National Thrift Day: Barb's Tea Service celebrates with Thrifters Extraordinaire!

BTS' Thrifter Dream Team:  Boxes and bags filled with uncovered gems.

Today marks National Thrift Day, though at Barb’s Tea Service, we’ve been reveling in the spirit of secondhand treasures all week long. With our team of seasoned thrifters, we scoured specialty shops from the Detroit suburbs to northern Michigan, returning with a trove of incredible finds—including a long-coveted Collingwood English bone china teacup for the price of an Egg McMuffin.

Collingworth English bone china teacup for the cost of an Egg McMuffin.

Back in May, I shared my initiation into the art of value shopping, under the guidance of Megan, girlfriend of our eldest son, Rob, on my Substack page  (see: A Shift to the Thrift). Megan enlightened me on the wild world of thrift store pricing—where what’s acceptable in an antique shop might be laughably overpriced at a bargain reseller. For instance, a fine porcelain teacup might fetch $15–$25 on eBay or in upscale vintage boutiques, but true thrift pricing should be at least half that, dropping further the longer its "shelf life" extends.

First stop earlier in the week in Madison Heights. 

Repast required after so much thrifting.

As the stars of our thrifting week aligned, our daughter-in-law Jenna—visiting from NYC, along with son, Matt, and a savvy bargain hunter herself—joined us. Together with Megan and, daughter  Rachel, we set off for discount destinations.

Sifting the mix of dolls. . . 

beanie babies. . .

  

. . . and office (ugh!) mugs.

      

  

Our first stop: Megan’s favorite, St. Vincent de Paul in Oakland County. After two hours of what I now call “the sift of the thrift”—a deep dive through an overwhelming mix of oddities and overlooked gems—our quartet emerged victorious. We scored vintage tableware for an upcoming reception, a designer-label cocktail dress, assorted summer tops and shorts, and a like-new fuchsia sweater with beaded embellishments. The latter, already a deal at $3.50, was on sale for half off - that's less than the cost of a fast-food breakfast sandwich.

Recent check on ebay for my "new" teacup: $17.00 plus $7.00 shipping. That's a lot of McMuffins!

On National Thrift Day Eve, we took a break from cabin life in northern Michigan to explore our small-town thrift store. Another two hours of sifting yielded gold: mid-century Russell Wright serving dishes, modeled after the original casual dinnerware from the 1940s (now on display at the Manhattan Museum of Modern Art).

Other finds from our Eve excursion included a never-opened chocolate bomb-making kit, a glamorous summer jumpsuit, and yes—the teacup I’ve been dreaming about since May. Patience paid off: the original $14.99 pink sticker had been replaced with a blue one marked $4.99. And on this special day, blue-sticker items were 25% off.

Wearing my new $1.50 sweater on podcast, where we also talked "thrifting".

Thrifting isn’t just shopping—it’s a mysterious scavenger hunt without a map. It demands perseverance, endurance, and a keen eye to spot treasures hidden among the clutter. So here’s to our thrifter sifters—vintage hats off to you!

And how am I celebrating National Thrift Day? No surprise—by sipping tea with my blue-sticker bargain bounty:

• Pink beaded sweater: $1.50

• English bone china teacup: $3.75

• Thrifting with my sifters: Priceless  💚

Bonus epilogue:  What better way to celebrate National Thrift Day than with a new thrift?! Matt and Jenna hit a few more thrift shops on their way back home. They picked up this beauty for a certain Wedgwood collector. To paraphrase our blog's concluding remarks, Prince Charles and Princess Diana commemorative jasperware dish, $8.00. to receive a bargain from an expert thrifter, priceless!