Better Bargains Thrift Store

Was not a fan of this thrift store. Didn’t find anything and it had weird make shift dressing rooms.

Friendly store, good enough variety, lots of surprises. Prices are good to reasonable. Most items are in good condition. I bought some coffee mugs, they were not run of the mill and in good shape. Cool mementos of our travels through the area.

Dusty, eclectic selection, lots of junk, but treasures too — and the prices are great.

This place. Sigh. I really wanted to like it, and I really appreciate the fact that if you take in a donation, you immediately get a coupon for 30% off anything you purchase. But I had a hard time getting past the fact that it was so dirty and smelled so bad. I realize this is more my problem than theirs — the reviewers who say «what did you expect?» are exactly right. But still, to me, it was just so gross. Most things on the shelves were pretty filthy. We went to Costco afterward and we both immediately went into the restroom there to wash up, surgical style.
I also didn’t think most of their prices were that great — I saw an ordinary-​looking wooden kitchen chair for $ 28. Don’t think so. I was so skeeved out by the smell that I didn’t bother to look at the clothes.
Still, I will say that I found an old-​style warming tray for an upcoming buffet brunch for $ 5, so that was cool. I did disinfect it thoroughly as soon as I got it home, tho.
Don’t let my two-​star review deter you from going if you feel like stopping in. Just know any Goodwill is going to seem like a Nordstrom by comparison.

This place is pretty cool. Old school. Prices on clothes from $ 3 – 10, but definitely cheaper than goodwill. Daily discounts on items with various color tags (40 & 65%), and on Wed & Sat, all items (not otherwise discounted) are 25% off. They also have super sale days — which I always seem to miss. So get the calendar and put it somewhere good.
Somewhat inconveniently located for me, but I lived near here when I first moved to town. You have to spend some time if you;re looking for clothes. They have a lot. The dress section is quite extensive and takes up many racks. Things are not sized. (old school). But who the heck has that many dresses anymore? Not TJ maxx or Ross!
Nic nacs are pretty cheap as well. There’s a decent amount of jewelry at the counter — most of it pretty crappy but every now and again you find a gem. Purses, purses purses, naked dolls, electronic cords, tablecloths… Furniture is limited, not usually anything super awesome and a bit pricy for my liking.
This place isnt for the fancy pants of faint of heart… it’s not all that clean. But there’s lots of it! Often smushed in there so keep your eyes peeled and your bargain senses on high alert. You will find something if you look hard enough.

Lots of stuff, but mostly junk. Good store for rare and vintage furniture, but don’t expect to get name brands from this place.

a great thrift store, especially now that the Value Village folks have closed up shop. Good deals, always a fair selection of men’s clothing –cheap jeans!- and lots of oddities to be found. Very dependable– it seems like I find something good every trip.
Yeah, it’s musty. It’s full of unwashed clothes. What did you expect?

Okay, so it reminds me of thrift stores before they became big business like Goodwill. Overly crowded with a treasure of broken and working items, darker than most stores and great sales (25% of on Wednesday and Saturday). Also they give you coupons like when you donate. The staff is sweet and endearing. Honestly, I have found some sweet items here at a very affordable prices.

To me, this is a real thrift store. It isn’t chic. It doesn’t pretend everything is an antique or a «find» and jack up the price. It smells. It is crowded. If you don’t like the price, then shop the deals and you will get a real bargain.
If it doesn’t have what you were looking for, you will still find other things you want or need. This store has saved my butt when it comes to baby clothes and toddler clothes.

I’ve occasionally found some good board games in here.
Overall, this is kind of a lower quality thrift store and is pretty dirty. But I keep thinking I will someday find a crokinole game board in here for a steal of a bargain, it just hasn’t happened yet.

I am a thrift Store shopper and I absolutely cannot imagine anyone not thinking this store is the best in the portland metro area. they have weekly tags on sale for 40% or 65% off and thats for everything that has a tag on it if the color is right u might find a brand new pair of jeans for just $ 2 – 3 and those with tags still on it from major stores. I have shopped the 35 cent saturdays and found it to be a blessing you can outfit your entire family for under $ 50 and thats a lot of clothes at 35 a pc. also they have baby bins craft items toys clothes books everything u could ever need and the prices are reasonable and Leah N said it smells like pee but I have NEVER smelled pee in this store in over 10 years I have shopped her

Update: Heck yeah! scored 70 cent where in the world is Carmen Sandiego wool tweed hat today!

Great place to find deals, they even have special days once a month where everything is 50% off.

I really love Better Bargains.
Having said that, I should warn that it’s kind of dusty and even a bit dirty in places and the dressing rooms are super creepy so I don’t use them I just cross my fingers and hope everything fits. But I sort of expect that in a thrift store.
It is definitely nothing fancy, and occasionally I find their prices a bit high (considering they are all donated items). BUT they have amazing sales every single day, and generally very nice, helpful staff. I can’t forget to mention that they hand out 30% off coupons for donations (and even give coupons if you bring them your unwanted plastic shopping bags — sweet!).
I just walked out with five shirts, two of which were new with tags, three pairs of nice slacks (Express, Gap, Dockers) and a new pair of jeans and I only spent $ 35. You really can’t beat that.
I am not a big fan of the corporate, sterile atmosphere of malls and shopping centers, so Better Bargains is right up my alley. I actually do most of my shopping there and with a little luck, and some digging, there are some really nice things there AND they rotate their merchandise out every month, so it’s not the same old thing, every time you go.

I can’t think of any nice things to say about this place.
Getting in was tough — there’s no entrance from Sandy Blvd. Poor parking setup.
As soon as we opened the door, we were greeted with an overwhelming smell of must. It looked just as gross. Tons of messy merchandise overstuffed into this cramped space.
After some thorough searching, I found two items I might have purchased. Alas, they were way too expensive. They wanted a dollar for a used magazine and five bucks for the cookbook I had in mind. No way.
Had much better experiences at the other thrift & consignment shops we visited later in the day. As for coming back here? I’d rather have a root canal.

I never have much luck here, but luck is exactly what you depend on during a thrift store experience so I can’t fault them for that. I love the unique building shape. The employees are nice enough and there are a few fitting rooms. Weekdays are much better crowd-​wise.
Good luck!

We just discovered Better Bargains, and it truly is the Bomb! I’m not exactly a «thrift store junkie», but I have made the rounds at a number of local thrift stores and thus far Better Bargains is my favorite in PDX — and the bonus is that it’s not that far from our house!
Sure most of us have known for years that thrift stores are great way to extend the budget, and especially during these «troubled economic times» even more people are spending their money at thrift shops rather than new retail stores. One result of this has been that it’s getting awfully tough to find clothes — especially for men — at many of the bigger name thrift stores (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc).
Better Bargains has a GREAT selection of mens’ (and womens’) clothes; I even hesitated before reviewing them here because I really don’t want all the cool kids to swarm the place and buy all the good stuff, but hopefully it’s far enough out of the way that won’t be a problem.
The place is crowded with merchandise, many aisles are narrow, and the layout is a little chaotic, but it’s not hard to get around and there’s lots to look at. They have some real funky stuff — we just scored an ergonomic rocking chair!
As noted in other reviews, even though their prices are GREAT they have a ton of sales. Many «big» holidays are celebrated with 50% off sales (usually one a month), most (if not all) Wednesdays and Saturdays are 25% off, and you always can score a 30% off coupon good on ALL used merchandise (not just clothes) any time you bring in a donation! Add in the rotating 40% and 65% colored tags, and you almost never have to pay even the already low ticketed price!
And if you’re making a donation that’s too big for you to bring by, they will even come to pick it up FOR FREE[!] — call ahead for an appointment!
All in all Better Bargains is just a GREAT store, and if you’re looking for a new, relatively undiscovered (at least by hipsters) thrift store give this place a shot. Just don’t tell TOO many people about it; let’s just keep this our little secret.

When I’m out this way, I try to make time to stop at this thrift store.
If you bring a grocery bag of donations, you get a coupon for a % off your entire purchase (I think it was 25%, but it may have been more). There is always a colored tag on sale each day also.
Funky & fun — I’ve found some amazing finds here and it’s cheaper than Goodwill.

With the sad closure of Council Thrift (downtown) this year, I returned to my former Favorite for steals on deals, Better Bargains on Sandy Blvd.
The perfect time to go is a 1^st or 3^rd Saturday — particularly when they also have a 50% off day upstairs in the Shop. 1^st & 3^rd Sat you can get huge bags o’ clothing — 35 CENTS an item! That is if you have the stamina to dig thru long tables piled high. Better than the Goodwill Bins for bringing home lotsa Good Stuff.
Forget Gold’s Gym — do some real lifting…
the 1^st & 3^rd Saturday Basement is a VERY GOOD upper body workout… especially if you haul it all home on foot as I often do.
To find the Saturday .35 tables area — be brave…
1) walk behind the store
2) enter a forlorn-​looking, fenced parking lot…
3) see the (almost hidden) door under the store (past a lean-​to shack that looks like an ice-​Fishing hut!) — and go right in.
You might feel like you’ve entered a pre-​historic cave… but this is it!
4) Grab a box by the door and place it on the floor
5) where you begin looking thru a pile — for a fabric you like,
6) pull it out and WOW — it may be just right for you.
7) toss it in your bounty box, and keep moving.
Dig baby Dig… and
8) kick the box along as you go. Keep moving because it’s a big room — full of piled-​up bargains awating artful Diggers.
8) I always bring giant bags and a roller cart along to haul Loot Home.
9) Donate or Gift unneeded stuff, and anything you can’t fix to fit.
I left with 4 large bags (loaded to the gills) last time… for under $ 25 — and when I got home almost everything fit… including items I grabbed for others. This included jeans, sweaters, evening dresses, cute new underwear, coats, a great bathrobe, curtains, and more.
If you are a Thrift Shopper — or just an unstoppable Clothes Horse, be a
Better Bargains basement-​dive diva — at least a couple of times a year. You’ll look great.
TIPS.
It might help to get amped-​up a little for the task.
There’s Britt’s Express lane — for Drive-​Thru Coffee in the free parking lot, that gives a free cup after 10 visits.
The #12 bus stops outside. The 71 and Red Line MAX (and connector Buses to the Couv) are close. A big roller cart, large backpack and sturdy super-​size shopping bags — will help you get home if you come by bus. (Not kidding — you’ll load up!)
For stamina in the digging operation, first have breakfast at Bills Steak House, or lunch at the great Thai Phở house, or one of 2 Mexican — or 2 German places — across the street. This fuel will help you get thru all the tables.
Some 50% off days are on Fall holidays, and Mothers Day and Memorial Day, in May. Last trip I took home BAGS of new sofa Pillows to help decorate my new house. Old bling, good-​bye! Couches, meet your new zing. I also got Fabric Shower Curtains & a Bedspread in perfect condition. Recent 50% off days were Columbus Day, a Harvest Days Sale in Oct. Do! do the regular 50% off days, upstairs. There’s an After Tax Day 50% off Sale, too.
There’s also: 25% off every Wednesday and Saturday.
Srs get an extra ¼ % off tags on Mondays.
Bring in re-​useable stuff to trade —
and get a 30% off coupon, anytime!
Watch for 40% and 65% tags daily,
Mon-​Fri 9 – 8:30, and Sat 9 – 7, Sun 10−6pm
Update: the #15 Belmont Bus no longer stops across the street.
PS: Women… send your email to the appropriate pdxswap Coordinator’s invitation list. All sizes can join lists at

I’ve loved pdxSwap events for years now… but I always get a bigger mass of wonderful stuff at Better Bargains.

Items recently purchased from Better Bargains:
— one marvelous Pucci-​esque dress that I’m totally going to wear to my sister-in-law’s wedding ($ 6.99)
— one ceramic Boston terrier featuring a sad paint job/​lazy eye ($ 1.99) as a birthday present
— one framed 3D poster (the kind you have to stare at?) entitled «Jumping Dolphins» ($ 2.99) as part 2 of birthday present (he’s from BOSTON. He likes marine MAMMALS.)
Tell me that doesn’t make up your dream treasure chest.
I kind of love Better Bargains. It’s deep thrifting – a little sketchy, lots of dust, the shower-​stall-​like fitting room in the middle of the store may or may not be filmed by cctv. But there are racks and racks of clothes, almost equally ladies’ and menz’, and lots of books and knick knacks and uh Christmas stuff and scarves and shoes. And weird house stuff like newels. I know. NEWELS.
The prices don’t seem bad, and they’re open later than your typical thrift store, so when the sudden need for Christmas tree tinsel/​white penny loafers strikes, you can let Better Bargains take care of you.