Y’all know I love going to vintage flea markets. But there’s not a flea market every weekend so in between sales I head for thrift stores. A few years ago my daughter and I spent a rainy day thrifting at our 5 favorite Berkeley thrift stores. (At the time we lived in the Bay Area so this was just a short trip for us.)
5 Favorite Berkeley Thrift Stores
Where is the best place to thrift in Berkeley? It depends on what you’re looking for.
Here are our five favorite thrift stores to shop in Berkeley, California. Many are run by a non-profit organization:
Urban Ore
Urban Ore’s motto is “To End the Age of Waste”. This is a fun store! You never know what you’ll find. It’s HUGE but it’s very organized. They’re open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 to 7:00, and Sunday from 10:00 to 7:00. There’s also a lot of variety and great prices! Much more than just building materials, they also have furniture, cabinets, housewares, clothing, sports equipment, books, art, electronics, tools, hardware, lighting, household items, and more, including some pretty unique and eclectic stuff. Pure “Berkeley”!
This is where I found the spice rack that I’d been searching for for so long, and it was a bargain at only $2.00! You’ll see that makeover in a few weeks. Until then, you can take a look at THIS SPICE RACK that I turned into storage for nail polish.
I took so many photos that I wrote a separate article JUST on Urban Ore. You can see that one HERE.
Urban Ore, 900 Murray St., Berkeley CA, 510-841-7283 (Which, BTW, spells “save”.)
Out of the Closet Thrift Store
This is a small store, mostly second-hand clothes. Parking is on the street. A few years ago I found a gray cardigan here that I wore at least once a week for 2 years. And it was only $2… what a steal! Prices are reasonable but sales are GREAT. We found a couple of $1 shirts on this trip.
I believe this chain of thrift shops is run by volunteers for the Aids Healthcare Foundation. They also offer free HIV testing, host an AHF Pharmacy in-store, and (at least the day we were there) had a basket of free condoms by the cashier.
This is the best thrift store to buy used clothes. They have a great inventory including many unique pieces of jewelry, accessories, jackets, tees, fabrics, and artwork. We also saw a lot of vintage clothing here!
Out of the Closet Thrift Stores, 1600 University Ave, Berkeley, California
Goodwill #1
This was the smallest of the Goodwill stores we went to on this trip. Conveniently right down the street from Out of the Closet.
Goodwill, 2058 University, Berkeley
Goodwill #2
OK, so the next two are not technically IN Berkeley but they’re really close and we went to them all on the same day. This Goodwill thrift shop was a medium size and we found mostly clothes, including a pair of Lucky Brand jeans.
Goodwill, 6624 San Pablo, Oakland
Goodwill #3
I think we found the most at this thrift store. Including an old copper tea/coffee set with a tray, pitcher, and mugs!
Goodwill, 505 San Pablo, Albany
Berkeley Thrift Haul Video
And, if you’re a patient person, you can see everything we bought in this thrift store haul video that I posted to Facebook. It’s a rough beginning. Took me a while to figure out that Jo should just hold my clothes up for me while I was holding the camera!
More Shopping, Thrift Hauls, and Thrifting Tips
We also stopped by the Antique Centre in Oakland (6519 Telegraph Ave) on this trip. But they were closed. Too bad. We find lots of hidden gems there!
Berkeley Humane has a thrift shop to provide for shelter animals. 1120 Solano Ave, Albany, California.
And, if you’re already in the area, don’t miss the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse! It’s technically in Oakland, but not too far. 4695 Telegraph Ave, Oakland
If you’re looking for unique vintage clothes, try :
- Buffalo Exchange, 2528 Telegraph Ave – (UPDATE: Unfortunately, I just heard that this has been permanently closed. Please tell me if you know otherwise!)
- Paisley Vintage is another popular vintage clothing store. I haven’t been there but I’ve heard good things about it. —
- 2nd Street – Telegraph, 2543 Telegraph Ave — Secondhand clothing.
- Grove Street Kids — Mostly children’s clothes but they have expanded to consigning women’s clothing.
Many of these stores also sell on Postmark, Mercari, and other online platforms so check their websites if you want to shop but can’t make it to Berkeley.
More Thrifting Articles & Lists
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like these:
- Best Thrift Stores in Palm Springs, California
- Best Thrift Stores in Roseville, California
- My First Thrift Store Haul
- Another Thrift Store Haul Video
- 25 Things You Should ALWAYS Buy at a Thrift Store
- 10 Things You Should NEVER Buy at Thrift Stores
Thanks for reading! As you can tell, I love thrifting in Berkeley! Overall, I find that the stores are much more curated than in other areas.
What are your favorite Berkeley thrift stores?
‘Til the next market,
Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim
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Originally published on Jan 5, 2018.
[…] a few weeks ago I shared photos from our thrifting trip to Berkeley and told you I had LOTS more pictures from Urban Ore. Today I decided to share them all with […]