Best Thrift stores in Canada

Owner is rude and pretentious. Went in to browse and the owner followed us around staring, clearly had a problem. Eventually rudely asked us to leave, when I asked what the problem was he said we shouldn’t be touching things in the store and belittled us saying “didn’t your parents teach you not to touch” and “you’re not 5 anymore”. You run a consignment store full of interesting items and have NO indication that they can’t be picked up… tried to respectfully explain that and the belittling continued until we left. If he politely asked us not to touch items I would have completely respected that, but instead he said nothing and then created an aggressive situation.

literally my favorite thrift store
I come here all the time on weekends!

Rude and unwelcoming
I was at the Pelican Restaurant and noticed this store. My friend and I went in because my friend remembered this store from many years ago. It certainly was packed with an eclectic collection. My friend expressed an interest in some sterling silver jewellery and asked to see the pieces. The clerk pulled the tray out and my friend looked at one pair earrings. While my friend was looking at the pair of earrings she expressed her surprise to me that they were so costly. She wanted to look at another pair but did not have the chance. While I was explaining to her just how much the price of silver had risen the clerk just scowled, snatched the tray off the counter, put it back in the glass case and after securing it walked away. We will not be back and will not recommend this store to any of our friends.

Following a lovely lunch, my girlfriend and I went in to browse. I don't have pierced ears and always look for clip earrings. Was looking at the display and noticed some clip earrings. We asked the salesperson (male) who I assumed is thr owner to look at them. I was interested in silver earrings. Upon looking at a pair, I asked the price and it was I believe $45.00. I thought it was expensive and wanted to look at others. He grabbed the earrings from me and told me that I knew nothing about sterling silver and price. He placed the earrings in the display and locked it. At that point, my girlfriend and I walked out. He was very rude and unprofessional. His dog was better behaved than him! My girlfriend and I will never go back to that establishment! Shame on him for treating customers this way!

After walking through the entire store, one item caught my eye, it just so happened to be $2.99. When I went to the cash register, I was told that I can only pay with cash for a purchase below $5 and if there was something else I wanted to buy. I said no, and that I only had a loonie or debit. I was told again that it was store policy and ended up leaving without being able to make any purchases.

The prices are high for it being second-hand and donated items. I had to put back a lot of items that i was interested in due to their price tag. Unfortunately, there is no military discount. Not likely to return.

I wanted to share a cautionary tale about the Salvation Army location on Merivale Rd. A friend and I visited the store today and noticed, in one of the locked glass cases, a sign displaying a few pictures of a watch, its brand and a price of $3,500. Given the nature of a thrift store, this price seemed believable, so we took a closer look. The watch appeared authentic, and since there was no box, my friend negotiated the price down to $1,500.
After leaving, my friend had the watch's authenticity verified, only to discover it was a fake. Concerned, he returned to the Salvation Army. The sign for the watch was still displayed, which raised questions about whether it was a scam or a mistake in their advertising.
When he spoke to two different employees about the situation, he was met with rudeness; one even rolled her eyes. The district manager was similarly unhelpful and dismissive. Thankfully she called the police to deal with the “irate” customer and they were able to assist my friend in getting his money back.
While I don’t usually share videos, I felt it was important to highlight one employee who did take the time to listen. He stood up for what was right, advocating for my friend despite the potential risk to his job.
I hope anyone who shops there regularly continues to see this gentleman and commends him for his integrity. It’s important to recognize those who do the right thing, especially in difficult situations.

Wonderful people, always willing to give a helping hand 💚

Buyers Beware! This store will put items on the floor that are not yet for sale. They will refuse to sell it to you if you bring it to the cash, even if you’re willing to wait for pricing and willing to pay what ever price. Awful system. Paying customers leaving empty handed. It makes zero sense. Manager needs to allow pricing to be done on the floor at all times if an item is already out.

I cannot believe there are any bad reviews of this store....maybe people are mixing it up with another store? This store is well stocked with lovely items that are very fairly priced. The Owners are always pleasant and helpful and the little dog is a delight. There are no clothes, only household items. Lovely treasures!

I love this store and the bargains we find. Big thanks to Colton with the furniture! He was very helpful and careful.

Amazing place, amazing staff, I always find the most perfect thing at unbeatable prices whenever I go including a gorgeous Abercrombie and Fitch dress for 8$. Same dress at value village would have costed 45$. I even wore it to a professional photoshoot! Thanks thrive :)

I was impressed with the selection of books. I not only found the book I was looking for, by a author that is no longer alive. It was mint condition and signed 👍

No fitting rooms AND they only give you 24 hours to return. Basically forcing you to gamble away your money.

Thank you very much Graham and your co-driver for picking up our furniture today.

It's an okay second-hand store. Lovely employees. The prices are... not really what I expected for a second-hand store. They should be a bit lower since it's all donated.. I know the store can't control this but the customers are so uninviting. As a first-time customer myself, I felt judged and uncomfortable. Mostly by older people ironic, right?

I stopped in spontaneously and so happy I did!! The prices were great and the atmosphere was even better. The owners/staff are lovely ☺️

I loveee a thrift store, so I had to stop in. It was pretty organized, and the store was laid out nicely.

Liked that the shirts were colored coded on the racks - so if I want a pink shirt, I can find them all together.

They had some neat high heels in there, which I totally loved, but I don't have anywhere to wear them at this time as they are super fancy. They were also $14.95 or something ridiculous. Yo. Someone's bare feet have been in them. Come on now.

So the prices were...meh. Call me frugal, but I don't think any shirt or dress at a thrift store should be $9.99 or over. Like someone else's body has been in it... and I can buy a shirt at GT for $10 if I wanted to. In my humble opinion thrift stores should be selling clothes for cheaper than what you would pay for brand new shiz. GT or not.

Smelled like vanilla in the store, which was inviting. I went home and baked a cake (no I didn't lol).

Would I go back? No, They have no fitting rooms, which is a major disincentive. And they don't take returns, only exchanges for credit within 1 day.

Natalie is awesome so much help and so much fun here. Love what you guys are doing , great job Hope.thank you :)

Cute little thrift store! A smaller selection than the larger chains stores, but the smaller store makes for a nicer shopping experience. In addition, you have the option to try things on which is nice! Good selection of clothing too, with a variety of brands. Was able to snag 2 cotton pieces of clothing which was a great score!
I'd recommend the store consider accessibility regarding the space between racks. I love that you have a curve section and hopefully the selection will grow.
Friendly staff overall and would go back there for sure!

I love love the customer care..the cashier is very welcoming God bless her ❤️

Would give Sally-Anne a zero, out of 5 - if I could - but Google only allows a minimum rating of 1 out of 5. This organization IMO has a long and often very undistinguished history of “unhelping” the communities in which they operate. Go to St. Vincent de Paul!, or any of the other truly charitable ministries. —Reply here, for more deets… A whole essay on S.A. could be provided. -Too long for a short Google review….

Love shopping at this location best employees ever and good selection of kitchen items, they could do better on clothes but overall I love this store 👌

I found some great outfits for work at a wildly good price. One of the items I wanted to buy had a slight stain; when I let the cashier know, they gave me 50 percent off. I will definitely be back!

Items for auction are behind the cash and you’re not allowed back there to look at them in case you “damage” them. How can I inspect them if I want to place a bid? I won’t bother going back, especially after reading the last review about a fake ring.

Sells counterfeit goods for auction, which is illegal. Store management was hostile and mean, the employees were nice, felt sorry for them to be working under such management.

This store is amazing.the staff is always kind and ready to help.Also the prices are great always priced to help anyone in the community. Also the store is decorated so beautiful. Ty Angela for all your hard work.

Great thrift store for clothes. Staff has always been great when I’ve visited. Sign up for text messages for sales like “fill a bag for $30”. It’s Pretty great. Not to mention it’s for Big brothers big sisters.

Store is pretty dingy and prices are okay for a thrift store. They have a serious smell issue, the smell in the store was revolting. It reeked of urine and cigarettes, we had to leave the store after 5 mins because we couldn’t stand the smell. I couldn’t imagine buying clothes from here

One of the nicest thrift stores I've been in. Very well-organized and attractive. I picked up a Jackye Mills embroidered vest for $5.00 (worth far more than that) and, on our way out, we were encouraged to take a free bag of day-old cheese buns by the lovely lady manning the store. I will be back.

Great prices for those looking to start a wardrobe. Brands are more day to day and are best suited for those looking to add specific pieces to their wardrobes within a budget. Items in good shape, and store is clean. Each time I go in I find different brands including Columbia, under armour, Lululemon, Nike and more. This store is fairly new so the higher brands are harder to find however if you search you may find treasure somewhere in the store. Most weeks include a sale which prices items under $10 with some days pricing things under $5. Donations are always welcomed here so if you are looking for somewhere to drop off you can at this store.

Nice selection of used clothing in good shape (that was all I was interested in looking at, but they do have other houseware items, books, etc). However, everything is organized by color. This makes for an appealing looking rack but very hard to hone in on items of a particular size range. They have no changing room to try on items, don't take returns, and exchanges for credit must be made within 1 day. I can usually tell what type will fit me by looking at them and the prices are good, but wouldn't risk buying pants for myself when I can't try them on.

I had bought a wicker chair a week ago at this establishment, giving them my payment as well as my cell number. I told them I would need a week to get the right vehicle to pick up my wicker chair when I return to the store I was told by the owner they had broken my chair, he had put his foot through and they tried to get a hold of me but said they couldn’t contact me. I find it hard to believe with him writing down all the information he could not contact me. I asked to see the wicker chair. He said he had thrown it out , now how can a store owner throw a throw out a product that has been purchased before the person can decide if they want it or to get their money back. The store owner was very hurried to refund my money and pretended like nothing happened. I can assure you I won’t be going back to this establishment.

I visited the store for the first time. Happened to be in the area with my friend who had shopped there before. The store wasn’t busy. We enjoyed browsing and looking at many items. Eventually, I found a small creamer and carried it in my hand while still looking around. All of a sudden, the shop owner approached me, took the creamer from my hand and put it back on the shelf. When asked why, he angrily responded that it had taken me 20 minutes to stare at an item that’s only $4. Trying to have a discussion didn’t take me anywhere as he opened the door and yelled “get out”. That was a shock! I am 65 years old and I have never experienced anything like that before.

I had a nasty experience at the store
I went in and looked round but did not find what i went for I however saw some stuff that decided to buy i found many items with no price tag but i decided to pick a knife still in the box but there was no price tag on it
I went to the cashier and after looking through said there is no tag i said yes pls put tag and let me pay the guy with angry tone said no he wont sell because price was removed
I was shocked by his reaction and have to defend myself that the item was found without the tag. The guy said well thats what people do all the time that he has worked in the store for years I felt so embarrassed by this behaviour
There are many items with no price tag hence customers beware before facing such emotional embarrassment

Salvation Army Thrift is one of my favourite places! It’s not just the awesome theme wall or the great prices or the amazing organization, it’s the PEOPLE! I consider everyone working there a friend. It’s a community. Kudos to the staff!

Everytime I've gone into this location the staff greet me, they know where items can be found, happily give feedback on clothing items, absolutely adore my little grandsons when I bring them in. Almost feels like it's a bonus in this day of everything being forced self service. Can always find some thing really cool!!

This store is rediculous, my wife has been shopping here since she was a kid and today the workers treated her with upmost disrespect, they followed her and cornered her to watch so she doesn't steal anything 1st my never stole anything from anywhere lol n fact she's against stealing all together and 2nd it's a second hand store like how bad can shoplifting b sorry in a thrift store that u gotta treat a paying customer like that you all are disgusting pathetic really like you get free donations and sell them for money why would y'all be so rude to a customer

Vintage and really high quality material clothing for a fair price and clothing you can't find at any other thrift store. I've already recommended this store to some friends

I love doing a browse in this store ; there usually is a great selection of household items for the home decorating enthusiast ,plus good prices - lots of interesting and useful finds . Wonderful , unique vintage items turn up , including jewelry & handbags . Rarely do I leave without some fun find in my hand !

It's small but the prices are reasonable and the staff are friendly... that's really what is essential for a good thrift shop! I've been a customer for decades and will continue to be :)

It's a small second hand store with great treasures for those who don't mind looking. They have great sales, so follow them to know when the deals start. The staff were friendly and present in the store organizing, sorting and bringing out new stock. I will be back 😊

Small thrift store with decent turn around on items. Prices are reasonable but I have noticed a slight increase as of late. Staff are always friendly and make decent conversation when checking out. I appreciate that they use the majority of the space in the store (home items on shelves above clothing racks). Wish they hours were slightly extended for those who work during daytime but understand it may not be possible with the staff limitations. Overall a good experience.

Small but compact, very clean and organized, especially the clothes. Staff is nice. It's a non profit, donate today!

An employee with a mouth too loud. I dont care what ur personal issues are, but for someone so nicely kemp.... Maybe you should keep worrying about your looks rather than a childs developmental issues, and watch what kind of people you converse with. Shameful!!!!

This salvation army was a bit all over the place for me. The toys were in dissaray with no reasoning behind it sort of just thrown in bins and left. The prices seemed a bit steep compared to the other ones I have frequented in the. Also the staff were very friendly and helpful. Which is a must in my books :)