American Eagle jeans. A rue21 scarf. Hot Topic shoes. A Mossimo shirt. A JCPenney purse. Altogether a whopping total of $9. Shopping secondhand may not be popular with teenagers, but it has great advantages.

Name brands are great. They have the latest styles and trends. However, don’t get convinced their store is the only one carrying the item you long for. I’ve seen mountains of Aeropostale jeans at garage sales. I’ve seen multiple Forever21 skirts at Savers. I’ve seen rows crammed full of Hollister shirts at Salvation Army. Behind all those homemade denim dresses and shimmery ’80s pants, you might just find what you’re looking for.

Next to that, the price tag of secondhand clothing is much cheaper. The average price of one Abercrombie and Fitch shirt is around$30. Thirty dollars at a thrift store could buy seven to even 12 shirts. Those few dollars in your wallet could go far. So, go ahead and wear brand new name brand shoes on Monday. Meanwhile, I’ll have a new pair for every day of the week.

Not only is the price tag an advantage, but you don’t have to worry about seeing someone else in the same exact outfit. No one wants to be the girl that’s wearing her brand new skirt, come to find another girl is wearing it too. Nonetheless, the two girls that accidently bought the same dress for prom. So much for a special night. Shopping secondhand you find unique items not seen at the mall. Sure some of those items may be a bit too unique, such as shoulder padded dresses from the ’80s and clothes your grandma wears to Sunday brunch. But, in order to find fashionable items, you need to flip past those.

Thrift stores not only save money but clothing. It is often overlooked that clothing is a resource. There is no need to turn your nose up to perfectly good clothing simply because someone else has owned it. It should not be viewed as shameful or poor to buy secondhand clothing. It should be viewed as resourceful.

With cheap prices, diverse finds and resourceful views, secondhand shopping has many benefits over shopping brand new items. Granted, I’m not against this methods of shopping. I own clothing articles from the mall, I just buy from the clearance racks. However, keep in mind the benefits to shopping at thrift stores and garage sales. After all, you never know when you’ll need a pair of Go Go boots and parachute pants.