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Good News for Thrifters: Coventry Gets New Second-Hand Store BY FINNEGAN JOHNSON
Many CHS students may be interested in this new arrival in town, because with second hand stores comes the prospect of scoring a nice or interesting find on the cheap, but how does Northern Thrift stack up against the competition?
February 18th marked the opening day of the new Northern Thrift store in town. Located on Rt. 3, in the location previously occupied by Benny’s, Northern Thrift is a secondhand store not dissimilar to Saver’s, to those familiar. Many students may be interested in this new arrival in town, because with second hand stores comes the prospect of scoring a nice or interesting find on the cheap, but how does northern thrift stack up against the competition?
The Atmosphere
I went to Northern Thrift on opening day (in fact one of the first 1000 customers there, indicated by the 50% off coupon I received with my purchases), and returned 3 times since then. Overall, the atmosphere of the store was exactly as one would expect: a bit chaotic, a bit disorganized, but fully stocked with a wide variety of goods. They carry music, crafting goods, a large selection of books, paintings, jewelry, home goods, sporting goods, electronics, and of course lots and lots of clothes and accessories. One student said they “loved the ruckus” of the place, but another one said “a lot of the stuff there was literally dirty… so I left.”
The Finds
The most important element of any thrifting venture is, of course, the finds. Going to a thrift store is like a treasure hunt, whether you know what you’re looking for or not. A thrift store may never be worth going to if there’s never anything good in store. I cannot speak to the reader’s individual taste of course, so I can only insert my own experience and those that I interviewed, though the sheer quantity of goods inspires confidence that there may be something in there worth purchasing. “I love it. There’s always something hidden in the slop” said one senior.
The first time I went to Northern Thrift, I couldn’t have been more happy with the finds I had – a camera bought for $5 that is selling for >$500 online, and a nice knitted wool sweater, also $5. This is what I would call “scoring big” – finding something really nice for a good price that is specific to your tastes. But since then, in the three times I have been to the store, I haven’t found anything that interesting for myself. Point is: the potential is there. It’s clear that Northern Thrift gets a large quantity of goods, and within that great swath may lie a few hidden gems if you look hard enough and get lucky.
One thing to note about Northern thrift however is that their prices are comparatively higher than other second hand stores, especially for things like home goods and books, but this is understandable because Northern Thrift isn’t a big chain.
Takeaway
Northern thrift seems to be a good enough stop on any local thrifting expedition, maybe not a regular stop, but definitely worth checking out if you haven’t yet. And if you’re new to thrifting, Northern Thrift would be a good place to try it out. If you don’t mind the hectic atmosphere, the possibility of finding something good at Northern Thrift is there. Hopefully, as time goes on, and the store and staff get more situated, we can see a more organized store and better prices. The latter at least seems to be true, as in the end of march they started opening on Sundays with a regular 50% off sale on certain items. Regardless of all this though, it’s still nice to have another place to find cool stuff on the cheap.