The Village Thrift: Philadelphia’s Best Kept Secret

For anyone who loves flea markets, antiques, estate sales, and yard sales, Village Thrift in Pennsauken, New Jersey, will seem like Valhalla. It is a vast football-field sized warehouse of cast-off treasures. What’s more, not many people appear to know about it. On any given day, it is practically untouched, filled mostly with the genuinely poor, and the occasional hipster.

Remnants of the Wealthy and the Deceased
The Village Thrift is located on the edge of Pennsauken, New Jersey, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Other nearby communities include the wealthy New Jersey towns of Cherry Hill, Marlton, and Haddonfield. For the adventurous shopper, this means valuable antiques and designer cast-offs in new or near-new condition. Recent finds include a Nicole Miller dress with the $265 tags still on it (Village Thrift Price: $7) and a 1940s Asta teapot from Germany (Village Thrift Price: $4). The Village is also a drop off spot for estates.

Continuous Stocking
A sign in the front of the store proudly proclaims “1000s of new items added daily,” and this advertisement appears to be true. Workers in white uniforms continually stock shelves with shoes, purses, linens, clothing, dishware, luggage, appliances, and anything else you may or may not need.

Prices
While vintage shops are often a bit expensive, thrift shops are known for their low prices, and Village Thrift is no exception. In order to find the best items, you may have to dig, but that is part of the fun. Your reward is a unique item at a rock-bottom price.

Color Tags
While the prices start off pretty low to begin with, there are even more bargains to be had than that. The Village has sales. All of the items in the store are marked with a colored price tag. Each day, when you walk in the door, you will find a giant display of three “half off colors.” If you find something you love, but want an even better deal, you can take your chances and wait to see if it is still there when its tag color goes on sale.

Buy One Get One Free
As if the fabulous half-off color tags were not enough, the Village Thrift has a different “buy one get one free” special each day. It may be ladies shoes, men’s pajamas, or winter coats. When your favorite category goes on “buy one get one,” it is time to break out the plastic (yes, they do accept Visa and Mastercard!).

Why the Secret?
Perhaps the reason for Village Thrift’s relative obscurity lies in its location. While it is easily visible from the highway (Intersection of Route 30 and Route 130), and is situated near a gentrified area, it is right on the edge of Camden, a city known for its high crime rate. However, since it is on a highway, and not in a residential area, there are very few questionable characters hanging around, and there are always one or two police officers on duty. But for the truly intrepid treasure hunter, a little bit of danger just makes the Village a greater adventure.