Post #503352 by uncle trav on Sun, Jan 10, 2010 5:28 AM

Just a few observations about the thrift store scene in my hometown. Now we all know the economy is bad so I won't turn this into a thread about that. I have been hitting the thrift stores as long as I can remember. Always some good finds to be had in many areas of collecting. At one time the thrift seemed to be the habitat for lost Tiki treasure now it is truly a treasure hunt indeed. Lately the thrift stores in my area are crowded and I mean that sometimes I can't find a parking spot. And the Tiki items have dropped almost off of the radar. Now around here the good finds always come in the spring when the spring cleaning kicks into gear after a long winter. Large donations are made to the thrifts from cleaned out basements, closets and attics. Garage sales also start in the spring as do the antique shows and the local flea market which is now filled with dollar store junk and socks. I hit five or six thrift stores a week and Tiki is harder and harder to find. I think location may be a factor as well. My sister lives in south Florida and can hit about twenty stores a day and find not one Tiki item in months. I told her the lack of Tiki is because folks have off loaded their junk in the north before moving to the sunny south. Is it like this in other areas? Is the supply of vintage Tiki running low in the wild? Still a great hobby when you can find a fine piece of art filled with history in the form of a Tiki mug on a thrift store shelf for a buck. Like I said just some observations. Now I'll stop.........I gotta go to the thrift store because you just never know.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2010-01-10 05:31 ]