Community Thrift Store

Went here a couple of years ago, maybe. I was quite curious about the place, so I thought I’d wander in when I had the time. I did find a nice satin vest for $ 3 and a book for a $ 1 when I went, but the place didn’t have much of a selection. It looked drab and poorly maintained, sadly.

i went in once almost a year ago before a dinner reservation at Animal just a few doors down and i guess that after a quick browse i wanted more, couldn’t get enough and vowed myself to return. Almost a year later i planned an afternoon visit with plenty of time and no dinner reservation to rush off to and i was thoroughly disappointed as i browsed through dirty racks of torn garments at ridiculous prices. I actually felt like going to wash my hands immediately after because all the clothes were so run down, dirty, smelly and gross. Priced at high end vintage prices but cheap salvation army-​goodwill quality, what are these people thinking?

Just skip it ! Don’t waste your gas! I stopped by today for the first time and it will be my last time. They had nothing interesting and the clothes! Ewww! Where is there another thrift store around here???

this place is literally trash. the clothes is filthy dirty and ridiculously overpriced. they treat evey customer like criminals. the manager wanted to search my bag because he thought we were stealing dirty clothes. and of course i didn’t let him.
the sale associates that work there look drugged. i wouldn’t be surprised if they were dealing on the side.
it’s not worth shopping here. it’s rubbish.

Ew. This place was dirty, dusty, dingy. I skimmed through the clothes they had and there wasn’t a lot of size variance. They were unmarked, and most of them were small or x-​small. A lot of the clothes they carry are unnecessarily garish and tranny. More of a costume store than a clothing store.
My hands felt grimy after flipping through clothing items. I made a bee-​line to the nearest bathroom to wash my hands upon leaving.

I would not go so far as to call this a «thrift store». «Consignment», yes. Mais pas «thrift».
The prices are Crossroads-​caliber. The selection is… not so much. A little on the tranny side. A little. Lots of sequins. Lots of gaudy.
The location is a little on the tranny side, too. What does that mean? Kind of dirty, can see why someone else might visit but probably wouldn’t go by yourself… alone, at least. Cheap-​looking but not-​so-​cheap-​costing. That metaphor actually worked out better than I expected.
Anyhoo, don’t come in here looking for a bargain. Or any freaking customer service, for that matter. I shopped the perimeter and all the aisles, and not even a nod or a glance from old Mr. Shopkeep. And believe me, I look like someone who uses a respectable sum of her money on wardrobe.
I suppose if you still like spending $ 15 on assorted used garments but are tired of Crossroads and Buff-​Ex, you can park it over here and take a gander. I’ll just wait outside…

I have had a mixed experience here. Firstly, I think the owner Frank is a little bit rude. Sometimes I feel like a criminal just walking into the store. Also, while some of the prices are fair, and I have found some decent things, I have also found some way over priced stuff… you can’t call yourself a vintage shop if you’re selling Hollister and Forever 21 garbage. It can be a bit over priced on some things — but anyway-​like I said, it has an interesting mix, and I do find some good deals as well.

This place has some really, really cool stuff. I mean cool to the point where it almost hurts me that I will NEVER STEP FOOT IN THERE again! So, my mom came in town… we love thrift stores so here we go… I had been in one other time. Per usual, they had some fabulous items. Per usual, there was an older man in there that acts as if he can’t speak and a younger woman who accuses people of stealing. I purchased a pair of jeans and immediately following the transaction was asked in an accusatory tone how many items we had taken into the ‘dressing room’ which is actually a corner of the store with an old sofa and drapes… I immediately returned the jeans before even leaving the store. SMH… what a waste.

This place is dire, shop here at your peril! I came here looking for vintage clothes and not only is everything massively overpriced, but I found more than one example of label tampering — where vintage labels had been sewn into modern clothes. In this case there were suits whose labels in the jacket collar did not match those on the inside of the jacket. Nor did they match the skirt/​trousers they were paired with.
I did come away with one dress, but only because it was 50% off, as there was no way it was worth the original price they put on it. Luckily I could tell from the material/​stitching etc that it was actually from the decade that the label suggested!
If you’re looking for more modern designer pieces, or just generally good thrift stuff, then I recommend trying Out Of The Closet just up the street from here.

Wow, I came on here expecting to find at least 3 star reviews of this thrift store, only to find several negative ones! I just went today and actually left satisfied with my experience. I came after finding nothing at the Melrose Trading Post for my Halloween costume (I know it’s nearly two months away, but it makes me nervous so I start early!) and found the perfect deep red/​brownish leather coat for $ 45. Some other reviews say the prices are expensive, but I think a full on leather coat in good vintage condition for $ 45 is a great price!
When I went to the mirror in the back corner to try on my coat, an employee from the back walked out and said wow, it looked good on me. I had grabbed the coat from a few racks away, taken it off its hanger and walked to the mirror with it. No one yelled at me or told me to put it back exactly how it was. I even did that with another coat as well (I posted a picture of the other coat in the photos). Other reviewers write about the owner, some rude scary man who smokes and yells, but I didn’t see him anywhere, so maybe that’s why my experience was different.
Also, when I checked out, the same employee who complimented me on the coat told me the coat looked really good and I told her it was for my costume. She was very friendly and told me she had a similar one that she also used for her costume. Again, maybe their scary owner was gone and they didn’t feel as much pressure to be crazy towards customers. I got lucky here with the coat and had a pleasant customer service experience. Maybe things have changed?
Edit — over a year later I still haven’t returned (no reason to), but I see the super negative reviews continue. I think my experience must have been a once in a lifetime kind of thing, because all I had was a super nice salesgirl. No crazy ass man yelling at all, or even in sight. I almost feel guilty giving this place 4 stars when I read all the other reviews!

I have only been here two times, but both times I was really impressed with the selection of mens shoes. They always have good brands and styles and in pretty decent shape. I think they are somewhat pricey… but they are in good enough condition that you will still get a lot of wear out of any that you buy. As far as their clothes go, I have never found anything that really caught my eye, and the prices are, again, a little high.

As I was walking back from the Melrose Trading Post on Sunday afternoon, I noticed this place and went inside. They do seem security conscious but I assume this is from prior bad experiences, didn’t take it personally and complied with their request to leave my bags at the front. First off, I appreciated that the store appears to only display clothes that meet a minimum standard. Instead of your average thrift store experience where you’re searching through an overstuffed rack full of bad clothes in the hopes of finding a gem, the quality of all the clothes was uniformly better than average and the clothes were easy to sort through (in contrast to the experience of an earlier reviewer who said the racks were crowded). I didn’t have any problems trying on clothes, although an employee did count the number of items I had before I went in and took the clothes I wasn’t purchasing when I came out (in line with the practice of regular retail stores). Actually I thought this was one of the better thrift stores I’ve been to and was surprised to read all the negative reviews here. Maybe things were worse before and have improved over time but I’ll definitely be back. There are definitely bargains to be had, for example, I got a pair of men’s James Perse Jeans for $ 10.

I couldn’t agree with the other posters more! RUDE, RUDE, RUDE!!! How does a place like this stay in business??? I will never step foot in the store again… spread the word and let’s get this place off of Fairfax and make way for more customer friendly businesses who deserve it!

I was just wandering Fairfax and I saw this store. Everything was packed all together so it was hard to see the clothes and shoes. It seemed that most of the inventory was pretty old and have been sitting on the shelves for quite a while. There were few good brands but a bit overpriced for the quality. My throat got a bit dry from inhaling the dust in the store… it’s not that great.

Please don’t ever go here. Don’t ever shop here. I encountered an extremely rude man who was smoking a tobacco pipe in the store. He was yelling disrespectfully — cursing and shouting at me when I accidentally stepped into an area that was unroped with no closed door. I was so extremely embarrased, shocked, and angry. He just kept shouting even though I was no threat and calmly left the area as soon as an employee let me know that the items in the area were not for sale. I was sooooo upset that after I left the store (I thought that man was going to attack me!) that I called the police. The police wouldn’t come because they said it was only a verbal argument and they couldn’t come out for that. So, I think I’ll try reporting the business to the better business bureau.

Somewhere between Good Will and Wasteland.
I have found some amazing Liberty, YSL, Pierre Cardin and other designer 60s and 70s pieces there. I found a Cecil G. striped cream and brown with french cuffs.
The pieces are clearly hand picked and well organized. It cost more than Good Will, but less then Wasteland or Jetrag, but there are some real gems there. I have even seen steamer trunks and mid century furniture in there. I am not sure what these other people are talking about as the Women’s Council and Out Of The Closet are no longer inexpensive and don’t get the quality merch that they used to. Fortunately and unfortunately the neighborhood has changed.

BAD vibe in here. Just bad. The owners really need to figure out how not to treat their (potential) customers like criminals and maybe they’d get some business on their overpriced clothes. Yuck. Go to Out Of The Closet across the street instead. Better prices, better clothes, and for a better cause.

on my first experience inside this thrift shop, i got nothing but a feeling that i was being watched, and that the owner treated me and every other costumer as if we were theives. i did wind up finding something cool, and when i went to purchase it, the owner could not lift her bad attitude towards me.
i went again today. i must admit, they do have cool (overpriced) stuff, and figured that everyone has a bad day. i believe in second chances, and was hoping that maybe i caught this woman on a horrible day. my out of town guest and i were so excited to go in there today. i didnt notice the woman that i had encountered in my last experience and was greatly relieved. thinking and hoping that today would be better. BOY WAS I WRONG.
after about 2 minutes of my friend and i quietly browsing through the store, a man (who i believe was also the other owner) began following us around the store and watching us. we ignored it and continued browsing.
another female worker rushed over to my friend and i. she hurriedly told my friend that she was holding the clothes that she had picked out too close to the ground, and that my friend had better hold them high, or the owner was going to come and yell at her. she hesitantly gave my friend a shopping cart to wheel my stuff around in. when it was time to try on clothes, i went with my friend over towards the mirror. the woman who had given us the cart had followed us, and instructed us to…“try on as many things OUTSIDE the fitting room as you can“
i was trying on a pair of jeans and the woman let me in. while i was pulling the pants up, the tag fell off… they STAPLE the tags to the clothes. i put it in the pocket and hung it back up. the woman ran after me asking me WHAT DID I DO with the tag?! i calmly told her it fell off, and its in the pocket. and she tells me «good thing you didnt like the pants, they wouldnt have let you buy it without the tag, it looks like you were trying to pull something»
then why do you STAPLE tags to pants right by the button?!
note: their «fitting room» is a weird corner of the store, with fabric hanging from it. IF they let you go in there, they demand that you leave your purse on the floor outside in front of the room. anyway, my friend politely complied with the woman, and attempted to try on as much of her clothes as she could in the mirror outside. However the woman began to sway her away from trying on clothes period. my friend picked up a sweater and showing me how much she liked it, she was excited and about to try it on. the woman looks at it and says «oh everyone likes that sweater, i dont think you should try it on though, its going to be too small on you». this continued on with each following garmet that my friend picked up to try on. it seems that they dont like u to try anything on here… the woman then looked at the unwanted shirt my friend had hung back up on the rack in disgust.
she tells my friend (i think this was truly the turning point of our experience)…“can you try your hardest to put that back EXACTLY how that was, or else my boss is going to get very angry” my friend told her «that sucks, i dont want him to yell at you» the woman responds «no…he’s not going to yell at ME, he’s going to yell at YOU!»
so we gave up. enough of this store. we tried our hardest to be polite and respectful and patient, but who needs to be treated this way when you’re doing nothing wrong?!
i should have not supported this store at this point, but i went against my best judgement and bought a shirt anyway… it was cool, and it was 2 bucks (on a clearance rack).
on route to the register, the fitting room lady tells my friend «so…you’re not going to buy anything?! and rolls her eyes in digust. my friend tries to be polite and says she didnt want to get anything because it didnt fit. we then over hear the following conversation between 2 different woman who work in the store (one being the woman from my first experience at the store):
«are those the girls that had the shopping cart full of clothes?»
«yeah they are»
«and they arent buying anything»
«yeah, they claim it doesnt fit» (even though i WAS buying something)
and they gave us the nastiest look, and the woman at the register (while im paying her) says «something smells bad» and waves her arm through the air.
so…if you wanted to get treated like shit, when all you’re trying to do is try on the awesome overpriced shirt that you just found, this is the place. also, the male owner began smoking a pipe at some point when we were in the store… doesnt really seem like the best thing to do in a clothing store… it was gross, and im sure the clothes reek.
this place SUCKS! i rarely say that, but it does. i gave it a second chance, and tried so hard to be patient. i think i dealt with more than most would… never again. stay away!