They've got a pretty decent selection of male and female
clothing, the stuff usually smells pretty good, and it's cheap.
They don't have much in the way of records, but they do have
a bizarre selection of electrical and electronic devices. This
store, as well as its sister store, Tryon Hills
Thrift Store, are
both stocked by the Vietnam Veterans charity, which is
apparently the hot charity of the decade, because the turnover
at these two stores is about twice as rapid as at any others.
I've put together two really quite decent stereo setups from
components bought at American Way and Tryon Hills. They
won't last forever (in fact, it helps if you know how to change
belts on cassette decks), but for about eighty bucks, you can
usually score a decent tuner, tape deck, and turntable. Just
don't buy the speakers.
However, I have seen two sets of vintage Advent speakers
at Vietnam Vets stores--one at American Way, and one at the
Tryon Hills store. Both appeared to need
nothing but a
re-coning job done on the woofers. Reconing a pair will cost
about $100. I know. I own one of the two sets. They sound
a lot warmer than new, "modern" speakers, especially if you
roll off the high-end a bit and boost the low-mid. The other pair
was still sitting at the Tryon Hills store
as of 3:00 p.m. Saturday,
July 26, 1997, for like $2.