SF Good Questions: Know Any Thrift Shops in the East Bay?

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AT:SF, I'm looking for a secondhand coffee table. When I lived in SF, I found some great stuff at Thrift Town, but I don't know any thrift shops with good furniture in the East Bay. Any tips?

Thanks, S.

S.,

We pretty much rely on Craigslist, and the Alameda and Alemany Fleas -- although we've also been to some great garage sales in Berkeley. Right offhand, we can only think of Urban Ore in Berkeley. We went to Ricochet in Emeryville once (but weren't impressed), and we haven't been to Gilman Trading in a long time.

There's a list of Oakland thrift shops here.

Anyone?

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Comments (11)

I live in SF, but whenever I'm in Berkeley I try to stop by the big Salvation Army Home Store on University. Maybe not so much for the furniture, but they usually have interesting posters and other things.

Try the White Elephant sale in Oakland. It's run by the Oakland Museum, and is open to the public in March. It's incredible: an airplane-hangar sized warehouse of thrift and vintage.

Good luck!

i second the craigslist and urban ore suggestions. if you're looking for a fixer-upper pieces, try urban ore on ashby st. cheap, cheap stuff, in every sense of the word.

i think trout farm is still around, and they're on bancroft between shattuck and oxford.

lynne jensen of "klassik by lynne" in emeryville is AMAZING. not exactly thrift, but you can get a good investment piece or something.

it's not in the east bay, but i cannot say enough good things about "the other shop" on divisadero. again, not exactly thrift, but they have some great, great pieces at reasonable rates. pop in a book on cd and make the trip. totally worth it. i live in berkeley, and i still make the trek. i've gotten about eight things from them, i think.

wait, wait, wait--leslie, didn't you post something a week or two ago about a store with a major art sale? they have furniture. hold on, trying to find the name.

east bay depot for creative reuse. i THINK they have furniture.

there are some Thrift Towns in the east bay--El Sobrante and San Leandro. also, Uhuru near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland usually has really nice furniture.

Uhruhu on Grand - charity consignment shop - view their current inventory online
http://uhurufurniture.blogspot.com/

also: The Salvation Army in Downtown Oakland has really good furniture.

THe Salvation Army in Alameda as well.

There's the big salvation army right by the posey tube, then in alameda, there's a salvation army on park st right by the high st bridge, then on park a few blocks over is a st vincent de paul's and a goodwill, then on park st by the starbucks and the robuck's juice place there's a great thrift store PACKED with odds and ends, not much for furniture but there is some.

I wrote a list on designing a home (in the bay area) for a budget conscious consumer here: http://sallytv.blogspot.com/2008/01/designing-home-on-tight-budget.html

The east bay shops I included were:
1. Brent's Unique Shop
2. Trout Farm
3. Urban Ore Building Materials (not as good for furniture, though. You can find really great scores, but not necessarily ever time you go there. Urban Ore is better for collecting things for DIY projects).
4. East Bay Depot For Creative Reuse (again, this is not a furniture store, but occasionally they will have some furniture, like a side table or something. Call ahead and just ask if they have anything before you make the trip).

Retro is pretty popular but in my humble opinion very overpriced. There are also some great "granny" shops on and off of Piedmont Avenue, but again, it's hit or miss.

Good luck!