Turn Thrift Store Electronics Into Your New Entertainment Center

Building out a home entertainment setup can feel like a daunting, expensive task. And sure, buying the latest OLED TV and high-end soundbar isn't cheap, but there are actually other routes you can take. We are, of course, talking about thrift stores: These dusty old places can actually hide some solid options if you're looking to outfit your movie room or your audio setup. The key is to know what you're looking for.

There are some categories that just aren't ideal for buying secondhand, both thanks to the ensuing obsolescence of technology, and the propensity of some products to fail if they're used too long. Take flatscreen TVs, for example: Our recommendation is to go for a TV that uses modern technology like OLED or LCD for a clean, reliable picture, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a high quality screen at a thrift store. 

If you do, it'll likely be old, unreliable, and definitely out of its warranty period. However, if you have a little patience, you can find a few key parts of your entertainment space worth grabbing off the thrift shelves.

One category to consider looking for in a thrift store is audio. If you already have a reliable amplifier or audio receiver, looking out for bookshelf speakers can be a great way to cheaply fill out your system. Typically, thrift store employees don't know a lot about bookshelf speaker brands, so you can find some solid older options from brands like KLH, Technics, or JBL for lower than the average market price. 

This is a great way to get started if you don't have any speakers, but it's also a nice way to get some rear or satellite speakers to complete a surround system. If you don't have a receiver, you can also look out for components to run your system as well. While it's tough to find really high-end stuff with lots of bells and whistles, it wouldn't be surprising to find some basic A/V receivers just collecting dust as people have offloaded them to upgrade. 

It's also a good idea to look out for media units like CD players, or even record players. With vinyl seeing a real resurgence in recent years, lots of people are trying out record players and selling them when the hobby doesn't take.

Another category you'll find all over thrift stores is gaming, as well as entertainment media more generally. Look out for old-school consoles, perfect if you want to fill out a retro gaming collection, or keep your eyes peeled for secondhand games to save some money on your GameStop trip. While it'll be harder to find a good price on more modern systems like the Nintendo Switch 2 or the PS5, older console generations are always popping up at thrift stores. Beyond gaming, you'll also likely find media-centric devices around the stores as well. 

Keep an eye out for Amazon Firesticks or Roku media players, as these are often discarded for more expensive units or for built-in streaming functions of new smart TVs. Grabbing one of these units second hand is an affordable way to add streaming functionality to a secondary entertainment space such as a workout area or basement movie room. You may even find physical media like Blu-Rays and DVDs at thrift stores. DVDs are admittedly on their way out, but there's still a vibrant Blu-Ray collecting community thanks to the instant physical accessibility of their favorite movies and the better audio quality afforded on Blu-Ray.

In the end, filling out your entertainment space with thrift store finds is all about choosing where you want to save money. If audio is important to you for example, consider buying new instead. But if you just want some basic stuff to get you started, these categories could be waiting for you at your local shop.