Thrift stores are great. They’re an affordable option for buying clothes, and they provide jobs and training for employees who may have a hard time finding jobs elsewhere. But not all thrift stores are created equal, unfortunately.
We sifted through bins of items caked in mysterious goo, combed through countless racks of clothes and even drove to the characterless suburbs of St. Charles County to find the best chain thrift stores in the St. Louis-area.
This list does not include antique shops and local institutions such as Found Vintage, Avalon Exchange and Found by the Pound. They’re clearly in a whole different (and better) league.
We wanted to sift through all the standard thrift stores — the Goodwills, the Savers, the St. Vincent de Pauls — so you could thrift efficiently. Here's our assessment, from worst to first.