Bargain Box

Closing! Last day is Wednesday June 25^th 2014. Nothing left, just come to say goodbye

I always find the perfect thing here!!! A few months back I went to the Cantor Center for the Arts before work and ended up staying a little longer than I had intended (what, can I say, I am obsessed with art!). I did not have enough time to drive back home and get changed for my shift so I stopped by the shop to see if I could find something suitable for work. Of course, I not only found something suitable but also totally fashionable and timeless! I found a vintage dress from the 50s and a lovely pair of conservative heels. All of this for under 20!!! I always expect some excellent finds! This is a hidden treasure trove! Do not miss out! Also, the proceeds go to a good cause!

Best for window-​shopping: their best furniture goes in the window and just inside the store, so if you’re looking for décor you can know without stepping inside how you’ll do.
Be prepared that their sales strategy is to charge a medium price even if that means items don’t move as quickly. Since many of the donations are upscale goods, I suppose they can sustain this.
Looking for something to wear to a friend’s wedding, I found a wonderful dress… for $ 75. Given that price range, I decided to go elsewhere to find a wider selection among new dresses.
Same story with a few books I actually bought: they were things that looked really attractive to me, but the prices were just at that, «Really? But this is a thrift store!» point. The housewares vary, with quite a few unique-​but-​dated pieces rather than easy-​to-​incorporate generics.

Love this place! Found so many great things here to furnish my new apartment — chairs, kitchenware even a wicker basket.
Will definitely be back.

Been here a few time when strolling around California St,
The store is small compared to a good will but they have a pretty good variety of merchandise. And a lot more orginized!
They have a small but very good selection of books, especially a lot of Early 20^th century stuff. Assuming these are coming from local Palo Alto/​Menlo Park/​Atherton estate sales. Some good finds from time to time. Also good selection of paperbacks that are fairly recent.
Of course to find that hidden gem you have to frequent the place regularly.
If your in the area and thrift stores are your thing, check them out!

Okay so I have been on a Thrift shop kick lately and I am on a mission to hit every city to find hidden treasures. Bargain Box in Palo Alto is just the place for you to find those special treasures like I did. Very friendly staff, organized, everything is priced, and if you have any questions, they will go out of their way to help you. I happened to find the cutest pendant necklace for a whopping $ 4!!! Are you kidding me? I love, love this necklace! You must come here and check out the clothes, jewerly, housewares. You won’t regret it!

How have I not yet reviewed Bargain Box? This place is a hidden gem for a great cause! I will let the finds speak for themselves.
My Bargain Box Finds:
1. Pink Ralph Lauren Interview Jacket $ 10 (exactly my size!!!)
2. Adorable vintage flower ring $ 1
3. Free People Dress $ 10
Those were my three main finds. They have lots of very inexpensive interview suits. You will honestly do a double take when looking at the prices because they are so cheap! But, walk in expecting nothing because sometimes you hit it and sometimes you don’t with these types of stores. The store is pretty small.
The ladies that work there are super nice and cute! It’s a fun place to look around.

I’ve always managed to walk out of this store buying something. Maybe something I don’t really need, but always something I just had to have: sterling jewelry, craft items, vintage linens, a good book to read. The sales staff have always been helpful, a delight to interact with, heck — I wish mainstream stores had customer service like the Bargain Box. I also like knowing that the $ I’ve spent goes to the Children’s Health Council.
Find a treasure, spend $ on your treasure & help little treasures (children).
Such a deal! :-)

Unilocal needs to update the hours for the Bargain Box. As far as I know they don’t open until noon on Saturday. In fact, if you’re a working person, it’s hard to find a time to shop the Bargain Box. This resale shop is more expensive than Goodwill but the quality is better. You can find things that you won’t find at Target.

I have passed this store lots of times on my way to Starbucks. I always wanted to go in and check it out but it was always one excuse after another. The one thing that drew me in was the cart of books that they have for sale by the entrance, I love reading, and any new books that I could get my hands on is always a plus.
Today I had time to actually go in and my first reaction was that the store was small. There is nothing fancy about it, but there is some organization to all the items: clothes, books, housewares, jewelry, toys…
I was looking at all of the items, and all of their prices are reasonable and very well priced. I had to resist myself on spending any money… but I failed because I bought a 4 piece coaster set and a book all for $ 1.50 (not bad at all lol)
The one thing that I love about thrift stores is that every time you walk into one… its a mystery because you never know what you can find.
I know I will be coming back to the Bargain Box to see if any treasure awaits me :)

I was doing a double take on the prices. Am I reading this correctly. Sure enough it is a bargain indeed. I bought a sweater, ash tray, and 2 frames all for under $ 16.00 bucks. When I went there people were buying a lot of stuff. Some designer stuff lots of dinning stuff sold at this place. The ladies that work there are a hoot. I will comeback if I’m in town.
Love it

My review of this place should be something nasty to keep people from finding out how awesome it is, but I can’t even think of something negative to write since I’m still glowing from my fabulous bargain box finds!!!
It’s a charity shop, so they accept donations and their donor clientele bring in things like Dior and Valentino suits, Manolo and Ferragamo pumps, Burberry trench coats and floor length minks. A huge collection of Talbots, Ann Taylor, Tahari, Jones New York, INC, etc. — you can really tell who’s bringing their old stuff here. :)
They also have great china/​dishware, books, scarves, vintage and costume jewelry, some art and the odd piece of furniture. Whoever they have doing the pricing knows their stuff, since prices do reflect actual value and although ridiculously cheap you likely won’t get that Dior suit for $ 5.
Also good to note: the stuff flies out the door here as fast as it’s brought in. I literally picked up a pair of sunglasses on my way to the register which weren’t there when I walked in the door. So if you go and don’t see something you like, try again in a few days. The 1^st of the month would also be a great time to stop by since that’s the start of each ½-​off sale for items carrying over from prior months.
Now it’s time to throw on my red Burberry trench and new designer shades to pick up some appetizers for the 49er game to serve on my fabulous vintage Noritake china. I LOVE THIS STORE.

This place is wonderful, if you love vintage and have lots of patience and make several trips here a month you can score some wonderful items at very reasonable prices. If you like designer they often have some excellent designer things too BUT those are way pricier. I recently purchased some vintage glasses and I just couldn’t be happier. The ladies that work here are very sweet and they are located across from frozen yogurt which will complete your shopping day

really cute little shop and the workers are super nice and cute too! they accept card which is nice and the store isn’t big so it’s easy to walk around and find what you want. they have a mixture of clothing and home accessories.
i bought this cute purse for $ 6. and they also have brand name things locked in glass cases that i wasn’t really interested in but im sure some people are. they also had this cool brown leather 40’s boxy suitcase that i loved but it was $ 45 :(

Every time I come in here I leave with something I treasure — be it housewares, jewelry, clothing, shoes, accessories, books, purses (OMG, 3 from there, and a laptop bag). I know largely the success of the store is the donations that come from Shallow Alto, but what I love is the variety of selection and the ladies who volunteer. They also make this place fun to shop in because they’re always twittering away like happy birds, and to me, the only thing that would make it perfect would be a café in the middle of it. I look forward to Bargain Box World Domination one day (heck, a girl can dream).

Did I really find a LEGIT pair of (slightly scratched but perfectly wearable) Fendi sunglasses at the Bargain Box? FOR 25 CENTS???
Yes, yes I did.
Go there.

Update Jan 2013 The prices !! Today I saw 3 nice things: White sweater knit poncho $ 50, white mohair coat $ 120, linen shirt $ 20. I guess I won’t be back for a few more years :(
Too expensive. Some of the volunteer ladies are quite hoity-​toity and
don’t mind telling you not to look into boxes or check to see
if things work, etc.
Not enjoyable.

I walk away with at least one item every single time I come into the box. I like this little thrift shop. It’s on the small side but they manage to have a little bit of everything. Clothes, shoes, home décor, books, dishware and much more. You can’t beat the prices. The staff is always pleasant and friendly.
I’m a huge fan of thrift stores so I’m so happy this one is always reliable & conveniently located. Two thumbs up!

Yellow price stickers were 50%off today! woohoo
Fine bone china tea saucer ($ 1)
Seabiscuit book (half off for $.50)
National Portrait Gallery book (half off for $.75)
Overall, the prices are pretty decent. However, I found some of the items to be a bit expensive for being resold. But it’s good cause the money is going back to charity! There are nice old ladies working at the shop. The shop is near Café Pro Bono, The Counter, etc. on California Ave. The shop is clean, doesn’t smell like the ones in San Jose/​Santa Clara, decent amount of stuff sold here daily, and look out for what’s 50%off that day! You can always find something here! Happy bargain hunting!
From California Avenue Caltrain Station: about a 5 min walk

I am a thrift store fiend and it’s rare that I go into a store and nothing catches my eye. I step into this store every time I stroll Cal Ave, thinking I’m going to find that one totally-​worth-​it piece, but I have never found anything in this store. Thrift stores have different themes for content; some are department store closeout (Goodwill on the Sunnyvale/​Mountain View is great for Target overstock), some are so-​last-​season rich people donations, some are college town dorm purge, and some, like this one, are dead-​old-​person-​house-​sweep. I’m sure there are a couple of vintage gems that drift through here occasionally, but most of it is just junk. It manages two stars for the rare stylish piece of clothing (inevitably in a size 2, blast) and some nice dish sets.
Note: contrary to previous reports, it’s not a ‘homey grandma smell.’ It’s a corpse-​y nursing home smell of musty floral perfume, ooooollllld, and the faintest whiff of formaldehyde.