It was 23 degrees, overcast, and a light snow was falling at 9:15 last Monday morning when I set out for a trip to all seven local thrift stores.

The first stop was the Holiday gas station a few blocks from home for coffee. Being way too cheap to pay $4 or $5 a cup at Starbucks’ or Caribou, Holiday stations are where I get my coffee fix in the morning when I’m on the road or just out-and-about. They offer four varieties but I’ve found that their ‘Dark Roast’ seems to attract more inventory then the other three, so that’s my blend of choice if I’m shopping.

Armed a steaming cup of coffee, I was on my way to…..

The Salvation Army Smart Shop. Unlike a lot of Salvation Army thrift stores around the country, this one is strictly up-scale. In fact, built nine years ago, it serves as a model for newer Salvation Army stores in upper class neighborhoods around the country.

Sadly, that means that probably 80% to 90% of what comes in the back door never gets into the store itself. It’s thrown right onto a semi-trailer and, when the trailer is full, it’s hauled to Minot, ND where it’s bundled and sent either overseas or to other stores in poorer neighborhoods of large cities. I’ve been trying to get into their back room on a regular basis for years without any luck.

This is one of two thrifts in town where I’m often able to buy college textbooks for a dollar or two each. Mondays visit there produced five non-fiction books dealing with various religions for an investment of $3.50. All five books were listed on Amazon prices ranging from $12.99 to $27.29.

My next stop was the ARC Thrift Shop. The ARC store is one of my two favorite thrifts in Grand Forks. People donate a lot of stuff to them and their prices are among the lowest in town. They always have a good sized selection of books and they rotate their stock so I’m not looking at the same old books month after month. They also receive a fair number of other collectible/antique donations so there’s always a chance of finding something other than books here.

Mondays visit didn’t result in any book purchases, but I did buy a Wm. Rogers & Sons hallmarked silver Mickey Mouse child’s spoon & fork set for $1.50 that will be on eBay beginning this upcoming Sunday evening.

From there it was just a five block drive to….

The Dakota Boys’ Ranch Thrift Store. Apparently this place considers themselves the Tiffany’s of thrifts in Grand Forks and most of their prices reflect it. A fair number of antiques/collectibles show up here, but they are usually priced too high for me to make any money on. I do occasionally buy good pieces of old electronic equipment here for reasonable prices.

Their book pricing can be pretty erratic with prices anywhere between $1 and $15. The highest prices are usually on current best sellers and any coffee table sized books they get. Books on specialty or tightly focused subjects usually fall into the $1 to $2 range, so I am able to buy a few books here on a somewhat regular basis.

Monday’s visit produced four books about small acreage produce farming for profit at a cost of $5.50. All four were put on Amazon for prices ranging from $12.99 to $32.79.

From Boys’ Ranch the next stop was across town at….

The St. Vincent De Paul thrift store. This is my favorite thrift store in Grand Forks. They receive quite a bit of donations that fall into the antique/collectibles category and they price them to move them out. They have the second largest selection of books in town and their prices are the lowest with most books priced at $.50 for soft covers and $1.00 for hardcovers.

Another good source for current college textbooks and all textbooks are priced at $.50. They also seem to be the place of choice for donations by elderly residents members of the Catholic church (probably since it’s one of only two church affiliated thrifts in town). Because of this, I often buy a lot of older books and scholarly religious books here. Also, a good source for record albums and 45s at times.

There is one volunteer who is responsible for nothing but putting out books that comes in three mornings a week on a regular schedule, so I always know when new books will be put out and can be there if I’m in town. She also rotates their book stock on a frequent basis so, like ARC, I’m not continually looking at the same old books.

Monday’s visit there produced fourteen soft cover religious books for an investment of $7.00. They all were listed on Amazon for prices ranging from $14.79 to $65.29.

My next stop was The Home Place thrift store. This is one of the two worst places to find inventory for eBay or Amazon in town. The manager’s brother also sells antiques and collectibles on eBay so pretty much anything that looks like it might be valuable is held in the back room until he has a chance to see it. Their book selection is the smallest in town, but they do have a fair sized selection of craft supplies and publications so I occasionally buy how-to knitting, quilting, and crochet books and magazines here.

Monday’s visit didn’t do anything to lighten my billfold and I left empty handed.

From there it was twenty-four blocks down the street to….

The local Goodwill store. Similar to many Goodwill stores around the country, prices here on many things seem to be continually going up. Along with Dakota Boys’ Ranch they have the highest prices in town on many things.

Apparently the favorite place for donations from Grand Fork’s upper class, a lot of expensive, name brand, clothing and accessories show up here that would go well on eBay if they weren’t priced too high to make a reasonable profit from. That said, their book prices aren’t to bad - $.75 for soft covers and $1.00 for hardcovers across the board. I buy a fair number of books here along with quite a few audio-books.

Monday’s visit saw me leaving the store with seven books all published by the Naval Institute Press, all new and still sealed in their original shrink wrap. I paid $6.25 for them and they all went on Amazon for prices ranging from $19.99 up to $52.29.

My last stop of the day was the Success Unlimited thrift store. This is the smallest thrift store in town and most ‘thrift fanatics’ don’t even bother stopping. Antiques/collectibles never show up here, and their books are pretty expensive. Once a book is on the shelf it stays there, so turnover is very slow.

They do however, have a fair-sized craft section so I’m able to buy knitting, quilting, crochet, and other craft books on occasion.

Monday, as usual, I left with both hands free and no poorer than when I walked in.

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