All About The Bargain -Post 3

Norman Okla. residents choose to shop thrift stores in addition to shopping at retail stores for largely one reason. To find a bargain. Norman and metro area thrift and consignment stores are thriving because residents are choosing to buy second-hand clothes over new items.

While America falls deeper into debt, Norman inhabitants find a way around today’s pressure to keep-up-with-the-Joneses and consumer culture. Everyone is benefiting from this form of recycling. Shoppers say that finding a great bargain is why they buy second-hand.

Norman residents have been taking advantage of the thrift and consignment stores in town for years. Valerie Slemmons Mettry said she has been reselling her clothes since before reselling was cool and loves to find a good bargain on clothes and furniture.

“I started reselling and I got into the game of it,” Mettry said. “It became the game of finding the find, finding the gem in the midst of everything. It is amazing what you can find, very expensive things for pennies.”

Norman resident Susan Czentnar goes shopping at thrift stores as often as she can. She enjoys the challenge of finding a bargain, but she says it can be time-consuming.

“You are always looking for the best buy, sometimes you luck out, sometimes you don’t, so you have to keep going,” Czentnar said.

Jessica Dupler, manager of Outreach Thrift store, said that she sees many different kinds of people shopping in her store.

“We get all kinds of customers, people who are looking for specific things for parties, people who need everyday clothes, back-to-school clothes, people looking for a bargain, we get everybody,” Dupler said.

Women and men alike choose to shop at thrift stores because they love to search for the great buy. They feel that they need to devote time to second-hand shopping, but local thrift stores offer half-price days that make getting a great deal easier. But according to shoppers good quality clothing at very low prices is available to those who are willing to look.







Thrift store manager, Jessica Dupler talks about her customers.



In order of appearance, Thrift store shoppers Danielle Lugrand, Valerie Slemmons Mettry, Susan Czentnar and Jacki Perrin share their reasons for shopping at thrift stores.