Thrift Store Shopping With Hubby

Over the past few weeks, my husband has been going to thrift shops with me. We visited the first one to look for luggage for an upcoming trip because I'm convinced that we can find something like new, or close enough to "like new," for way cheaper than the ones we saw at Costco. Since then, there's been another and another.

I've never been able to figure out what my husband, who loves barn sales and antique shops and estate sales and some junk shops that I find just plain scary, has against plain old thrift shops. (It's not that the stuff is used.) Years ago, I took him to Red White and Blue -- which is probably the least icky thrift shop I know. He couldn't stand the place. 

Value Village and Goodwill have been new experiences for him, with the whole colored tag (or tags) of the day thing. The kids and I have always taken it for granted. You figure out what color tag is the right one and whether it's 50% off or everything for $2.  I know there's got to be a system to the color changes, but I'm not in town enough to worry about it.

I'm just happy that he's willing to go with me. There's a St. Vincent's next to the Costco in Eugene that I've never had time to check out because I'm usually not down there without him.  

We stopped and it wasn't the best or worst thrift shop I've been in. Hubby had just commented that everything was kind of old and beat up... 

And then he saw this and was happy as a clam:  

Honestly, I wasn't sure what the difference was between this one and the one we found in the garage. Except this one seems to be much newer and has a box and more parts.

I know some of you have and use these. Is this rectangular bit part of the chopper, or some random bit that found its way into the box? I'm not seeing it in any of my online searches.

Now we're searching for a No. 1 food chopper. Because he wants one. And if that search gets me into more thrift shops, I'm not complaining!