Thrift shops are great places to pick up quality clothing at great prices. Since they seek to make money on a smaller margin you won’t see a lot of flashy advertising alerting you to their whereabouts. So where you can find the best thrift shops in Central, PA? Read on to find out.
As a self proclaimed bargain hunter extraordinaire, I have been thrift shopping for almost 10 years now, and more fervently with the recent economic downturn. In Central PA there are a number of great thrift shops that I have scored some great items from for next to nothing. My favorite is the Goodwill Clearance Outlet on Route 30 in Lancaster. Located next to a regular Goodwill Store, the Clearance Outlet offers all the clothes that area Goodwills were unable to sell. The clothes are only .75 a piece! The trick is to dig through the almost 40 bins to seek out your treasures. There are dressing rooms available if you decide to try on your finds, and if not, you will only have wasted .75 a piece if they don’t fit! If you go, I recommend dressing lightly as it gets warm digging through bins, and to allow yourself more than an hour to get through all the bins. Yes, it is a bit of work, but I have found Tommy Hilfiger jeans, Ann Taylor sweater and Converse Chucks at this awesome thrift shop.
Next on my list of must visit thrift shops in Central PA, is the Salvation Army in Lebanon. Wednesday is the day to visit the store as it is family day at all the area Salvation Army stores, which means all clothes ( expect the newest ) are 50% off. Overall I like almost all the Salvation Army stores, but have has the most success at the Lebanon location. Salvation Army stores organize their clothing by type and color. So if you are positive you need a bright blue tank top, you can walk right in and go to the blue tank top section and see what they have. This store has a number of dressing rooms, but on Wednesdays there are often short waits to get in. The selection includes mens, womens and children’s clothing and shoes, in addition to housewares. On average I would spend $10 each Wednesday and leave with 2-4 brand name items.
Number 3 on my list of the top thrift stores in Central PA, is the Jubilee Store in Lebanon. This store is operated similarly to the Salvation Army in that it is a non-profit run by a ministry. The Lebanon Jubilee location has the best selection, especially in furniture, but there are other locations. There are four stores total, with others in Myerstown, Palmyra and Manheim. Jubilee offers a good selection of clothing, with comfortable dressing rooms to help you make your decisions. Upstairs in the Lebanon location, you will find a large array of furniture and then the fabulous Bargain Room. The bargain room has a lot of cheap toys and household goods. If you are looking for a cute vase for flowers, you can pick up a large variety here under a dollar. The clothing upstairs are the items that could not be sold downstairs and have been reduced for quick sale. My shopping excursion at Jubilee have gotten me a great pair of black peep toe shoes and a sofa and love seat for under $20!
Last but not least on the tour of thrifty shopping, is the Blue Mountain Thrift Store in Annville. The most recent addition to the thrift shopping scene, this spacious store has a ton of furniture and toys in addition to clothing for all shapes and sizes. Much like the Salvation Army, Blue Mountain has made Mondays a discount day where all clothing is 50% off. This store, like any, is subject to donations for their clothing, but I can still find brand names here consistently. And if you are a vintage clothing lover, you will be in heaven with their retro rack.
Clothing can be expensive and styles change so fast that it can often be a waste of money to constantly be buying clothes. By shopping at thrift stores you can feel like a millionaire and buy til your hearts content, all for less money then you would likely spend on one name brand article of clothing at your local mall department store. If you are in the Central PA area, be sure to check out the Goodwills, Salvation Army, Jubilee and Blue Mountain thrift stores for fashionable finds for less!
Sources:
http://www.satruck.org/
http://www.jub.org/
http://locator.goodwill.org/
