Salvation Army Thrift Store in Downtown San Diego, California

With the economy doing a very convincing imitation of a sloth, shopping at the neighborhood thrift stores is the sensible thing to do for many (yours truly included). Here in downtown San Diego, California, the mother of all thrift store that really sells everything from a pin to washing machines and computers is the Salvation Army Thrift Store on 12th Avenue/Park Blvd (along the Trolley line) north of E Street. This huge store occupies more than half the city block and boasts a large selection of used goods in various conditions. The Salvation Army is an evangelical arm of the Universal Christian Church, and the proceedings from the sales of its stores go to support the organization's adult rehabilitation center.

This downtown thrift store is easy to get to. It is right on the Trolley line (it is about halfway between the '12th and Market' and the 'City College' stops), and has its own parking lot on the 13th Avenue side. The main entrance is on 12th Avenue, however. You are supposed to leave your bag at the shelves to the right of the door, but this is not enforced and I wouldn't advice anyone to comply with the rule since the store is usually understaffed and there is no security around to look after your possession (that this area is heavily populated by homeless migrants doesn't help).

The right (south) half of the store is devoted to clothing. Ladies' section takes up the front side of the aisle, and men's the back side. There is really a lot of clothes to choose from, though they are not very well organized (you would have to go one by one to check out the size). Most of the stuff are presentable after a wash and ironing, and there are some really good deals to be had, especially in the suits rack. If you can find the right size, there are some really good shirts to be had for $3-9, and good sport coats for $12 a piece! There aren't a lot of shoes, though. Occasionally when another store in the area closes down, some of its inventories is dumped here and you can find great deals like brand new (still sealed in plastic) beach chairs for $5 each. These are put against the south wall of the store. When there's no deal like that to be had, though, this area is occupied by coats and linen.

The left (north) side of the store houses furnishings and household items where you can shop for anything from easy chairs to washing machines, stairmaster machines, and bed. There is also an electronics section where you can find used machines in various state of viability. Anything from dilapidated computers from the green screen days to table watches, telephones, answering machines, toasts, and hot plates. I have never bought anything from here, since none come with a warrantee and I have a tendency to draw a lemon when it comes to machines. This area changes a lot through out the year, though. Sometimes there are really nice furnishing on display, and sometimes just a few chairs and tables. Now that the economy has forced foreclosures on many brand new condo units in the area, the furnishing section at the Salvation Army is looking almost like a department store showroom!

The back wall of the store (right of center) is where you'll find shelves full of books and video tapes. Things aren't very well organized here much of the time and you'll just have to browse the books from one end of the shelves to another looking for particular genre. Most of the books are in icky condition (readable but not presentable as gift)... which isn't such a bad price to pay when the paperbacks go for $1 each and hardback $2.50.

As I mentioned earlier, this store is not very well manned much of the time, and so you should expect a rather lax service.... especially at the cashier. I think most of the staff are volunteers, though, so you don't want to be too annoyed at them even when it takes 20 minutes to get through a line of 5 people (it usually takes less, but that isn't such a rare occurrence either).

Aside from the not-so-customer-oriented service, another downside to this place is that they don't accept donation here. If you bring some in, they'll tell you to walk a block to another Salvation Army Building across 13th Avenue to drop it off yourself. They do have a pick up service for large donation, however. You can call (800) 958-7825 to make an appointment.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store: 901 12th Avenue (at E Street), San Diego, CA 92101. Tel (619) 232-1378. Opens: Mon-Sat: 9 AM-6 PM.