50 Unhinged And Traumatizing Secondhand Finds That Explain Why Thrifting Is Not For Everyone

Part of the fun of going thrift shopping is that you never know exactly what you’ll come across. It’s often a mistake to go in search of one specific item, unless you have hours to kill and various stores to visit, because you might end up going home disappointed. But when you allow the spirit of Goodwill, Humana or Oxfam to guide you through the store, you might stumble upon some amazing gems. Almost all of my wardrobe came from secondhand shops, and because I’m such an avid thrifter, I find a trip to a retail store to be incredibly boring. Of course they have my size, they have everyone’s size! And there’s no need to sift through piles or racks upon racks. Everything is perfectly laid out for you already, and to be honest, there’s no thrill involved.

Thrifting, on the other hand, is so much more exciting. And nobody knows that better than the members of the Thrift Store Hauls subreddit. This group, which has been around since August 2011, has amassed an impressive 2.6 million members. They share anything and everything they find, from amazing deals on fabulous items to creepy clowns that will haunt their dreams. And as you can see, today we’re highlighting the most unsettling corner of the subreddit.

I cannot tell you how many trips I’ve made to thrift stores in my lifetime; I honestly couldn’t even begin to guess how many there have been. But as much as I love a great Goodwill, I will admit that there are always questionable items. About 95% of the store is full of things I would never ever purchase for myself, but that 5% of decent, and 1% of amazing, items makes the whole trip worth it. Plus, coming across these outlandish and frightening items makes the trip more entertaining as well. You don’t have to ever buy them, unless you need a gag gift or a great Halloween costume, but it’s still fun to see what you might discover!

Thrifting is exhilarating, but if you need some inspiration for why you should hop on the secondhand train yourself, we reached out to thrifting expert Hannah Rupp, aka The Outfit Repeater, to hear why “life is sweeter as an outfit repeater”. On her site, Hannah shares style tips, thrift finds, DIY projects and more, and lucky for us, she was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda about how she first got into secondhand shopping.