Which Thrift Store is Kutztown’s Best? Exploring Once Again Thrift Store

I love buying secondhand pieces, so I knew when I moved to a new town, I needed to explore the local thrift stores. This year I’ll be traveling to the thrift stores near Kutztown University to find the best one. I’ll be judging them based on inventory, pricing, organization, and dressing rooms.

My first stop on this journey was Once Again Thrift Store, which is about seven minutes from KU. 

Inventory

Once Again Thrift Store is a small-ish thrift store, but it has a decent amount of clothing variety for its size. There were some higher-end brands and vintage pieces tucked in the racks, but there were also a lot of “out” pieces to sort through to get to them. Though, this can be the case with many thrift stores. In addition to the clothing, Once Again Thrift Store has a lot of holiday décor, kitchenware, music items, and other miscellaneous things. 

I’m not sure how frequently the inventory rotates. While looking at sweaters, I picked up a white one and then realized it was the same one I’d seen when I visited the campus over the summer. Many larger thrift stores have a system to rotate out the inventory that doesn’t sell. When I worked at a consignment shop for a summer, the tags on the clothing had the date they were donated. After a certain amount of time passed, an employee would sort through the clothes and pull the ones that had sat for too long. Other stores like Goodwill and Community Aid use different-colored tags to determine which clothes have been there the longest. I saw no evidence of any such system at Once Again Thrift Store. All of that to say, customers may have to sort through inventory that hasn’t been selling before finding pieces they love. 

There are plenty of hidden gems here, but if you’re looking for a specific item, you’d have a better chance searching a larger thrift store like Community Aid or Goodwill. 

Pricing

The pricing was somewhat inconsistent; some items were very affordable, and others were overpriced. It seemed to depend on the section. One of the more affordable sections was the jeans section. Most jeans I saw were somewhere in the range of six to ten dollars, including some pricier brands like Eddie Bauer. 

On the pricier side—this particular jacket was forty dollars. There was no tag to show the brand. The only thing that might justify the price is the jacket was reversible, so it could be two-in-one. 

Additionally, rather than having a set price (ex: all sweaters are seven dollars), Once Again Thrift Store takes brands into account. Some sweaters were priced at five dollars, while others were priced around fifteen. This isn’t uncommon for stores to do, but from a shopper’s perspective, it’s disappointing when you find a piece you really like and then realize it’s the most expensive one on the rack. 

Organization

The sweaters were organized on shelves on the side of the store, with a shelf designated for x-small and small, medium, large, and XL+. This was a cute, unique way to display inventory, but could get easily messy if customers don’t re-fold the inventory properly.

The store is relatively small, so some of the clothing organization can feel a little bunched, but it’s not too hard to navigate once you get the lay of the land. 

Dressing Rooms

The dressing room in Once Again Thrift Store was spacious, with ample hanging room to put clothing, and a bench to lay belongings on. Unfortunately, that dressing room is the only one. I’ve been to this thrift store twice and there has never been a line, but that’s not to say there wouldn’t be one if you went at a busier time. 

Overall Rankings

• Pricing: 6/10

Points dropped for inconsistent pricing, and the sweater I bought was fifteen dollars, which is probably the most I’ve spent on a second-hand top. 

• Inventory: 6/10

Points dropped for outdated inventory. Ex: designated LuLaRoe section. 

• Organization: 6/10

Points dropped because some sections could have been organized more straightforwardly. 

• Dressing rooms: 7.5/10

I liked the dressing room that existed, but I could imagine lines forming with there being only one. (I do understand that their small space may limit them to only one.)

Overall, a nice thrift store close to campus. I could see this being a hit-or-miss place, but as long as you go in with this mindset, you’ll enjoy it here.