Why I Buy All of My Shoes From the Thrift Store

The first few years of our marriage, my husband and I had no choice but to shop at the thrift store.  Going to Walmart and paying (*gasp*) $12.99 for a new pair or sneakers was just not a possibility.  If there was a need, we would head to the thrift store and scour the shelves for something that would do the job at $2 or less.  And we were content.   


Thrift Store $7    

Eventually we graduated from college and got a real job.  It was an exciting day when we took our kids to Walmart to buy them new shoes for the first time.  We felt like we'd hit the big time!  Three months later when those brand new sneakers fell to pieces we were more than a little dissapointed.

Our friends assured us that the reason our shoes were falling apart was because Walmart sells nothing but crap, and we needed to go to a better store and buy better shoes. So we tried department stores.  We tried the mall.  We went to sports stores.  And we went to specialty shoe stores.  But no matter where we went, or how much we spent, our shoes almost never lasted more than a few months. 

Walmart $14.99 (yes, that's duct tape)

The whole situation was baffling.  I could remember several pairs of second-hand shoes that had survived all three of our girls without wearing out.  So now that we were willing to pay so much more for shoes, why couldn't we find a pair that could last even one school year?  Was it possible that things just aren't made to last?  Or were we still just not looking in the right places?

At about this time in our shopping evelution, I met a friend who introduced me to Dollar Mondays.  Our local thrift store has colored tags, and on Mondays every item with that color tag costs only a dollar.  So we started hanging out at the thrift store on Mondays.  One day while we were there, I found a pair of sneakers for my daughter.  She wore them for the whole school year.  The following year, we passed them on to my next daughter who also wore them for the whole school year.  ??? That's when I noticed that the shoes we got from the thrift store always lasted longer than the shoes we bought new. 


Thrift Store $3

How can this be? 

That's when I discovered a beautiful truth:
Shoes that last a year are likely to last many, many years! 

Things that are made to fall apart, will fall apart right away and never even make it to the thrift store.  If you find something at the thrift store that you can tell has been worn, but is still in solid condition, it is likely to last you a long time.

Wow!  This was a big shift in thinking for me.  I had spent years looking forward to having our thrift store days behind us only to discover that we were actually the more fortunate consumers in the first place.  I have since started buying all of my own shoes at yard sales or thrift stores.  Kids' shoes can be a little more difficult because sometime they need a very specific type of shoe and the need it right now (for PE, sports, dance, ect.).  And I don't mind buying my kids shoes that will fall apart since I know they are going to outgrow them in a heartbeat anyway.

Whenever we have the chance though, we head to the thrift store where all the good shoes are just waiting to be rediscovered. 


Marcia