2015-06-16T18:48:33-04:00

The Benefit Shop in Bedford Hills – One-Stop Shopping For Decor Plus Sales in NYC This Weekend!

June 16, 2015August 8, 2019/ToniOnThrifting.com/Leave a comment

The Benefit Shop in Bedford, New York that has over 5,000 square feet of furniture, home décor, household goods, china, crystal, art and so much more. You can practically furnish a home with all this shop has to offer and I am sure that interior designers are frequent customers. The prices are more than reasonable for the quality of the merchandise you are purchasing. The Benefit Shop opened in 2011 and is the brainchild of Pam Stone, the owner. She collects merchandise from estate sales and stocks the Benefit Shop with them. The most amazing part of the Benefit Shop is that it donates the proceeds right back into the community to local organizations. Donations have gone to Northern Westchester Hospital, Mount Kisco Boys and Girls Club, Northern Westchester Interfaith Food Pantry, Center For Children’s Advocacy in Stamford, CT and so many others – far too numerous to list.

I don’t think that the pictures do the Benefit Shop much justice – it is a goldmine. The shop has a wide variety of decor for all different tastes and I can’t imagine anyone leaving without a treasure. This is a DEFINITE do not miss!!

WAIT, it just keeps getting better.

The Benefit Shop Foundation Inc. holds monthly auctions for art, antiques, jewelry and more. They have an 8,000 square foot gallery (yes, 8,000 square feet) in Mount Kisco where items can be viewed before auction. You can also view the catalogs online at www.thebenefitshop.org. There is also absentee and online bidding available at www.LiveAuctioneers.com and www.invaluable.com . Of course, you can go to the auctions in person. The next auction date is in July – check the website for updates. I viewed the catalog for June and I must say it contained some spectacular items including Hermes dinnerware (who would be able eat dinner off an Hermes plate 🙂 not me)

The website states that they offer competitive consignment rates; I believe it to be 80% of the sale price.

I commend Ms. Stone for what she has done and what she is doing with the Benefit Shop. How she is helping local organizations, setting up the “auction house” and all in the name of charity.

The Benefit Shop
Thrift Store & Donation Center
720 N. Bedford Rd, Bedford Hills, NY 10507
914.864.1919
Store Hours
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday – 12:00 – 5:00 pm

The Benefit Shop Foundation
Auction Gallery & Consignment Center
27 Radio Circle
Mt. Kisco, NY 10549
914.864.0707

The Summer Bazaar is an indoor Hampton’s style tent sale featuring fantastic prices on all our products. Special for this event are home accessories, summer hats, totes, beach tops and other surprise items just in time for summer fun. (From the Society Boutique website.)

The Society Boutique – MSK Thrift Shop
1440 Third Avenue between 81st and 82nd
New York, New York

Store Hours
Monday – Saturday, 10:30 a.m – 6:00 p.m, Sunday, 11:30 a.m – 5:00 p.m.

Cauz For Pawz
Customer Appreciation Sale
20% off Men’s Wear – June 19 – June 21

GOODWILL – All stores 25% off men’s items!!

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads!

Until next time, HAPPY SHOPPING!

Two Blocks On The Upper East Side Equals Three Great Shops (Sadly, all closed)

May 26, 2015August 22, 2024/ToniOnThrifting.com/Leave a comment

There are two blocks on the Upper East Side of Manhattan that have three of the most popular thrift shops in that area. “Thrifter’s Row” is one of the most popular names that it goes by. The (Memorial Sloan Kettering) Society Boutique, the Cancer Care Thrift Shop and the Arthritis Thrift Shop are all within three blocks. You would be hard pressed not to find a bargain in one of the three. Even though I find these to be “high end” thrift shops, they do have sales and good ones at that. And if you are into designer duds J, these are the shops that you want to visit. 🙂

Proceeds from the Cancer Care Thrift Shop helps offer free (and extensive) professional services for people with cancer and their loved ones.

What I like most about this store is that they go by the color coded sale system so ultimately there is always a sale. This store definitely has more stock than the others but not too much space to move around in to shop. There are designer treasures buried among the racks, it just takes patience to find them. The shoe section is a definite must look for designer shoe lovers and the jewelry section tends to have some unusual pieces. The women’s section is much more extensive than the men’s. This is definitely worth looking a visit.

Cancer Care Thrift Shop
1480 Third Ave. (between 83rd and 84^th St.)
New York, NY 10028
212.879.9868
Wed. & Thur. 11am-7pm
Friday 11am-6pm
Saturday 11am-4:30pm
Sunday 12:30pm-5pm

Proceeds from the Arthritis Thrift Shop help make a difference in the lives of adults and children living with arthritis. They fund research to find a cure for arthritis, advocate for better access to care and connect families to the treatments and support that they need.

Racks and racks and every single one is worth going through. There are lots of treasures to be found.

The women’s clothes range from very casual to exceptionally dressy. The sales are exceptional; the day I was there it was 50% off jewelry, handbags and shoes. The shelves were getting thin by the time I arrived late afternoon. It can get a little crowded but this is where patience pays off. The shelves high above carry art work and I always enjoy checking it out. I would say this thrift shop is definitely worth a visit.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the windows and ask about special previews and sales!

Arthritis Thrift Shop
1430 Third Ave. (between 81^st and 82^nd St.)
New York, NY 10028
212.772.8816
Mon.-Sat. 10am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm

The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK), founded in 1946, is a volunteer-led organization within MSK dedicated to promoting the well-being of patients, supporting cancer research, and providing public education on the early prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer.

The Society Boutique (formerly Memorial Sloan Kettering Thrift Shop) is the most expensive of the three. They carry more designer items than not and this is where you may find the piece you always wanted or even the one you didn’t know J you wanted. They are currently renovating the back room so they are not fully stocked at the moment. The have fine china, crystal and some houseware (a bit overpriced in my opinion). The book selection offers some coffee table books but be prepared to pay but it is still better than full price. They also carry some evening wear. The store is spacious so you can browse leisurely.

This shop has a very loyal following but please don’t listen to the naysayers who think it is a shop for the older crowd, there is something here for both young and not so 🙂 young.

Great window displays, check them out.

PSA: Their Summer Bazaar takes place from Wednesday, June 17 – Saturday, June 20.

The Society Boutique (formerly Memorial Sloan Kettering Thrift Shop)
1440 Third Ave. (between 81^st and 82^nd St.)
New York, NY 10028
212.327.2957
Mon.-Sat. 10:30am-6pm
Sunday 11:30am-5pm

A thrift shop is only as good as the donations it receives. Now that summer is coming and you may be cleaning out that closet again – please, please bag up the clothes that you no longer use and donate them to charity. Donate to your favorite charity or any charity. Goodwill, Salvation Army, any local thrift store by you — just donate – thousands of people are being helped in New York every day by the money thrift shops raise throughout the area. They help so many people with a wide variety of needs. Hopefully as I tell you about each charity, you will understand how your shopping dollars help those in need. Pay it forward.

Until next time, HAPPY SHOPPING!!

Great Thrift And Consignment Shops In Greenwich, CT

May 14, 2015August 8, 2019/ToniOnThrifting.com/1 Comment

Sy Syms said “An educated consumer is our best customer”. Very true words. When I go thrifting, I always try to check websites beforehand to see if they have sales posted. If not, as soon as I walk in, I ask what the sales are for the day and in my favorite shops, what day and time they restock. Some have seasonal sales and even clearance racks. And the never go wrong “fill a bag” sales which are starting to gain popularity. Also, if you find an item that you think is excessively priced, no harm is asking the manager if they would lower the price.

I must start with this fantastic thrift shop in Greenwich. It is the Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Store and also a favorite of mine.

The first thing that you should do when you walk in is take a flyer; they are always, always having sales. The flyer shown is typical of the sales they have.

Everything about this store is fantastic – but be prepared to pay extra for this and of course the location. I think this shop in particular has some of the highest prices I have seen in CT — BUT the clothes are always in pristine condition as are most of the items in this shop so there is somewhat of a tradeoff. They do not have a excessive inventory of clothes but what they do have is high quality. And they are ALWAYS having sales so you may luck out. Any item of clothing that I have bought has never been a disappointment.

They have a great household section and I have seen some impressive items up for sale. I just happen to fall in love with these hurricane lamps mainly because the glass was thin and delicate and I had the perfect spot for them. Imagine my surprise to find out when picking up the bottom that they were Waterford. The two cost me $40 but like I said I did fall in love with them and I felt that they were worth the price. I am sure they cost triple what I paid.

The book section is impressive and one of the best I have seen and most days, hardcovers are $2.00 and paperbacks are $1.00 but every single time I have been there the books are half off. The book section is well organized with a phenomenal selection or at least it has been whenever I was there. There are some recent releases. They also carry vinyl records and audio books.

The linen/decor section is nice as well. I have seen some lovely draperies, pillows,comforters in there and the quality is almost always outstanding.

Now for their furniture – good selection but again, like most furniture in thrift shops, it disappears rather quickly and especially here. I have seen some outstanding antiques there. I have also seen dining room tables, chairs, hutches, buffets, you name it and I do not think the prices were unreasonable considering the condition these pieces were in and it is always high quality.

Lastly, the most expensive accessories, designer shoes and handbags and housewares are kept behind the counter and worth a look, I have seen some pretty incredible things back there (not just anything I am willing to sell a kidney for 🙂 just yet.)

Greenwich Auxiliary Thrift Shop
190 Hamilton Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
203.863.3933
Parking is available on premises
Mon-Fri: 9am-4:30pm
Sat: 9am-3pm

There are a couple more thrift stores in Greenwich that are nice but you should check out the Rummage Room.

The Rummage Room started as an annual rummage sale in 1964 at the First Congregational Church of Greenwich. The event was so successful it was transformed into a business. The Woman’s Fellowship of the First Congregational Church operates the Rummage Room to help numerous local, national and international charities. This includes Food Bank, Kids In Crisis, Boys and Girls Club, Visiting Nurse, Family Re-Entry, YWCA Domestic Abuse, Liberation Meridian, Bowery Women’s Shelter and so many, many more.

I found the Rummage Room to be delightful and fun to browse around. The prices are in tune for the area and the merchandise is plentiful and they have sales very often. The staff is extraordinary and I get the feeling there may be wiggle room on large items.

The ladies clothes range from average to designer and there is decent men’s section and lots of kids clothes. PLUS 🙂 they have fill a bag sales twice a year!!!

I like the way it is set up as well. There is some vintage is around and it is just generally a fun place to browse and you will always find something there. Plus they have previously won awards for their window displays which are always lovely.

The Rummage Room
191 Sound Beach Avenue
Old Greenwich, CT 06870
203.637.1620
Mon-Fri: 10am-5pm
Sat: 10am-1pm
**JULY – check for summer hours
**August – closed to clean, paint and restock

If you are looking for high end,fancy shmancy, uber elegant 🙂 designer duds — there is a consignment shop in Greenwich called Second Time Around.

It’s a chain of upscale consignment shops that buys lightly used clothing from shoppers and then sells it at 30 to 40 percent off the original retail value. They have 41 locations in 12 states now, including stores in New York, Washington, D.C., and New Hampshire and of course, Greenwich.

Second Time Around
6 Greenwich Ave
Greenwich, CT
203-422-2808
Monday – Friday: 10am – 6pm
Saturday: 10am – 6pm
Sunday: 12pm – 5pm

Until next time, HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

ToniOnThrifting