It’s Easy to Find Treasure at the Thrift Shop in White Plains
There is a gem of a shop where many treasurers can be found at the corner of Barker Avenue and North Broadway in White Plains.
Called The Thrift Shop in White Plains, the all-volunteer-run nonprofit retail outlet is a joint venture of the White Plains Woman’s Club, the Scarsdale Woman’s Club and Hitchcock Presbyterian Church of Scarsdale. The shop is said to be the longest continually running thrift store in New York State, with a development date of about 1911.
Judy Korman of the White Plains Woman’s Club explained that while they believe the shop opened a few years earlier, they can verify the shop’s existence back to 1917, when during World War 1 people were in need. The three organizations came together to help out and have been working together ever since. ‘This was before there were organized charities and social services,” Korman added.
The shop has been located at several spots in the White Plains area over the years. They began renting space at their current location at White Plains Presbyterian Church during the 1970s.
“It’s a good location,” Korman said. ‘There’s easy parking and people coming into White Plains from North Broadway often make it a stop.”
High School students on their way home have been known to partake of the designer selections and word is making its way around the nearby college campuses that you can find “high style” for a steal of a price in this little store.
“Some items move very quickly,” Korman said. “We have a steady flow of regulars who know the schedule and come in every week looking for new finds.”
What you notice first upon entering the shop is that everything on sale is of the finest quality and the prices are amazingly low. You quite literally can walk away with a designer outfit for a small fraction of the original price. All items are in perfect condition; sometimes the original price tags are still in tact. Clothing is not accepted unless everything is clean and all the buttons are in place, zippers working properly, etc.
There are fine suits for men, pants, jacket, blazers and shirts; children’s outfits for boys and girls; women’s dresses (even elegant evening wear and prom dresses), suits, skirts, pants and leisure wear; shoes for men, women and children; jewelry; accessories; toys; and all sorts of household items from colored glass to good china and cutlery. For music lovers, there’s even a collection of vintage albums to choose from.
Every month special items go on sale and it’s a bargain hunter’s heaven when you can walk out with a prize for just $2.
Each of the three groups contributing to the shop, go through the gifts and contributions made to each organization to determine what is suitable for sale. Specific guidelines determine how much an item will be sold for. A new designer suit will be marked at $8 to $20. “But, if we have a brand new suit with a price tag for $2,000, we might make an exception and mark that one a bit higher, but not by much,” Korman noted.
Each of the contributing organizations has its own color code on the sale item to help determine what revenue might go back to that group for philanthropic purposes after all expenses are paid at the shop.
In addition, to the color coded dots, there are letters on a each price tag indicating the number of months an item has been in the shop, which also indicates a price reduction as well as when an item is part of a ½-price sale. During the month of April, for example, all yellow items are ½-price. A chart on the wall let’s customers know what the different codes mean.
The shop is open year round, closing at the end of July until the third week in August, when everything is cleaned from top to bottom and then restocked for back to school shopping.
Hours are Tuesday (every week) 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the first Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. During the month of December the shop is open every Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 1p.m.
The address is 39 N. Broadway, White Plains. Free on-site and street parking is available. Call 914-949-1241 for more information.
