The thrill of the score

October 11, 2023·Darcie

As I talked to shoppers at the Le Creuset Factory to Table sale, a common refrain popped up: LC did not fit into their budget unless they could purchase it a steep discount. While I saw some carts filled to the brim with boxes, others contained only one or two small items because those bargain hunters didn't find the prices low enough. Eater staff writer Amy McCarthy would give those shoppers a two-word piece of advice: try eBay.

McCarthy notes that while the site is well known as a place to search for deals on vintage kitchen items, people don't realize that you can also find newer items at bargain prices on the site. She snagged a piece of pricey East Fork pottery at a significant discount, and set up an alert for eBay to notify her if any more listings were posted for that brand. I have seen used Le Creuset, KitchenAid mixers, and other high dollar items at eBay and other online resellers for prices that would fit almost any budget. Some people receive them for gifts and don't want them, or they can be part of an estate sale or downsizing purge.

I am not a dedicated online bargain shopper although I have used most of the sites she mentioned. During the height of the pandemic when I was listlessly scrolling through Facebook Marketplace out of sheer boredom, I found a new-in-the box set of discs for my Cuisinart food processor for a mere $5 USD. The set included a 3x3 mm julienne blade that makes divine hash brown potato shreds. Score!

If I have a particular need I will scour the internet to find it, but I prefer to discover kitchenware I didn't even know about by traipsing through flea markets and thrift stores anywhere I travel. I had never heard of a cast iron turks-head or gem pan until I found a 12-compartment one for only $2 at an obscure thrift store in Kansas City. When I saw the two smaller ones pictured above at a local flea market this spring, I snagged them so I could make an entire batch of cornbread at once. In a similar vein, I wasn't looking for cookie cutters, but when I spied the adorable Halloween themed ones at a flea market in St. Paul, I just had to grab them. What are your favorite bargain finds, online or in person?

9 comments

JaneOctober 11, 2023

I've become a flea market devotee looking for vintage cocktail glasses. I'm looking for unusual and beautiful glasses without spending too much money. And I've discovered that the searching is as much fun as the finding.

hillsboroksOctober 12, 2023

Years ago I discovered the joy of shopping at TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods, all wonderful discount stores that are part of the same company. Right after the economic crash of 2008 they were flooded with high ticket items at rock bottom prices. With all three stores less than a half mile from my office, every lunch hour became a treasure hunt. My best score was a beautiful blue Kosta Boda crystal cake stand in the clearance section. I have always loved Scandinavian design and this cake stand just called my name.

NaomiHOctober 12, 2023

I am somewhat devoted to shopgoodwilldotcom
I have found some excellent deals on both vintage and new kitchenware. I purchase an entire set of antique china for less than one place setting on Replacements and I was able to score a brand new in box Zojirushi rice maker for around $30.

FyretiggerOctober 12, 2023

My great thrift find is only cooking adjacent. When I'd only been in Silicon Valley for a couple years, I wandered into an antique/2nd hand/junk shop in a strip mall on El Camino in San Jose and found a 1964 James Dickel Tennessee Whiskey commemorative bottle. Or... to a Star Trek fan like myself, a Saurian Brandy Bottle! I think I paid $10 for it. Farther down the strip mall was a Tandy Leather and I bought everything I needed to replace the rotting leather work. One of the things I did while cooped up during Covid was re-dyeing all the leather work and replacing the crumbling cork.

Now my oldest brother is the scavenger of the family. He was once a competitive marksman. And everywhere he went, if he happened on a 2nd hand store or pawn shop he'd stop in. And there were two things he couldn't pass up if the price was right, and that was vintage (non-enameled) cast iron, and FarberWare table top rotisseries. When my sister in-law finally convinced my brother that once you've exceeded the number of burners on the stove, you have too many of the same type of pan, over several years of Christmases they managed to stock everyone in the extended family with cast iron skillets and a few with dutch ovens. There are still a few surplus pieces, but it is a sane sized collection.

The FarberWare table top rotisseries on the hand are another story. Those have been for 30+ years a staple of many family celebratory meals -- so many roasts and prime ribs. There, we are down to our last fully working heating coil. The rotisserie is no longer made, or anything quite like it. Today, it's all part of convection oven/air fryer combinations, with much smaller size capacities in the table-top models, and they aren't really designed to store on a shelf in the basement until called up at the holidays.

EmilyROctober 12, 2023

I wish that I had the patience for thrift stores. Where I live there are constant downsizing estate sales and auctions that sometimes have copious amounts of cookware and entertaining goods. My best second hand / pandemic purchase is a 20qt Hobart and a nice Tabco mixer table that are in my pantry. I love the notion of giving a second life to things or libraries that you can rent out specialty pans. It would be so nice to have more of a sharing community, but that being said, I don't want my porcelain dishware getting chipped up. I'm always looking for unique white pieces and I especially love those that are modeled after disposable items.

GupOctober 14, 2023

I have snagged wonderful bargains at flea markets and garage sales. Found a MARCATO pasta maker for $5 and a set of small old Pepsi glasses that were just the right size to fit the hand of my elderly mother -in-law who loved drinking from a glass but most made today did not fit her small hand. I, too, love the bargains to be found at TJ Maxx. I check them out in every town. Found All Clad and copper cookware at deep discounts. I used to find great things at Tuesday Morning but unfortunately all of the stores in my area have closed.

trudys_personOctober 14, 2023

My best thrift store find was a Nordic Ware Anniversary Bundt pan for $5, currently $65 at W-S. I'm sure it had only been used once, because there was a tiny drip of batter in the tube and it wasn't burnt on. Quick wash and it was like new. I don't often have the patience to thrift but admire people who do!

In Canada, we have HomeSense and Winners, which are part of the Marshalls/TJ Maxx empire. I've had good luck there with baking pans, the occasional cookbook, an awesome Kenmore toaster and the occasional Sophie Conran dinnerware. Always worth a look!

ellabeeOctober 15, 2023

A decade ago I finished upgrading my cookware quite a bit via eBay over the course of a few years. My sentimental favorite of those finds is a cast aluminum crepe/omelet pan identical to one I'd been given as a graduation present but had left behind in the Midwest in a long-ago move. (It's theoretically possible that it's literally the same pan lol.) My greatest score was a heavyweight Bourgeat 5qt copper-stainless braiser that at the time sold for almost $400. and now costs twice that. It was unmarked, seller didn't realize what they had, and I won the auction at $125. In a fire, I'd grab it and my mother's Joy of Cooking...

reader1treesOctober 20, 2023

I agree with Jane that the searching is great fun, I really enjoy visiting my local charity shops to see what I can find. Over the years I've snapped up several Nordic Ware Bundtlette pans and a pie top cutter, a Stellar sauteuse, Ottolenghi and BBC Good Food cookbooks, Kilner and Le Parfait jars and a Daylesford apron. If you're willing to keep looking, sooner or later you'll find whatever it is you've got your eye on plus you can tell whether a piece of kitchen equipment is worth buying by how quickly they start being donated.