Shopping Hack: A Secret Place to Buy Inexpensive, Quality Wine Glasses

Three words: THE THRIFT STORE.

Okay, hear me out! I know shopping at thrift stores isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I discovered this wine glass shopping hack a while back and I’ve been completely hooked!

One day I was perusing a Good Will in my neighborhood and stumbled over the wine glass section. I couldn’t believe my eyes! There were hundreds upon hundreds of glasses, all different shapes, sizes, heights and colors. It was a wine-drinker’s heaven! I quickly started loading my shopping cart with all the glasses I somehow immediately had to have.

I thought this may have been a fluke, so I started visiting thrift stores around town, and they all had hundreds to choose from, just the same!

So now here I am, passing my secret on to you.

5 Reasons to Get Your Glasses From the Thrift Store

1- They are cheeeeap
Seriously, they are all around $1 or $2. When I purchases glasses new, I could spend anywhere from $20 on up for a single glass, or quadruple that price for a set of 4. Over the years, I’ve had to put myself on a wine-glass budget just to manage the costs! Purchasing wine glasses from a thrift store is a deep discount and will save you about 95%.

2- They are quality
New wine glasses range in quality from basic to designer, thin to thick, hand-made crystals to mass-produced glassware. The better the quality, the more you’ll pay.

But not in the thrift store! Fortunately for me, the sales associates often have no idea the true value of a wine glass, and simply mark them all $1.99. I’ve found expensive crystals, Laliques, Crate & Barrel gems, William Sonoma stemware, ALL for under $2. I don’t know why people give away their beauties, but I’m here for it.

3-They clean up well
Some cringe at the thought of purchasing a used wine glass, while simultaneously ordering wine in a restaurant where the glass has been used many times before. Once I used that logic, I rejected the idea of secondhand glasses being “gross.” Once you get them home and give them a good wash, they are just like new!

$1 Wine Glasses I Purchased From Good Will

4-You can collect unique single glasses without purchasing a whole set
The type of glass I choose to drink from depends on my mood, or the type of wine I’m drinking. Picking out different types of glasses from the thrift store allows me to increase my options. In this way, I can avoid having to collect full sets of Bordeaux glasses, Pinot Noir glasses, large stem glasses, tiny glasses…. all of which I have absolutely no where to store. I like being able to choose the number I want (most people give away whole sets so you can choose how many to purchase.)

5-I can replace broken glasses for cheap
It seems like I’m always dropping a glass here or there. I’ve probably broken 8 this year alone! Shopping for new glasses at the thrift store is an affordable way to replace glasses without breaking your own piggy bank.

I’ll end with this: