Thrift Stores near Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA

“I went on Saturday and this is the only store in Manchester by the sea were I truly felt welcomed. The lady at the register was kind and helpful, made the whole shopping around so much better. The pieces in the store are very unique and again if you go to Manchester By The Sea for vintage shopping this is the place !!! Every other shop you won’t be greeted or treated nicely unless you look a certain way.

Thank you for making my day so much nicer! I’ll be back soon!

EDIT: I forgot to put a picture with the dress!
My vintage Oscar de La Renta, I don’t have any recent one but this dress is so perfect for so many occasions.
And because of the boutique and her owner will always have such an special meaning for me ❤️
Thank you again!
P.S: I’ll update with a better pic soon!”

“Great spot to shop. I always find some items (mixing bowl set, trinket dish, beautiful sweater, ribbon, a vase, log-holding rack, jewelry...) I need and the prices are very good. Plus, the proceeds go to a great cause.”

“This thrift is a hidden gem here in Gloucester. It has the classic church thrift shop vibe, filled with hidden gems. The staff that work here are lovely. It has limited hours, but you will be thankful you made the trip. Prices are low and inventory is high.”

“I love coming to Second Glance - the prices are unbelievable and the selection is always changing. It feels good to support a store like this because of their mission and values. And it helps to up cycle clothing and furniture so we stop filling land fills with throw away clothes. I always find something!!!”

“I called them today, because I wanted to find out how I can donate some clothes and etc to them. Very nice woman on the phone explained the process. I showed up with my donations a few hours later. Very nice people at donation drop off as well.”

“In short:

Purely for the thrift selection- probably 3/5.

The staff- more than 5/5 above and beyond. I’m writing this in the parking lot because I’m really that impressed.

SCROLL for actual thrift takeaway after
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Their staff to me is reason enough to come back. I was greeted quickly even though it was clear they were busy between stocking, phones, customers etc.

Their mission benefits those in need in Salem (sort if it’s no just Salem!). This clearly includes people with sustance use issues and chronic mental heath conditions, and many clients without housing. In the ~hour I was there I saw several people who were getting items for free which would make me feel great about donating here.

An older woman who was working saw me looking at scarves and let me know where others were. I later saw her helping a woman (who was not being very friendly to her) find items in her size. She did this while going back and forth stocking the racks.

MICHAEL at the front desk is pretty amazing. He clearly has experience dealing with people with the aforementioned issues. I was super impressed with both his patience and kindness- but also with his ability to be firm and keep the situation in control with difficult clients. At one point he was ringing my items up, helping a client who was very erratic get her things together, and picking up items a different customer dropped. It is a very unique skill to try to serve both clients that have needs face to face and aren’t necessarily friendly or compliant, while also dealing with the general customer. He also explained how Lifebridge works and what your donations benefit. He is a real asset to the organization.

**** Actual THRIFT review below ***

There’s definitely some good items and some gems, but personally I think the pricing is a little out of touch on some items. They have the “boutique” where items are sold by tag $, then the general selection is by set price ie $10 for dresses.

There were a lot of boutique items I thought were crazy high for what they were- ie $18 for a pilled sweater, Primark dress for $12, which has to be pretty much what it cost new, $20 for Calvin jeans. I’d probably bring the set prices down a little bit ie $8 for dresses or $3 for bin items ($5 now) to balance it out- but I very much understand they need to make money and have competition from places like Goodwill that are grossly overpriced.

They have very well priced dishes, books, etc. Nice artwork. I scored today as they have a $5 sale on winter coats- got 3. They seem to get a good bit of donations from older people I’d guess- more vintage than a lot of spots I’ve been to lately which is great.”