I LOVE A GOOD DEAL. Who doesn’t? Even more, I’m especially pleased when I can recycle an item which benefits charity.
Driven by the need to find the 19-year-old son an inexpensive piece of furniture for the living room in his first-ever apartment, we hit the thrift stores in Rochester Saturday afternoon, move-in day.
On the final stop, Caleb found a leather sofa tucked under a merchandise display shelf at the Goodwill store, 239 28th Street Southeast.
Total purchase price for these three items was just over $30, including tax. Additionally, I bought the coasters (about 10 of them) on the table for 25 cents at a garage sale.
His dad and I discouraged shelling out $110 for a sofa he needs for only the three-month duration of his summer internship at IBM. So I suggested he approach a floor clerk and barter. Better a poor college student seek a discount than parents. We temporarily disappeared so he could negotiate.
He and the clerk talked for awhile and then she cut the price to $75. I don’t know what transpired, but in between the time Caleb grabbed the tag and walked up front to pay, she slashed the price even more—to $25.
Hallelujah. A comfortable couch to fit a college student’s budget.
Goodwill had originally priced the sofa at $150.
Scrubbed later with a leather cleaning product, purchased for under $4 on our way back to the apartment, the sofa really shines. Plans to return the couch to Goodwill in August have been scrapped; the son wants to keep this piece of furniture now that it looks so good. That will be open to negotiation.
Prior to the Rochester move, we also secured several other apartment items at thrift stores, including a free end table from All Seasons Thrift Store, 310 Central Avenue, Faribault. The freebie was a $10 reward for spending $50 in the store. I’ll reveal those $50 purchases in a future post.
All Seasons proceeds benefit food shelves in the nearby Kenyon and Wanamingo areas.
Finally, the $3 lamp which now rests on the freebie end table next to the $25 leather couch comes from a New Ulm thrift store, The Treasure Haus, 1209 South Broadway. As a bonus, the lamp included a three-way light bulb. Sales from the Treasure shop go toward Christian schools, programs and missions.
There you go, readers. It is possible to partially furnish a living room for around $30.
Now, let’s hear about your thrift store bargains.
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
What a deal! I have to admit that I rarely think to look at thrift stores. I live near St Cloud and know there’s a Savers and Goodwill as well as others. I do go to Once Upon a Child for gently used toys and clothes as well as garage sales. I picked up my first Amish fiction book from a garage sale years ago for .25 and that has sparked a great interest in their culture which has led to hundreds of other books and day trips to their communities.
Thanks for the reminder that great deals are out there!
Rochester has some great thrift stores, some a bit higher end and with higher prices, yet well below new retail. Places like Goodwill, which benefit charities, offer the bargain prices. We were especially impressed with the Rochester Goodwill store in quality, quantity, staffing and cleanliness. The Salvation Army store there definitely needs some improvement.
Interesting that you should mention the Amish as we spotted an Amish couple shopping at the Salvation Army.
My goodness, $25 for that couch is amazing! what a deal indeed! This is how i always used to shop but I have yet to find a second hand store here, who knows what happens to the old pieces! c
Oh, my, no second hand store in your area. That is awful. With the exception of our sofa, recliner and entertainment center, every single piece of furniture in our home has come from a second-hand store, auction, garage sale or family. And most pieces are quite old. I actually prefer old to new as it’s often better made, especially in the price range I can afford new. The same goes for artwork. I am always looking for originals in thrift stores and at garage sales.
Glad you were able to snatch up that beautiful couch! I didnt even mention Salvation Army to you because of it’s “Junky” and unorganized space….I think I’ve only been there once and that was enough! Caleb’s living space looks very comfortable 🙂
I don’t like to be critical of a place, but the Salvation Army store in Rochester is not a place I’ll return too either, for the exact reasons you state. It’s too bad, because, with a little care, it could easily be so much better.
Yes, we were happy Caleb found that couch. Otherwise his living room would be bare except for the end table, lamp and a single fold-up chair from his college dorm room.
Good Morning Audrey,
As a true “thriftier” I congratulate you on all of your purchases. Our house is
furnished with thrift store, garage sale and hand-me-downs!!! There is a thrill when
you spy an item you have been looking for and purchase it for little or nothing, then
take it home, clean it up and use it. I enjoy all your posts you show about the
thrift stores.
HAVE A GOOD DAY.
DeLores
My son is the one who found that couch. He was pretty excited and rightly so. Typically I don’t seek out price reductions. But, in this case, I thought Caleb should give it a shot. I expect he will always remember the kindness of that Rochester Goodwill employee and, perhaps, when he is someday working as a computer engineer will support this organization.
What a DEAL & a Classic Style too! Your son in picking out items he likes will have an easier time settling in to his new digs too – BONUS!!!
Yes, without that couch, his living room would have been mighty empty. I’m so happy he found that couch and negotiated a deal.
Excellent! He is well on his way to having a livable space!
Yes, indeed. Since his oldest sister is getting married in a few months, she was able to give him a lot of kitchen stuff, vacuum cleaner, etc. I had items here to loan to him. So we really had to purchase only a few things, other than cleaning supplies, etc., and then groceries. I told him to fill the cart with food as Mom and Dad were paying this once.
🙂 Will he have to drive? Gas is suddenly so expensive.
He lives quite close to IBM, within two miles, I’d say. Or, he could take a city bus, which stops right outside of his apartment. He’ll have to figure out which works best.
What a steal that was!! I am sure you all were thrilled at how it cleaned up, too! Looks fabulous, simply fabulous and he will have it for as long as he (or you….) want it!! Yay for furnishing apts on a dime!!!
We were quite surprised at how well this sofa cleaned up. I’m hesitant about purchasing used fabric couches and chairs. But leather is an entirely different thing. There’s some wear on the cushions, but really not that bad. And we certainly did not expect perfect for $25. I just have to say that the Goodwill employee who negotiated with Caleb was absolutely a sweetheart for recognizing his limited budget and working with him.
Classic beauty – I could live with those items for a long, long time. Congratulations, good finds.
The only problem the son has noted now, after using the couch for a few days, is that the cushions slip off if he sits a certain way. Each cushion had a velcro patch attached underneath. But those had ripped. He will need to purchase velcro and position it in different locations.
I agree–classic lines, classic style and a great find.
Sounds like he is quite a negotiator, you or Amber may have an extra sofa for a winter…….
Yes, he did well negotiating that purchase. Nope, pretty certain his sister will not want the couch. If we could fit it up the stairs at our house, we’d keep it. But I don’t think that’s possible. Perhaps “the godfather” has extra storage space.