Written by Amanda Hourt
Everyone knows what to expect in a secondhand shop: beaten-up furniture, clothes that walked out of the ’70s and chipped china cups. After sifting through the cast-off clutter, many students have found timeless treasures, ranging from velvet sofas to costumes for function festivities to dorm room decorations.Max Bertini, a junior history and political science major, bought several cassettes to play in his car at the Goodwill on Race Street, including Led Zeppelin and Beethoven. He said Goodwill is a great place to find something obsolete, like a cassette.Dorothy Haines, a double major in youth and family ministry and electronic media production, and Shayna McGill, a junior Bible major, went to Goodwill to buy costumes for club week’s rough night. McGill found a fox hunting outfit to wear to the mud fight for club week activities, Haines said.”It was a tie-around skirt, and it had all these foxes on it and stuff. It was insane,” Haines said.Rebecca Mays, a junior mathematics education major, went to Goodwill and bought a silver ’70s blouse and a metallic headband for club week.”Take a friend and be patient,” Mays said. “It can be really fun, and the good stuff usually takes a little while to find.”Chris Janowiecki, store manager of the Searcy Goodwill, said 100 or more Harding students shop in Goodwill each week.Similarly,Tanya Moye, owner of Wear It’s At Consignments, which is located on East Market, said her store also gets at least 100 students a week.Thrift stores are a cache of wealth for students looking to stretch their money.Moye said she gives a 10 percent discount on purchases to Harding students, and students who sell items make 50 percent of their items’ sales.Erica Nazer, a senior missions major, said she bought a formal dress at Wear It’s At and that she had a positive experience at the store.”The people there were really friendly and very willing to help us find what we were looking for,” Nazer said.”They actually stayed open late because we needed to have the dress that day.”Nazer said that she will probably go back to Wear It’s At for future purchases.”Just look. There are great deals all around Searcy,” Nazer said. “There are a lot of places you can go, and they are all very willing to help you out.”
