Thrifting is going viral and growing in popularity. In fact, new numbers from the online consignment site ThredUp say, the secondhand market is expected to reach $350 billion by 2027. Whether you’re looking to save money on clothes and furniture or looking for a great vintage find, you need tips to thrift like a professional.When to shopThrifting experts say, on average, Mondays are the best days to thrift shop. This is because most people drop off their stuff on the weekends and there are fewer people in the stores. But the best practice is to ask your thrift stores which days are their stock days.Tag colorsYou can also ask your local thrift store when their sale days are. Some thrift stores use a color tag system for sales. For example, some Goodwills and Value Villages have a weekly calendar that will tell you which days are reserved for certain colored tags. Usually, there is a sign or it is announced over the loudspeaker what color tag is on sale, but the employees can tell you as well.Don't zig-zag from rack to rackWhen clothing shopping, go down each line, going through every item. Popping around, zig-zagging from rack to rack, means you’re not focusing on anything in particular and you’re likely to miss the good stuff.Search every sectionMake sure you’re looking at different sections. Sometimes, clothing gets misplaced in the kid’s or men’s section instead of the women’s section and vice-versa.Finding that vintage shirtThrift experts say if you’re looking for a vintage T-shirt, the older, better-quality shirts have physical neck tags. They also tend to have single stitching on the sleeves.Check the go-back rack or cartIf this is all too overwhelming for you, go straight to the “go-back rack” or cart next to the fitting room. These are the items people deem worth trying on, so you don’t need to do the work of digging through the whole store.Use your hands to check furnitureHardwood furniture is a better quality and tends to last longer. How do you know if your furniture is hardwood or veneer? Hardwood will have the same grain all the way through, while veneer will be made of plywood and feel less porous.Use Google image searchThrifting kitchenware like glasses and dishes is a great way to get fun, cool pieces for cheap. But you want to make sure you’re getting good quality stuff. If you see something you like, checking pieces on sites like eBay can be a good way to see what these all have been listed at. You can also take out your phone and go onto your Google Chrome app. Use the Google Lens to see what that dish could go for!Try the ding testAnother trick thrifters use is how you can tell glass from crystal apart. Take your finger or a utensil and lightly clink the side of the glass. Crystal will have a definite, clear ring when tapped or struck, much like a bell. The longer and clearer the ring has the higher the quality of the crystal. The glass has more of a ding. By the way, this test is also backed by several credible online and auction sites!Remember, every thrift store does certain things better than others! One may have great deals on furniture while another might not have any stock at all! So visit a few in different cities around you to see which ones specialize in what you’re looking for. Also, every thrift store, even if they’re a part of a chain, sets their own prices. So you can visit a few to find the best price.