The Inside Scoop

* A special thanks to my fellow Legend friend, Logan S. Smith for his help

As the old saying goes, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure,” this still holds true for thrift stores, but no longer are they just a place to find those out-of-date clothing, broken toys or junk that will eventually sit in your garage for the next 20 years. It has become a place where a decent amount of name brand, fashion clothing, quality furniture and useable household items are found at a great affordable price, and if you’re lucky, you could still find some of those unique and vintage antiques that has not found its way to eBay.

Huntsville is home to many non-profit thrift stores. I think most of them support, if all, contribute or own an organization which helps the local and international communities. By donating or buying from your local thrift stores, you are essentially helping your local charities and the same time, it is a beneficial way to get rid of all that unwanted “stuff”, clothes that no longer fit, or items that have been stored in the garage for the past decade. By the way, your donations can be deducted on your federal taxes. As you know by now, Huntsville Scoop is all about the "Greater Huntsville" area, so everything on this website is a collaboration of the Tennessee Valley area.

Thrift Store Rankings

#1 Three Tails ReSale

This thrift shop is so incredible with gently used items of all kinds! Their purpose here is to provide funds for the animals at the Greater Huntsville Humane Society (GHHS). With each sale you’re making an impact in the lives of these animals. Enjoy the selection of home decor, furniture and clothing and feel good about each penny spent as 100% goes back in support of the homeless animals.

Website: Three Tails ReSale

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#2 A New Leash On Life

Unlike most Thrift stores in Alabama that support Christian causes, A New Leash on Life uses their donations to save Alabama’s homeless animals by reducing the number of pets killed in shelters and by reducing the number of homeless pets on the streets in Alabama’s communities. A few years ago, Huntsville killed about 50% of unwanted stray pets, now with organization such as A New Leash On Life. They have reduced ending an animal’s life with a release rate of over 90%. They have opened up a new location in Madison on 1300 Slaughter road. You can find their pet adoptions at the following areas: Petsmart in Jones Valley (Weekend Dog & Cat Adoption), PetSense in Hampton Cove (Daily Cat Adoptions), Pet Supplies Plus, Madison (Daily Cat Adoptions), Tail & reTails in Brownsboro (Dog Adoption) and The Lodge (Dog & Cat Adoption) in Brownsboro.

The thrift store is on the smaller size, yet they have an excellent selection and great prices. For you homeschoolers they have book sales for .50 each! This is definitely one of my favorites.

Website: A New Leash On Life

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#3 Asbury Thrift Store

Asbury is located off 295 Portal Lane in Madison, not too far from Asbury Church and the YMCA. The donations and proceeds are divided up among several churches and community services.

We have shopped at Asbury for years, back in the days when they were located off Madison Pike. The prices, bargains and specials are hard to beat, even for a thrift store. They have a decent section of books if you’re homeschooling, a good size kids’ clothing section for all ages and a nice sized area for general household and outdoor things. The best time to shop here is during the Christmas holidays. NOTE: Many people donate their unwanted items for their end-of-the-year tax write-offs. Asbury simply can’t keep up with all these donations, so they mark them down pretty cheap to clear the store for space. The downside to Asbury is the high traffic. A lot of the same regular fans come here daily looking to buy a good deal which adds to the chaos. The parking could also be a nightmare, which makes me want to come here much less. It is still on the top of my list as they have some of the best bargains, prices and selections in the local area.

Website: Asbury

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#4 America's Thrift Store

This is one of Huntsville's largest thrift store. It located in the old Kroger's shopping center off Drake Ave. America’s Thrift donates around $1,000,000 each year to local organization and a lot of the money generated will from this store will be used to grant wishes for children here in Alabama.

Website: The Saving Way

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#5 The Saving Way

Saving Way stores has multiple locations throughout the Huntsville area. These thrift stores are known to be fairly large and they seem well organized. The revenue is used to support the Christian Way Ministry. They are not as cheap as Asbury but they do have some great specials and discounts. You can find furniture, clothing, books, jewelry, household items, sporting goods, and general merchandise. Not only do they sell their items at the local stores but you also you could find their smaller items for sale on eBay. They will also offer to pick up your donations such as furniture if you’re unable to do so.

Website: America's Thrift Store

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#6 The Downtown Rescue Mission

The Downtown Rescue Mission Thrift Store is another Christian nonprofit thrift store mainly supporting the homeless people living throughout northern Alabama and southern Tennessee. I find this be a one of the best causes for donations. They provide a complete meal to the homeless for around $2.04 and use their proceeds too for clothing and shelters. Similar to the Saving way, they carry a wide selection of clothing, household items, furniture, electronics, major appliances, computers and bedding. They continue to grow and have over a half dozen stores in the local area.

Website: The Downtown Rescue Mission

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#7 Play it Again Kid Consignment

Play it Again Kid Consignment is a little gem with so many nice items and at excellent prices. This store was my go-to place while my kids were young. Their selection of toys, clothing, strollers, and mommy to be items are outstanding! The treasure that I remember the most from this amazing thrift store are the squeaky shoes I found! This may seem a little silly, but my kiddos loved them and still talk about those shoes present day (they’re teens now). So, if you are looking for a kid consignment store, this is your place. If you have baby/kid/ items to sell there, this too is your place.

Note* They will be adding a page/website coming soon, however I recommend calling their store for accurate hours as the sites online are incorrect. (256) 536-3729

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#8 Habitat for Humanity ReStore

ReStore is a resale outlet which collects proceeds to help fund the construction of Habitat homes within our community. If you are building a house or needing to do some remodeling, this place is for you. We bought some molding here for our house that matched some older pieces. They also have a large selection of old tiles, fixtures, doors, sinks, windows and lots of other large household items. The store is fairly large with a big selection. Definitely worth a drive to check them out.

Website: Habitat for Humanity ReStore

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#9 Sacks On 72

Sacks On 72 Thrift Store is also a non-profit organization, but I am unsure who or what they support. Like Asbury they have a lot of fans who visit the store often. Prices are good and the selection seems to turn over daily. Can be hard to find as they are located off the street, just behind Quality Pawn and across the street from Kohl’s.

Website: Sacks On 72

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#10 The CARE Center, New Hope

This is a very popular thrift store in the New Hope area ran by four local Christian churches. They provide emergency food, toiletries, baby products, school supplies and financial assistance to around 60 families per month. The store is pretty organized with a fairly large selection of things for sale. Prices vary, shopping for that great deal is the fun part! You’ll find items that are a very good deal here. You just have to spend some time finding those hidden treasures.

Website: CARE Center

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#11 Neighborhood Thrift Store

The Neighborhood Thrift Store has nice variety furniture, great selection of clothes, nice shoe gallery, home decor, linens, electronics, nice accessories (purses, jewelry, hats, ties, belts, and scarves), lamps, luggage, and an awesome discount zone. Their friendly service and great section makes this an excellent thrift store.

They are also involved in the community and sponsor the Second Mile Development's program Pride for Parent and the Kid Kit program, serving over 1,100 children with affordable school supplies.

Website: Neighborhood Thrift Store

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#12 Value Village

This thrift store is always clean and organized. Their prices are competitive, but not the cheapest I’ve found, but definitely fair. They do have mark downs, so checking back often may be a good option. The best item I enjoy shopping for at this thrift store is their selection of furniture!

Website: Value Village

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#13 SNAP Thrift Shop

SNAP is another favorite among locals. The staff is very friendly here and go out of their way to help you. The store is on the smaller size, but they too have a selection with treasure to be found. Prices are excellent and their cause is again very near and dear to my heart, they support Alabama’s homeless animals.

Website: SNAP

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#14 Redstone Thrift Store

This thrift store is operated by volunteers who are very friendly and knowledgeable about the items being sold. It’s a very neat and well organized store. A lot of items to choose from and there are often odd things you just can’t find at other thrift stores. While this thrift store is not as cheap as I remember when my husband was stationed in the Air Force, it still has a lot reasonably priced items.

Website: Redstone Thrift

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#15 Thrift Mart

This is one of the larger thrift stores in the area. If you need to find clothes, this place has a large selection. Prices are fair but they do have great discount specials throughout the week. Not a great thrift store to find quality or name brand items but still worth a trip to visit.

Website: Thrift Mart

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#16 Goodwill

The Huntsville area host several Goodwill stores. While they are still popular stores to shop, I find them much smaller with less selection than from places like Georgia and Florida. Prices are still descent but the quality of selection can vary.

Whether you like or dislike them, the truth is Goodwill, does a lot of good, giving 85% of their profits helping the local and international communities and their charities.

Website: Goodwill

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#17 Salvation Army

Salvation Army is still a great place to find valuable and affordable items, but with all the popular independent thrift stores popping up all over the local area, I feel that the selection is not as quite as good as they once were. They still support a good cause helping international charitable organizations.

Website: Salvation Army

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#18 Encore Furniture and Decor

This a good place to shop if you are looking for used furniture. It is a hit and miss on prices as some are under consignment, but overall the prices are fair. Good selection of used furniture and smaller decor items.

Website: Encore

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#19 Unclaimed Baggage, Scottsboro, AL

The only reason this is at the bottom of my list is due to the distance from Huntsville. It is about an hour out but definitely worth a trip to check them out. They have a large selection of lost, unclaimed and recovered items found at Airports across the U.S. Need I say, they have a great selection of cheap suit cases? They also have a good selection of winter coats, shoes, clothes, books, electronic equipment and other neat and interesting stuff at an affordable price. It is a pretty large store and very organized. You can definitely spend hours here. Just in case you do and lose track of time, they have a small eatery for lunch. Note: They now have an online purchase option for those who don’t want to drive the distance.

Website: Unclaimed Baggage

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Any question or need further information? Send me a note.