You could never say Kaye Spence opened thrift store Check Mate in St George on a whim.

“I thought about it for ten years,” she said.

She loves thrifting, and has found plenty of others who share her passion for bargain hunting.

“We have many things and yet we still want more,” she said. “But in today’s economy we need to shop in a cost-effective way.”

Before launching, she did some research and found that thrift stores were thriving in Bermuda’s post-pandemic, high-inflation environment.

Since opening on Bridge Street two months ago, she has sold everything from second-hand shoes to shirts, dresses, paintings, mirrors and books. Prices start at $2 and go into the $15 to $20 range.

“I’m trying to cater to the everyday customer,” she said, “as well as those who want to spend a little bit more.”

Sometimes she hangs something on the rack and her friends say that will never sell. Then someone snaps it up. The store is a tribute to the adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.

“We are looking for more unique things,” she said. “One of the most unusual things I have sold is a bright yellow shirt with doughnuts attached to it. The tourists call them party shirts. That flew off the shelf.”

She sells both second-hand and vintage items.

Where she gets her stock is a trade secret, but she did say customers sometimes bring her their unwanted items to sell.

Although she caters to men, women and children, she has a particular interest in men’s clothing.

“A lot of men don’t have anywhere to shop in Bermuda,” she said. “If they come in looking for something and I don’t have their size, I will go out of my way to find it for them.”

She sees many working men in search of bargains.

“We have loads of Filipino and Indian workers who come in looking for brand names,” she said. “I have sold brands such as Nautica, Northface and many new Jordans.”

Sometimes business is slow in the East End. To get customers in the door she uses creative sales tactics.

“I might go outside the store, and say to a man passing by, hey, are you a size 36? I’ve got some pants inside in your size,” she said.

Taller men sometimes struggle to find pants in their size in Bermuda.

“I made a pact with myself that within a month of opening, I would know every man’s size on the planet,” Ms Spence said. “I just needed maybe five men to come into the store at different times, so I could observe what size they were.”

To be successful she has learnt to pivot, quickly. For example, when cooler weather came this month, she quickly changed all the clothes in the shop over to warmer wear.

The Olde Towne can be a little quiet, especially in the off season.

“Many people in St George are not necessarily shopping,” she said. “I invite them in and they say, wow, I didn’t even know this was here. When I tell them my price range, they immediately want to have a look!”

She moved to the East End a year ago. “A lot of locals say there is nothing down here. But that is not true.

“We have boating, racing and scrambling. There is so much to do. The only thing we don’t have down here is a cost-effective supermarket. It is definitely needed.”