Frugal

I guess it depends where you live. Mine are still good in my part of Canada.

Chain thrift stores aren't anywhere near what they used to be. Goodwill's been crap for awhile, but now I'm even noticing Salvation Army's being pretty expensive. The best places to go are always the hole-in-the-wall local thrift stores that aren't part of some larger chain - that's where you can find great deals. Unfortunately, those also tend to be small places with low selection, so I rarely go thrift shopping for a specific thing, since I'm not likely to find exactly what I'm looking for on any given trip. The the kinds of people who are able to find a bread maker for $8 are the ones who frequent a bunch of local thrift stores just for fun, buying stuff they want as they happen to find it.

Also check other thrift stores. Our smaller one supports a non-profit, we're all volunteers so expenses are low. We get lots of donations so we have to keep our prices low to move items out the door.

Pro Tip: volunteer at a thrift store to get first dibs on incoming items. It's a great perk.

They may be talking about "second-hand stores". Those tend to be more expensive than thrift stores and are trying to profit off of the "thrift store" moniker. The main difference is that actual thrift stores tend to accept donations, whereas secondhand stores tend to operate more like antique stores. Another big clue into what type of store you are shopping at is our local thrift stores always have sales depending on the color of the tags. Also, actual thrift stores tend to be involved with the community (voucher programs with the local homeless/DV shelters). My favorite one had coupon days that they sent in the Wednesday circular, but now they are online via "My Square".