‘Happy Thrifters’: Mystery resale bus tour is bargain shopping for a greater good
You never know which thrift store you'll visit during this mystery tour
The Happy Thrifters is part treasure hunt and part mystery tour. Shoppers on the bus tour hit local resale shops, but they don't know which shops until they get there. While they get big bargains, it's all part of a larger purpose.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A busload of resale queens are getting a royal welcome at the Suncoast Hospice Resale Shop in St. Petersburg.
"We're a resource for the community – whether it's the people coming off the bus to shop with us or it turns out to be a relative that they have down the line that could use hospice
Services," said Joan DiBlanda, the regional resale manager.
This group of "Happy Thrifters" are on a tour of resale stores in the area.
"I like the thrill of the hunt. I collect ceramic. I collect figurines for the garden. I love to look and look and look and just see what's out there and find a deal," said shopper Kathleen Johnson-Gregg.
The shoppers on the tour have no idea of which stores they will hit.
"It's a mystery. We don't disclose locations until we're on the bus so it really makes it fun", said Patti Clark, the President and Founder of the resale guide, The Happy Thrifter.
"We do from St. Pete and all the way down to Naples. They chose the city but they didn't know where we were going to stop at."
Because time is limited at each stop, they know how to find bargains quickly.
"It's so much more fun to find treasures that you aren't having to pay top dollar for," said Anita Clark, who is new to the bus tour.
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And there's a greater good to this thrifty shopping.
"We are bringing back money back into the resale community. We did 23 bus tours and we've brought back $218,000 back to the community so it's really benefitting the community and the merchants and also, like Suncoast Hospice, it's feeding their mission," said Clark.
It's a mystery road trip that gives the shoppers more than they bargained for.
"It's really fun. It's a great way to spend your day," said shopper Kathleen Johnson-Gregg.
For more information on the bus tour, head over to the Happy Thrifters website.