So off she goes today (no mention of where, as usual), comes back an hour or two later with an old guy in a samlor with a large table and 6x wood chairs for 1,500bht + 200bht for the samlor driver.

Then she produces a Xaomi vacuum bot (E10C) .......... the home owners gave it to her.

I press the 'on' button and it says 'returning to docking station to recharge, quick look on the internet.

Darling where's the docking station? (I point to a photo of it), "oh, I saw that" ..... off she goes and returns with the dock and charger.

5,000bht fo one of these, amazingly it works!

What bargains has your lady found for you?

Best bargain my wife ever got was..........ME ! - cost nothing and still paying out steadily for the past 20 years 😄

About 15 years ago I turned my wife onto American thrift shops. She is a devotee of them now. Over the years she has scored, earrings, necklaces, sweaters, jackets, plates, serving dishes, unique corkscrews and more. Her prize find, a perfect pair of Zeiss binoculars.

Most towns we stop in she has a look as part of our day.

17 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

Looks like junk to me.

Classy.

Those Xiaomi vacuum bots are good, i have one, just have to find ways to stop it getting stuck in certain areas, like blocking it from going there etc

1 hour ago, marin said:

About 15 years ago I turned my wife onto American thrift shops. She is a devotee of them now. Over the years she has scored, earrings, necklaces, sweaters, jackets, plates, serving dishes, unique corkscrews and more. Her prize find, a perfect pair of Zeiss binoculars.

Most towns we stop in she has a look as part of our day.

When we return I plan to start looking around the many antique shops in Texas, as it's something I've always wanted to do but didn't get around to while I was there. The thrift stores are also great places to find good deals. Bought an extra luggage bag just before we returned last November from one very cheap.

My first house was in a very young satellite city outside of Darwin Aus.

No rubbie pick-ups yet.

So a trip to the local dumping spot was in itself a trip to the "thrift shop".

Became very much a "One mans trash is another mans treasure" place to be.

No money changed hands.

Stuff just went from one ute to another.🙃🙃

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

My wife loves scavenging/bargain hunting!

comes back an hour or two later with an old guy in a samlor with a large table and 6x wood chairs for 1,500bht + 200bht for the samlor driver

Lucky guy, my girl only comes back with food 😕

My GF loves the second-hand clothing shops, can spend hours in there. My trousers, shorts and shirts all come from there. She has a good eye for quality, fit, and brand, Most of my shirts are in the price range 30-50 baht.

My GF brings me 7/11 food from the 'Already Expired' table. Hungry or not, she tells me to hurry and eat it before it goes bad.

Mine brings wine and snacks

3 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Best bargain my wife ever got was..........ME ! - cost nothing and still paying out steadily for the past 20 years 😄

I wonder what her answer to the question re her "best bargain" would be!

46 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

I wonder what her answer to the question re her "best bargain" would be!

Probably the FREE house and land is the single most valuable item 😄

2 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Probably the FREE house and land

I think I know the answer but I have to ask;

What is the best bargain that you have found/received?

2 hours ago, Lucky Bones said:

My first house was in a very young satellite city outside of Darwin Aus.

No rubbie pick-ups yet.

So a trip to the local dumping spot was in itself a trip to the "thrift shop".

Became very much a "One mans trash is another mans treasure" place to be.

No money changed hands.

Stuff just went from one ute to another.🙃🙃

Was the place called Palmerston?

I would be more concerned on where she is off to and does not give any details.

4 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Best bargain my wife ever got was..........ME ! - cost nothing and still paying out steadily for the past 20 years 😄

The best bargain I got was my wife of forty years.

1 hour ago, Sigmund said:

I would be more concerned on where she is off to and does not give any details.

Nah, I'm 70 and she isn't, she can do what she likes with whom she likes.

Jealousy is for youngsters ..........

2 hours ago, ripstanley said:

Was the place called Palmerston?

1984.🙃🙃

6 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Most of my shirts are in the price range 30-50 baht.

Sorry, I can't get myself to buy 2nd hand clothing.

And I don't own 1000 shirts, so they don't need to be dirt cheap.

It's too hot to even wear shirts most of the time.

Clothing costs are negligible here compared to back home, shopping for multiple seasons.

To each his own, I guess.

14 hours ago, Lacessit said:

My GF loves the second-hand clothing shops, can spend hours in there. My trousers, shorts and shirts all come from there. She has a good eye for quality, fit, and brand, Most of my shirts are in the price range 30-50 baht.

Lucky Trump does not buy 30 baht shirts. Imagine the criticism he would receive.

Be careful, one day she just might scavenge far enough and find a bargain of a younger husband she just couldn't resist.

18 hours ago, BritManToo said:

So off she goes today (no mention of where, as usual), comes back an hour or two later with an old guy in a samlor with a large table and 6x wood chairs for 1,500bht + 200bht for the samlor driver.

Then she produces a Xaomi vacuum bot (E10C) .......... the home owners gave it to her.

I press the 'on' button and it says 'returning to docking station to recharge, quick look on the internet.

Darling where's the docking station? (I point to a photo of it), "oh, I saw that" ..... off she goes and returns with the dock and charger.

5,000bht fo one of these, amazingly it works!

What bargains has your lady found for you?

The table is very utilitarian, and worth every Baht.

A decent kitchen table, but not a table one might choose for the dining room.

Solid wood chairs.

Must weigh a ton, though.

I never see decent old stuff for sale.

I thought that people use things until they are completely worthless in Thailand.

All I can say is I'm going out to find a man that can turn empty plastic containers into gold🤔

Okay … you and your wife are off our friends list! (Joking)! If my wife paired up with yours, we wouldn’t see them for the day and I’d have more things to sell online! My wife, like yours, has stretched a coin for all the years we’ve been married! She bought a string of black pearls one time for next to nothing, had them assessed, and found out they were real! So, since, I have shut my mouth. I told her to keep an eye out for a Breitling watch! Fat Chance!

23 hours ago, marin said:

About 15 years ago I turned my wife onto American thrift shops. She is a devotee of them now. Over the years she has scored, earrings, necklaces, sweaters, jackets, plates, serving dishes, unique corkscrews and more. Her prize find, a perfect pair of Zeiss binoculars.

Most towns we stop in she has a look as part of our day.

Unique corkscrews ?

Must try that one !

22 hours ago, Lacessit said:

My GF loves the second-hand clothing shops, can spend hours in there. My trousers, shorts and shirts all come from there. She has a good eye for quality, fit, and brand, Most of my shirts are in the price range 30-50 baht.

I’d certainly consider that a blessing…heck many women are obsessed with (designer clothing/handbags/ jewelry ect ect) a woman that likes to thrift is a blessing in my opinion!!

We often turn to local artisans and carpenters who of course will love to cheat the foreigner.

But not to forget that IKEA has a great operation in Thailand and their stuff is now better quality then it was 50 years ago.

Have them in mind if you want to refurbish your kitchen etc. As local craftsmen cannot be trusted as they are mostly out there to cheat foreigners either on the price or on the quality of the materials.

Not sure how it is elsewhere, but in Hua Hin I would never again use local carpenters or handymen as they just are out there to cheat and overcharge foreigners. Most of them anyhow.

On 4/21/2026 at 5:51 AM, BritManToo said:

What bargains has your lady found for you?

3 free cats – and a couple more, which I got the pleasure to half pay for, so I'm also eligible to pet them – by the way, I'm expected to pay half the cat food and all the vet bills...🫣

8 minutes ago, SingAPorn said:

We often turn to local artisans and carpenters who of course will love to cheat the foreigner.

But not to forget that IKEA has a great operation in Thailand and their stuff is now better quality then it was 50 years ago.

Have them in mind if you want to refurbish your kitchen etc. As local craftsmen cannot be trusted as they are mostly out there to cheat foreigners either on the price or on the quality of the materials.

Not sure how it is elsewhere, but in Hua Hin I would never again use local carpenters or handymen as they just are out there to cheat and overcharge foreigners. Most of them anyhow.

You only managed to get 'cheat foreigner' into 3 paragraphs, must do better 😉