Touring local thrift shops
PHOTO: Bohème is a local thrift shop located on 3rd Street.
By Sean Campbell,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–
Thrift stores are becoming increasingly more popular due to their pricing and reduced impact on the environment.
However, the exploding resale market has caused thrift stores to have less desirable pieces for some and to increase the prices without a jump in quality.
Davis’ environmentally conscious mindset has led to the opening of various thrift stores.
Goodwill Bins- 6648 Franklin Blvd Sacramento, California
Organization 1/5
Price 5/5
Selection 2/5
Cleanliness 1/5
Goodwill Outlets are a way for Goodwill to get rid of the clothing that didn’t sell on their racks at an even smaller fraction of the cost.
Prices at the bins are $1.59 per pound of clothing or about 125 shirts for every $100. This has caused resellers to frequent this location.
When I was there on Sept. 17 a group of resellers stalked where a new bin of clothing would go and pounced as soon as an employee brought in the cart trying to find anything worth anything.
Many families and elderly Sacramento residents searching for clothes looked disgusted with the behavior. These resellers had carts jam-packed with clothing and were making it difficult for other people to find anything desirable.
However, if you are lucky enough to find something of value, it is always for a steal. Junior Jadon Finkelor frequents the bins and says it is his favorite thrift store in the area for the price.
“I gotta get new drip sometimes, and the stuff there is very cheap,” Finkelor said. His favorite find from the bins was a pair of Dickies skate shorts that he found with his friends.
Due to the chaotic nature of a store like the bins it’s organization and cleanliness are not it’s strong suits.
Most pieces at the bins are items that you would expect to not sell at a normal store, but sometimes you can find a gem that slipped through the cracks.
It really is the one trick pony of thrift stores, you go there for the price and if you happen to find something good you make sure to wash it a couple of times before wearing it.
Overall- 4.5/10
Tree House Vintage- 423 2nd Street Davis California
Organization 4/5
Cleanliness 5/5
Price 1/5
Selection 5/5
Tree House Vintage takes the vibe of a classic and cool thrift store and combines it with the higher prices and selection of the resell market.
Prices are typically between $30-40 for an item but the selection includes many name brands including Abercrombie & Fitch and Rhone.
Unlike stores like the Goodwill Outlet, Tree House Vintage has a changing room where you can try on the clothes before you buy them.
The organization was all around very enjoyable, however some mixing between clothing sizes could confuse some buyers.
The employees treated Tree House Vintage more as a retail store compared to a thrift shop as they were very friendly and asked things like, “how are you finding everything?” Which is typically reserved for large retail outlets.
The cleanliness also reminded me more so of a retail store than a thrift shop as most items had no stains and the quality of the pieces was very consistently high throughout the store.
Stores like tree house vintage are good for certain things but don’t really encapsulate what a thrift store should be, a place where anyone can go to find cool pieces for a cheap price.
Overall 7.5/10
Bohème- 409 3rd Street Davis
Organization- 5/5
Cleanliness- 4/5
Price- 4/5
Selection- 5/5
Bohème is a unique thrift store due to its variety and vibe. You could walk into Bohème one day and see an umbrella hat on a cut up manekin, then the next a full rack of cultural skirts, and the next costume-style glasses on an elegant black dress.
This is also the first store on the list to include an accessory and shoe rack. This is important in order to give everyone access to affordable accessories and footwear for parties, dances, or even halloween.
Organization is another strong suit of Bohème as you can find entire racks of niche items like men’s flannels, floral dresses, and more.
Prices at Bohème ranged from $8-16 for a piece depending on its quality and usage. I found pieces from name brands like Bannana Republic and Levi’s. Bohème also imports some of their own clothes from outside the US to support its “hip” intentions.
However, Bohème’s massive scale exposed a common problem for most of the thrift stores that I went to, size and gender selection. As a men’s size small if I was to shop at many of these stores, outside of Goodwill, it would be very difficult to find anything desirable.
Typically at thrift stores, the female section is much larger due to more females going into thrift stores on average. This limits the amount of mens clothing in general but according to Rush Order Tees, a company focused on tee-shirt manufacturing and distribution most men are between sizes medium and extra-large.
This makes it even more difficult for anyone either below a size medium or above an extra-large to find clothing at thrift stores. This problem is also clear in the womens section, however, those sections are larger overall leading to more potential for clothes in other sizes.
Overall Bohème was a very clean, organized, diverse, and well priced thrift store. It was probably the most well-rounded thrift store that I went to.
Overall 9/10
Goodwill- 1640 East 8th Street Davis
Organization 4/5
Cleanliness 4/5
Selection 5/5
Price 5/5
Davis’ Goodwill, located near Dollar Tree, is a hub for local donations.
As opposed to some of the other stores like Tree House Vintage, Goodwill’s target audience is people who can’t afford clothing and homeware items. Without stores like Goodwill the people who really need affordable clothing would be left without anywhere to go.
The variety at the store is second to none with a costume section the size of some entire stores.
However, the men’s clothing is very small compared to the womens but the variation within the sections leads to there being something for everyone.
Goodwill also offers slightly imperfect new underwear and socks for a cheaper price in order to give everyone access to these essentials.
The pricing at Goodwill was around $6-12 for an average piece and the pieces were well washed for the most part.
Goodwill also includes a “homeware” section as well as a large shoe and accessory area. It is probably the most diverse store on the list and has solid pricing without the hassle of a store like the bins.
The size selection at Goodwill was also the best out of the stores, even including children and plus size clothing.
While Goodwill doesn’t have the same family owned thrift shop vibe as some of the others I went to, sometimes a chain does have its benefits which is shown through the excellent selection and organization at the store.
Overall 9/10
SPCA- 920 3rd St STE F, Davis, CA 95616
Organization 3/5
Cleanliness 4/5
Selection 3/5
Price 5/5
SPCA is a small store off of 3rd street on the outskirts of Davis. There is an outside display that showcases an assortment of random items such as backpacks, suitcases and couches.
When you go inside you see three main sections, a section of clothes clustered on five racks, a section filled with “home goods” and a school section that includes everything from binders to college textbooks.
SPCA prices their clothing at an affordable cost. You can find any piece in the store for below five dollars, making it the cheapest store outside of the Goodwill Bins.
The store is relatively well organized including a very large shoe rack and even some kid sized shoes. However, once again the men’s section is significantly smaller than the female.
What really stood out to me about SPCA compared to the other stores was that it offered children’s books, and school supplies. These materials are crucial for young children in order to succeed at school which sometimes can be an unfair place based on income levels.
SPCA was relatively clean and the selection was pretty wide considering the scope it just wasn’t as focused on clothing as the other stores which made it more difficult to find desirable pieces.
All in all, while SPCA wasn’t the best at anything, but it really encapsulated what a thrift shop should be and its large kid section can really help lower income parents to support their children at school.
Overall 7.5/10
