The thrifty DM

Lately I've become quite the thrift store hunter. For reasons unknown to me Sacramento has a plethora of thrift stores, from your standards like Goodwill and the Salvation Army to esoteric ones like WEAVE (Women Escaping a Violent Environment) and St. Jude DePaul.

I’m no stranger to thrift stores, as a kid I went with my Grandmother to Mass every Sunday, and part of that trip always included a stop at what my grandmother referred to as “La segunda” (segunda being Spanish for second). she and my aunts would hunt through the baby clothes and house wares while my cousins and I hit the toy section. When I think back at the treasures I found back then- plastic bags filled with miscellaneous action figures (GI Joe, Major Matt Mason, Johnny West) and toy soldiers, it almost brings a tear to my eye.

My return to thrift store shopping was prompted by a chance visit to the “Thrift Town” near my gym where I netted a dozen or so Alistair Maclean titles for .50 cents a piece. Since then, the more hunting I've done, the more treasures I’ve uncovered.

New bookstores don’t carry any of the older pulp paperback titles I look for, used book stores and antique shops slap a “vintage” sticker on them then sell them at premium prices, and EBay is no longer the bargain place it once was, the book may only cost $2.00 but shipping is what kills the deal. The hunt is both affordable and enjoyable, and while spending a dollar on a copy of Swords of the Horseclans isn’t as titillating as stuffing it down a strippers G-string, it’s a heck of a lot safer for me when “She who must be obeyed” looks over the Visa statements.