Michael Bluejay's Michael Bluejay home | Contact

Austin, TX stuff

Austin Thrift Shops

The area code for Austin is 512.

Last update: April 11, 2024

Biggest stores

Central
 Beds & Couches
 Bicycles possible
Goodwill
 		5555 N. Lamar Blvd.
 451-2306
 Huge store, huge selection, well-organized, low prices.  But dressing rooms are locked, and are sometimes a hassle to get opened.  Using Google Maps' measuring tool, I estimate it's about 20,000 sf.

usually
Texas Thrift
 5319 N. IH-35 380-0025 PROS: Lots of stuff, esp. non-clothes, well-organized. CONS: Sketchy area, narrow aisles.
rarely
North

Savers 11101 Pecan Park Blvd. (Lakeline Mall) 257-0359 19,500 square feet (I measured).  Exceptionally well-organized, and clean, but no dressing rooms is a big downside. ✓ rarely
Salvation Army* I-35 @ SH45
601 W. Louis Henna Blvd, Round Rock, TX		 246-7292 Actually in Round Rock.  Advertised as 25,000 sq.ft, but it didn't seem nearly that large.  (I think they're including the donation area.)  Closed Sundays. ✓ rarely
Salvation Army* 8801-B Research 836-2700 Big selection of large furniture.  Closed Sundays ✓ ?
Goodwill 4001 S. Lamar 637-7100


South

Salvation Army*
 4216 S. Congress 804-2665
 One of the only stores with large furniture.  Closed Sundays. ✓ small selection

Thrift Town

5726 Manchaca Rd

442-7200

Benefits the Assoc. of Retarded Citizens. Sign up for the email list and sign up for the email list and get $5- and $10-off coupons to your mailbox, and never miss the 50%-off sale days.

Goodwill Outlet
 6505 Burleson Rd
 681-3301
 This is an outlet store, so they sell everything in bulk ($1.39/lb.!), and nothing is organized, just dumped into huge bins.

*Salvation Army has been controversial, particularly in its efforts to oppose equal rights for gay people.  They're also closed Sundays, unlike pretty much all other thrift stores.

50%-off sales

This is based on years past.  There's no guarantee that they'll continue having half-off sales on the same days in future years.

  • Goodwill:  Early March, Sunday before Thanksgiving, Dec. 29-31 (until noon)
  • Texas Thrift:  Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving)

30% off senior discount

At Goodwill on Tuesdays.

Salvation Army also reportedly offers a discount to seniors of at least 15%, but there's nothing on their website about it.


The Burnet Road Strip

   Mostly smaller stores.  Many carry vintage wooden furniture.

Other Thrift Shops, South

All Other Thrift Shops

  • Goodwill. See all the Goodwill locations on their website (too many to list here)
  • Austin Pets Alive.  5102 Clarkson Ave. and 1304 E. Cesar Chavez (as well as Burnet Road and South locations listed above)
  • Hope Family Thrift Store.  Mon-Sat. 10-6.  Supports Christian disaster relief. (1122 E. 51st St., 467-4940)
  • Thrifty Chicks.  Furniture, clothes, toys, comics.  Open 7 days/wk.  (6701 N. Lamar / 467-7575)
  • Top Drawer Thrift.  Funds Project Transitions, wich helps people with HIV & AIDS.  Closed their 4902 Burnet location after 30 years on 8/26/23, moving to 5312 Airport in Sept.
  • Treasure City Thrift (run by the radical left) 2142 E. 7th St. / 524-2820
  • Value Thrift Store. (2237 E. Riverside / 442-3100)

Vintage Shops (i.e., older styles, and usu. higher quality than thrift)

I'm no longer able to keep up with the dozens of vintage shops around Austin, but thankfully Vintage Around Town Guide is now taking care of that.

Women's Brand-Name clothing

  • Designer Exchange. Great selection of prom dresses and wedding gowns.  Consignment store (minimum 8 items to open an account).  (7739 Northcross Dr., 452-0606; M-F 11-6, Sat 10-6, Sun. closed)
  • Still in Style.  Women's consignment boutique; formerly Restyle.  (7301 Burnet Rd., 407-8861)
  • Style Encore. MN-based resale shop buying and selling gently-used women's business and casual clothing.
    • North: 2929 W. Anderson Ln., 420-2226
    • South: 4211 S. Lamar Blvd., 707-8888
  • Thrift stores in the richer neighborhoods.  The thrifts in the tonier parts of town (e.g. west of Mopac) are said to have more brand-name clothing, such as the Goodwill at 701 Newman Dr.

Other stores with used stuff

  • Austin Creative Reuse.  A thrift store specifically for art supplies.  They also take donations of hard-to-recycle items like bicycle tire tubes and CDs/DVDs.  Here's a list of what they take (and sell).
  • Goodwill Computer Works. Used computers & electronics.  8965 Research Blvd., 637-7501
  • City-Wide Garage Sale. Monthly, at Palmer Events Center, $5 admission.  900 Barton Springs Road   
  • Habitat Re-Store  Used building materials, like doors and light fixtures, though much of their inventory is new, cheap Chinese imports. 560 W. Ben White Blvd. / 472-8788
  • FreeStore.  A "store" where the used clothing and household goods are free to the poor.  (Nothing is actually sold here, even to those who can afford it.)  Run by the United Methodist Church. (1717 E. 12th, 469-7970)
  • EstateSales.net.  Find estate sales near you.  There are some in Austin every week.

History

For the first ~15 years I've been publishing this page, I didn't track changes, but now I'm starting to.

  • April 2024
    • Added the 30% senior discount at Goodwill on Tuesdays.
    • Added the Goodwill at 4001 S. Lamar.
  • Feb. 2024.  Noticed that Austin Furniture Depot at 7511 Burnet no longer sells used furniture, so I'm removing them from the list.
  • Jan/Feb 2024.  Avengers Vintage at 5200 Burnet Rd. closes.
  • Circa 2022.  Savers at 5222 Burnet Rd closes.
  • 2019.  Antique Marketplace at 5806 Burnet Rd. closes.  It was 11k sf with 50+ dealers.
  • Circa 2019.  Ambrose Vin Taj at 5200 Burnet Rd. closes.  Opened circa 2015.
  • Circa 2019.  Goodwill at 7727 Burnet Rd. closes.
  • 1/27/18.  St. Michael's Academy at 5907 Burnet Rd. closes.
  • Circa 2016.  Gypsies Antiques at 5202 Burnet Rd. closes.  First Yelp review was 2006.
  • 12/15/18.  Savers at 4001 S. Lamar closes.


 Links in green go to a new site!
 Austin Basics
 Culture
  Authority
  Media
  Save the Earth



I'll cry if you don't link to me.

MichaelBluejay.com