Luna BLU Trading Co

Such an amazing shop! Cute dresses, shows and pants! They also have a good selection of leather jackets! Got some shorts, sunglasses and heels!

I was in Monterey for a few days, and walked by Luna BLU one evening after it was closed. I saw a cardigan in the window that I just fell in love with! I called them the next morning, and after a few back-​and-​forths, they agreed to ship it to me in Sonoma County for $ 6 extra! It ended up costing them more than that, so they lost money on me — but I am so appreciative and impressed that they took the time to ship me a piece of clothing. It’s now my favorite thing I wear, seriously. Thanks so much Luna BLU!

While the prices are expensive, the woman running this shop is very kind, she cares a lot about what she sells and the care of her customers, and it makes me feel like it’s worth it to spend my money here.

I passed by this shop and decided to visit it for the first time. I found a bag and the price tag I found inside the bag was $ 89. I thought it was a good deal and went to the front to ring it up. Another customer was in front of me, and her transaction took a while. While waiting in line, I took out the price tag from the bag, thinking that it would facilitate the transaction to save me some time. When it was finally my turn to pay for the bag, the girl told me that I should not have taken out the price tag, and treated me like a criminal. She had to verify with her boss that the bag was really $ 89. So we waited for her boss to text back and the bag was actually $ 129. Then she was even more convinced that I swapped the price tag. I told her I took the price tag out right in front of her when I was in line, but she would not believe me. There was no sign anywhere in the store saying that you should not take the price tag out of the bag yourself. I feel really wronged. And also the bag is a good deal if it is truly $ 89, but I would never buy it for $ 129. You can get a new one at that price when it is on sale. The store should put up a sigh regarding their rules. Instead, they decide to treat their first-​time customer like a criminal. I would not go there again.

I love to buy second-​hand treasures and going to re-​sale shops is one of my favorite things to do which is why I made a point to visit here on my trip to Monterey. Unfortunately though I was not thrilled by the quality of items I found too many shirts with holes, stains, piles and worn a bit too much. Buyers can really make or break a resale shop and having an eye for current trends while not being damaged is important. Sadly I came up empty handed.

I originally went in to look for a casual dress. The sales woman, Angelina, immediately started helping me pick out different items which were on target for my taste. The store has great selections of statement pieces and Angelina helped convince me to get an awesome poncho and leather jacket. I have to admit I am not big on brands or high fashion but nonetheless she was very sweet and looked for things within my budget. They have sales every week!

I have held a long standing relationship with Luna Blu, mostly a love affair.
First of all, I want to mention that many of the Unilocal reviews for Luna Blu are simply outdated. Jackie has not been working there for quite a while, although I agree she was sweet.
If you look at it from a Monterey local’s point of view:
The shop is the only one in the Monterey Peninsula that I consider both adequate and desirable for selling outright and for trade. The other options in town (with the exception of Cat’s Meow) are just not even up to par. The way I would look at it, I’d rather sell my clothes to a store where I’ve found gems, a place that deserves my clothes, and where I would like to see my clothes on the hangers. We all know how hard it can be to ‘let go’ of very special and unique fashion pieces, esp. if the joint can’t offer you a decent price that’s at least 35% of what you paid originally. One alternative for selling is Plato’s closet, but it’s a shallow corporate business with no style agenda other than generic and underpriced. Their level of quality is just not there. Crossroads on the other hand up in Santa cruz (2 in San Jose) is a decent place. But it’s still too close to the Plato’s feel. You put your name on a list, you are forced to wait and browse. At Luna Blu i usually go there to shop anyway and try to sell/​trade and the selling experience feels more boutique like and authentic than Platos or Crossroads.
I have come to the distinct conclusion that the trade stores level of quality depends on the demographics surrounding it. The Crossroads trading in central/​Northwest san jose is pretty rough. Why? Because it’s near a lot of run down businesses and right off of a busy street in a low income housing area. The south san jose one is much, much better due to its outskirt location in a decent area. The Santa Cruz has a better vibe simply based on location and demographics. If you have a target buyer market to sell your clothes to, consider the area the store is in. What kind of people are in that community, what kind of money do they have, do they prefer designer, chic, bohemian or outdoorsy styles? It seems common that reviewers make snap judgments about a buy/​sell/​trade establishment due to 1) their anger of not selling 2) neglecting to compare the place fairly.
What sets Luna Blu apart from all the rest is that it still manages to maintain a solid BOUTIQUE feel. I don’t think the owner of Luna Blu would ever «sell out» for a more corporate agenda. Never!
The identity of the store is there, the presence is there. The window displays, for example, have always been eccentric and non-​conventional.
If you look at it from an outsider’s view, coming from SF, Oakland, Berkeley, Santa Monica, etc. The store is probably small and less elaborate than you’ve expected. This is a small town.
I think people might find the quality of some of the clothing there to be less good (again, due to wear). Simply, it’s the owners choice to buy clothing from people that, yes, may be a super gorgeous unique piece, but is worn SO much that its barely re-​sellable (I.e. boots, tank tops.) Problem with that too is that you don’t find these issues til you get home. Oh well.
I think people may be dissappointed by the price point. The items are priced in patterns (by category), and each item isn’t necessarily priced individually. What does this mean? In my opinion, the pricing can be too high on items because it isn’t weighed in. But I see where she’s coming from because you have to have «a system.»
I do think the owner should take the liberty to show her face in shop and tell you which items she’ll buy and negotiate price RIGHT THEN AND THERE. I’m not auper fond of the 24 hr drop off, but it’s doable.
The occasional sales here are pretty good (Usually 20% off)
That is all!

So this review is bittersweet for me because I have been coming here for 10 years but my most recent visit has changed my feelings towards this business forever.
I came in to drop off clothes (you can drop off clothes for cash or for store credit, they look at the clothes over night and the next day you can come pick up what’s left and get your $$ or store credit) When I came in the door there were three people hanging around at the front desk, not one person greeted me (or even smiled). I said politely «I am here to drop off some clothes» and the woman who responded to me (who I am assuming was the owner, the way she stood with authority talking to the other people) said to me «STORE CREDIT ONLY»
–no «hi, hello, thanks for coming but were doing store credit now» she was so bitchy and mean. I responded «oh why» and she threw up her arms saying «ITS A BUSINESS!» yelling at me.
I just turned and walked out. I will never come back. I cannot believe that someone can talk to another person that way (not to mention a customer). I didn’t do anything for her to talk to me that way, and honestly WHO CARES if its store credit, I would have done that but she was incredibly rude to me.
It’s sad because I became really close with one of the sales associates Elizabeth who is amazing and so so so nice but I will never be coming back here.

Came upon Luna Blu quite by accident while looking for probably a Starbucks or something as inaquous as that and how refreshing to find gently used clothes both men’s and women’s that were so appealing and on trend that you just wanted to spend that coffee money here instead of there… added to that delight was our host Elisabeth whose easy charm and genuine humor had us wanting to buy even more which was made especially simple knowing Elisabeth had our best interest at heart… it’s not today’s sale that makes the business successful but rather the next the next and the next … and of course that WORD OF MOUTH. THANK YOU Elisabeth.

I came in to find a dress to wear to a wedding the other day, and the store owner (the one from Hawaii) was incredibly helpful!!! She gave me excellent recommendations, and was attentive – in a good way. Super cute dresses!

Cute shop… so i was hopeful. Some of the merchandise looked worn and tried. I realize that it is a used clothing store but some of the clothes and shoes looked too used. The place had great potential I suggest the staff member who is doing the filtering and selecting of in coming consignments needs to tighten up.

I am really disappointed in this place… I dropped off a couple bags the other day and called me back to say they didn’t want anything. Really? There was some quality high-​end stuff in there that was never even touched. I’m upset because when I dropped off my bags, I took a moment to browse the store. They had purses with stains all over them, shoes with scuff marks and some seriously out-​dated pieces.
Ugh.

I checked this place out because I absolutely love fashion!
I was looking at the cute jackets they had on the wall and an Oscar de la Renta dress.
I also had my eyes on the Christian Dior purse and these other shoes.
I ended up being strong (though tempted) today & didn’t buy anything!
I love how helpful the lady was showing me all the stuff I wanted to see. They even had a 20% discount.
I will definitely return here and check them out in the future. It was fun to check out this store at least!
I love how they had a men’s section too if you have a brother or boyfriend to shop for…

By far my favorite used clothing store that I’ve ever visited. I make this a regular stop every time I’m back in Monterey.

I love Luna BLU. This is a great little store in the area if you are looking for out-​of-​the-​ordinary pieces as well as some good deals. Admittedly, I think some things are priced a little high (used H&M and Forever 21, in my opinion, should never be more than $ 8) but for the most part, the designer stuff is priced fairly and is worth the hunt. Compared to similar stores in Carmel, this one is the best by far.
Other reviews complain about the lack of customer service, but I disagree. I don’t want anyone working there to follow me around or ask me if I need anything special. This is a vintage/​resale store and claims to be nothing but – if you are looking for something specific you are in the wrong place. I have always had positive experiences there, even if I don’t find anything, it was worth the time and fun to look around anyway – and they’ve never been anything but nice to me even if I leave without a purchase.

What a shame terrible service, not very clean and disappointing selection. I wouldn’t rate so poorly except the woman basically looked at her laptop the entire time I was in the store. She acted annoyed when I asked questions. I went to try on clothes in the dressing room and she pointed to the back of the store and said take any one. There were clothes in the dressing room already so I couldn’t hang up the ones I had picked out. I went to tell her and she said «you can bring them out to me» REALY??? Her dog growled several times at people when they came in. did not give me a very good impression. And the floors were dirty and clothing not hung well on the hangers. I’ll skip this shop next time I’m in Monterey.

This place is Great!
I was greeted with a nice hello by a young woman named Jackie & asked if i needed help in finding anything in particular. I browsed the store a bit & asked if they bought vintage clothing, her answer was «Yes, if you can leave it overnight, the owner will look at it either tonight or tomorrow morning and we’ll have a check for you tomorrow afternoon» I left the clothing and got a message the next afternoon from Jackie saying that she had a check for me and she even broke down how the owner came up with that amount. The whole experience was very positive and professional!
Thankfully my experience with Luna Blu was great compared with the horrible experience I had at Reincarnation in Pacific Grove; it’s another vintage clothing store, but I wouldn’t recommend Reincarnation to my worst enemy. I wrote a review of them as well.
I will gladly come back to Luna Blu again; the customer service was awesome, the selection was great, the atmosphere was very pleasant and the location is convenient.
You have a new customer — Me!

Maybe I’m just spoiled when it comes to thrift/​vintage stores. But I wasn’t so impressed by Luna. I sold a few items here (around $ 60 worth) but I still haven’t been able to purchase anything with my store credit. I can’t seem to find ANYTHING I’d like to own. The things I liked are always over-​priced. I just hope I don’t lose my store-​credit receipt but maybe it won’t make a difference in the end.
My expectations were much higher for this place because I’m used to second-​hand stores like Buffalo Exchange, which has a much more varied selection with very reasonable prices and friendly staff. The people who work at Luna aren’t the friendliest bunch. I’d call them pseudo-​counter-​culture-​fashionistas with an attitude.
Still, we have few options in this town. But, given the high prices and low selection, I think you’re better off going to Macy’s.

I was looking forward to finding some great deals here and was disappointed. They did not have a great selection of jewelry, though I have to say, the range of purses was decent.
There were some items that looked good but seemed over-​priced and others that just seemed over-​priced. (Why would anyone pay over $ 10 for a used H&M tank top?)
Half the fun of consignment/​thrift shopping is the hunt and for that part, I enjoyed the shop. It is small, full and clean.

What an adorable second-​hand clothing shop! It’s on the small side but their selection is pretty impressive.
Buy used, people, this is the easiest and laziest way to live a green (and fashionable) lifestyle.