With thinning pocket books leading to a save-over-spend mentality it’s no surprise some secondhand dealers are seeing an increase in clientele.

Used and consignment clothing shops are known to offer deals that handily beat mall pricing, and they’re no longer relegated to shoe string budgeters or vintage chic hipsters.

“I have lots of new customers,” said Stacy Patrick, owner of Kingston’s Lucky Star Clothing, a consignment shop. “And lots of my old customers are asking me how we’re doing — they hear about (the bad economy) on the news all the time.”

For Patrick, the increase means faster product turnover and increased visits from regular shoppers. She said consigners, too, are on the rise, “which is really exciting, because it’s a whole new group of people.”

That equals new styles and selections to choose from, widening further the array in Lucky Star’s trove. Consigners exchange used clothing for a percentage of the eventual sale, or earn store credit. It’s a development good for both Patrick and her customers.

“It’s just exciting for all of us,” she said. “It keeps clothes going so they (shoppers) are not going out and buying new stuff.”

And it keeps money in the area, as it’s still a form of local shopping, she added.

National reports echo similar sentiments: Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries International experienced higher year-to-date sales, as did many responding to an industry trade group survey, which saw an average sales increase of 35 percent. But not all North Kitsap’s thriftier merchants are seeing an economically driven increase.

At Rumple New Skins, a Poulsbo retail and consignment shop offering kids and maternity clothing and toys, consignment is on the rise, but an up in foot traffic has yet to follow.

“I think everyone’s holding on to their money,” said owner Denise Rahman, adding December’s harsh winter weather also contributed to dents in revenue. “We’re holding our own, but we’re definitely not doing as well as we were last year (2007).”

The number of consigners began to rise in September, and until a balance is struck between incoming and outgoing products Rahman said she’s offering lots of sales and is considering downsizing to mitigate the difference. Still, it’s early in the new year, and she sports a wait-and-see outlook for the rest of January.

“I just want for a better year than we had last year,” she said.

Consignment is also on the rise at Big Hugs in Poulsbo, said employee Michelle Hall.

“I have seen a lot” — she emphasized — “more people coming in,” she said. And often, those submitting clothes for consignment use their return cash to buy something from the store. But Hall reported a similar imbalance: “There seems to be more coming in than going out.”

Big Hugs owner Jerry Fallon said she thinks there’s been a slight increase in shoppers, and never fails to hear how helpful the shop is to its patrons.

“We hear that a lot. With the plus sizes particularly, there’s not the availability,” she said. “One lady said ‘I may never have to go to a mall again.’”

At Second Chance Thrift, Linda Hylland wasn’t sure just why the store was bustling with customers Monday afternoon; she said the economy could be a factor, and the fall completion of nearby State Route 305 construction has certainly helped. The push to recycle doesn’t hurt either.

Though Hylland said some still carry a stigma regarding secondhand items, coats, bedding, small appliances and landline phones have been darting off shelves this winter. And those shelves don’t stay empty for long.

“We’re overrun with clothes,” she said.

At the North Kitsap Fishline Thrift Store, executive director Karen Timken said at times they’re also overstocked — and at others, cleaned bare.

“It literally comes and goes by the week,” she said. There are times they have to turn items away.

Last weekend, the store made $900 during a monthly half-priced sale. Timken — who “dresses head to toe in thrift” — counts merchandizing and advertising as part of the reason the store was up $13,000 in 2008 over 2007 figures.

She says it’s not all due to the economic nosedive.

“We’ve seen these increases before. People know that we have really good deals and really nice things,” she said. And items donated to Fishline often become a part of a cyclical system, paralleling the reuse effort seen at Second Chance. “It’s great recycling, because things go out, they get worn for a while, and they come back in.”