You get all the giddiness of a new outfit with absolutely none of the sticker shock.
"The average shirt for a woman is $2.99, kids' clothes can be around $1.99, we have sales every week, tops are 50 cents, bottoms are 99 cents," lists off Tiyah Isom-Morris, store director of Hidden Treasures, a high-end thrift store on Pennsylvania Avenue in Lansing.
Hidden Treasures sells high-quality donated clothing and much, much more-- and you don't have to break the bank to buy it.
"We have furniture, sporting goods, antiques, linens, sold at less than 1/3 its retail price," Isom-Morris says.
In just the half hour we spent snooping around Hidden Treasures, we found some great deals: a men's suit for $17.99, kids' shoes for $1.99 a pair, a bridal gown for just more than $100 or, if you've been saving up, a barely-used beautiful second-hand piano with barely a scratch on it for $2,500.
"Some weeks we have a five-dollar 'fill up your bag' deal," Isom-Morris says.
Here's an added bonus to the second-hand shopping scenario: At consignment shops like "2nd Time Around" in Okemos, you can shop or drop off clothes you no longer wear-- and they'll pay you for them.
"We pay once a month by check, it's a nice little bit of extra money," says employee Laurie Howe. She says their store has a 50/50 split system, which means whatever you sell them, they'll give you half the money and they'll keep half the money.
Which, Howe says, works out nicely.
"A lot of people just turn the money around and go shopping," she says.
Isom-Morris says more and more people are catching on to this trend and stuffing their bags with deals.
"Wal-Mart's great, but you can always find a hidden treasure," she laughs.
Or two, or three... or 20.