Best Places to Buy Secondhand Clothes in Rochester, NY: Top 3 Thrift Stores

Plato's Closet. Plato's Closet is my number one pick for a secondhand clothing, or thrift, store because they sell only brand-name clothes. If you're looking for Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, American Eagle, and Aeropostale brands at secondhand prices, Plato's Closet is the place to go.

They buy "gently used" brand name clothes, which is sort of misleading because Plato's Closet only buys clothes that are in perfect condition and are less than 18 months old. (Did you know the big brands change their labels several times a year? I didn't know that, until I was told that my son's shirts were too old for Plato's Closet to buy.) So, good news/bad news: The bad news first: It can be hard to sell secondhand clothes to Plato's Closet. The good news: The secondhand clothes that Plato's Closet sells is top quality.

More good news/bad news: There's a ton of girls clothes, and a really limited selection of guys clothes. Good news if you're a girl, not so much if you're a guy.

Last time my son and I went to Plato's Closet, he brought a few of his secondhand shirts to the "buy" counter. (They inspect the clothes while you browse, and make an offer within minutes.) My son picked out five Hollister t-shirts while he browsed, and subtracting our "buy" money, we only had to pay $11.

Plato's Closet is located at 3160 West Ridge Road (Lowe's Plaza), Rochester, NY 14626. They're open M-F 10-8, Sat 10-7, and Sun 12-6. They stop doing "buys" an hour before closing.

Goodwill. Goodwill is my second favorite thrift store because I always have good luck there. Last fall I bought my husband a Field and Stream hooded jacket with matching fishing pants for $9.99. It was in perfect condition- it looked like it had never been worn. I've also found Hollister brand jeans for my son and American Eagle brand jeans for me at Goodwill. They charge a little more for in-demand brands, but $8 for pair of $60 jeans is still a good deal! Since the jeans are frayed and hole-y when they're brand new, they still appear to be "brand new" even when they're secondhand.

Goodwill is located at 1518 West Ridge Road, (Stone Ridge Plaza), Rochester, NY 14626. They're open Monday-Saturday 9-9 and Sunday 10-6.

Salvation Army Thrift Store. The Salvation Army store is huge, so it takes some "picking through" to find the good stuff there. Unlike Goodwill, they don't charge more for in-demand brands. They also have 50% off sales Monday-Friday by randomly picking a tag color and making that the sale of the day. Last time we were there I bought sweaters for $3 each that were originally sold at Macy's for much more than that, and my son picked up two Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts for 50 cents each.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store is located at 800 Elmridge Center (corner of Ridge and Elmgrove), Rochester, NY. They're open Monday-Friday 9-8:45, Saturday 9-5:30, and closed Sundays.