Many people flip goodwill/thrifted stuff on eBay. The best of the best at thrift stores will often end up there for you to pay a fair price. If I were you, I'd give thrifting another chance. I actually think thrifting is extremely fun. you get to see funny vintage weird clothing, some cool old collegiate stuff, vintage logos, just overall a lot of different kinds of things that make it fun. I'd recommend giving it a second shot. thrifting at first seems kind of "dirty" or "for poor people" as I got that kind of vibe at the start, but its the far from that.

Thrift stores in the US are very different to the UK's charity shops. In this US, they are massive and you're practically guaranteed to find something you like. In the UK, there are many small ones (Barnardo's, Oxfam, Red Cross) where you have to have some patience. My advice would be to do a regular circuit of all your local charity shops every week or so, and eventually you'll find something you like. As for Berlin, Google is your best friend.