stores, and I’ve seen it happen all over used clothing, so be mindful. Don’t be one of those people that looks over, hovers over, or looks directly next to someone while thrifting. Give everyone their space, and your time will come.

That being said, thrifting does have a large community, and for the most part, like any community, there are positive relationships that can be formed over a shared love. I’ve met some close friends thrifting, people I now talk to daily and see weekly. Almost like my co-workers. There are even thrift store employees that I’ve become friends with who now look out for me. There is a whole niche online community of thrifters connecting, posting and showing off their finds, or even selling items on live streams together.

I feel like I need to mention that thrifting for some is a necessity, so be mindful of that. Leave behind warm coats, blankets, and essentials. And even donate yourself when you can. Have a game plan, or don’t! Thrifting is mostly chance, but it also takes a lot of effort. You should have some idea of what you’re looking for, and where to look for it—but the more specific you get with your vision of an ideal thrift find, the less likely your chances of finding that specific item will be. I am a firm believer in manifestation and willing into existence, but thrifting is mostly a random game of chance. Go regularly. Consistency is always key. Stay vigilant, and one day you’ll find that perfect item you’ve been looking for. Or, do what I do most days and just peruse around the thrift store for over an hour looking for whatever funky nonsense you can. Now, go out and thrift!