The Second Mile Center

THIS IS NOT A SAFE PLACE TO TAKE CHILDREN.
I was shopping with my kids today and didn’t notice that all through out the clothing section, right UNDER the clothing racks AND IN FRONT OF THE DRESSING MIRRORS are super heated hot pipes sticking out and completely uncovered for anyone to brush up against. I was holding my 1 year old and put her down to grab a dress and she tootles over about 2 steps from me and grabs one of these hot pipes and burns her hand. There was no sign or warnings or anything up letting people know these exposed pipes are hot and I can’t figure out for the life of me why they are not covered. I told the manager and he acted so none nonchalant Like it was not a big deal. I will never ever return to this place and I’ve already filed a complaint with city code enforcement.

Came here recently and they didn’t have any bed sheets whatsoever. I know this is a thrift store, but to have so much inventory and no beddings was frustrating.

Really nice people, a Huge selection of items, and GREAT prices! We got an amazing yellow swivel chair for only $ 12.50!

I used to come here to find random clothes and jeans, it seems that there was a better selection then then now. Now there appears to be a very… Selective selection.

The place is a bit of an disorganized mess. I love going on hunts for things in thrift shops, but it seemed like a chore here. I felt like I was searching in a hoarders house and found nothing but crap. They have a good bit of furniture there, but this place still can not redeem itself with the plethora of useless junk, music section not even close to organized, and an abysmal men clothing section.

I was excited to find a thrift store in the University City area, but I wasn’t particularly impressed with their selection of clothing. The prices were a little higher than I’m used to paying, for clothes that weren’t anything special. I had much better luck at the home goods section next door and found several kitchen items I had been on the hunt for. There were signs advertising a multitude of sales, but none of them were happening on the day I was there.

This review is for the 2^nd mile center toy store next-​door to the main thrift store. We visit a lot of thrift stores. The toy and glassware’s store next to the main thrift store not worth visiting. Broken toys are overpriced, the staff when we visited seemed angry we were there. My children were looking at the toys and a salesperson said,“you better not touch anything.” She turned to me to say I had to be with my children at all times. I was standing next to them. No reason to treat people like that. A $ 15 box of timber logs, $ 9 broken nerf gun with no darts, and angry staff people. Not worth a visit on any level.

While this place isn’t exactly perfectly clean and organized, you can find amazing deals if you take the time and effort to look for them. This business has the benefit of being in an affluent neighborhood, so the products often tend to be good quality items in good condition that would otherwise be somewhat expensive. It is large and also has a separate furniture store. I always find something great when I come here and I always leave satisfied.

I’ve only visited once and loved my experience. Friendly, professional staff. It’s definitely one of those thrift shops you have to plan for. I went in on a Saturday where everything was 50% off. I purchased 4 pieces of clothing and a red angora hat which all came to $ 6.00. You are bound to find some good finds, if you’re willing to search. It’s definitely worth it.
Cons: The merchandise wasn’t sized which was a pain in the a**. The furniture is over priced for the condition it’s in. (Sole reason for rating)
Other than that go check it out for yourself! You’ll walk away with something.

Like any thrift store, sometimes you find great things and sometimes you leave empty handed. I love coming here during winter because you can find some really great over sized sweaters, flannels, and turtle necks, which if you went else where in center city like H&M or Urban Outfitters you’d be spending well over $ 50. The key is to look through everything. They have a make shift dressing room as well. If you’re an avid thrifter this place is for you.

I love the Second Mile! I live close by and try and make a visit every couple of months or so. The place is not very neatly organized, and depending on the time of the year, it is overflowing with clothes on the racks. But I’ve managed to find some amazing clothes, some of them with the tags still on. The key is looking patiently.
Every month, they have one day (always a Saturday I think) when everything in the store is 50% off. The average price for a top is about $ 3 here.
They also have a wide array of shoes and handbags. Not so much jewelry.

Overall I like this place, but the selection of goods is hit or miss.
The good things they get in are REALLY good, and their prices are reasonable, especially when they are having a sale. Sales occur frequently. The first time I walked into the store, I got a mahogany early 1950’s dining room set (table with leaves and cover, sideboard, china cabinet, six matching chairs) at 60% off, cash and carry. I think the final price was $ 160. The staff were very friendly and allowed my partner and I to borrow a wheeled platform to lug the furniture home so we could take advantage of the discount. I also once got a Kitchenaid stand mixer at their housewares store for $ 50, which was incredible and has transformed my life. They also have every basket type or shape you could ever need.
However, they also have a lot of crap. I’ve spent countless hours sifting through their clothing looking in vain for a sweater but only finding unwearable pilled acrylic horrors. I have also visited many times looking for a nice bookcase, only to eventually settle for a not-​too-​beat up IKEA one. It’s worth dropping in because there might be absolute treasure, but unfortunately for most visits I leave empty-​handed.

The Second Mile center is magical. You have to put in the work to find the gems, but I love that about a place. The clothes are well sorted, and there are records in the back.
This is actually two different shops that are next to each other — a clothing & a housewares shop.
My favorite was actually the housewares shop where I went in and they were rocking out to Janet Jackson. Totally great and u found a few cute things for my house.
If I lived in Philadelphia I’d come here a few times a week!

I came to the Second Mile in hopes of scoring some possible hidden vintage gems. No such luck. This store is great if you’re in the market for used $ 7 clothes from Forever 21 and other poorly made mall-​quality clothing stores.
Then, I walked out the door and lying on the curb was a giant pile of gorgeous vintage hats from the ‘50s, one still in the original and beautiful hat box. The man loading donations was a sweetheart and helped me track down a price. I got a pile of hats for only $ 20. Sadly though, the woman was extremely careless when ringing me up and pretty much ripped the hat box in half (I almost died on the spot).
So, overall, one big «meh» for Second Mile. So long and thanks for all the hats?

I really liked this place. I’m a huge thrifty meaning I only do my clothes shopping at thrift stores so I have high-​ish standards. I don’t discriminate so I do understand that these places rely on donations, can’t have a Target-​like variety of selection, but even then this place was good. As a woman, I can say their dress selection was awesome, really pretty dresses in a variety of styles and not too worn-​out. I went in June after school got out so I’m guessing donations from students moving out probably helped. Their ladies shoes collection was unbelievable — I’m talking really really nice going-​out heels for like 5 bucks. I ended up leaving with an H&M skirt, a vintage polka dot dress, a leopard-​print backpack, a mirror, bed slippers, and a jewelry-​organizer for just a little over $ 12.
If you’re into thrifting this place is a MUST
PS. They also have dressing rooms now.

Eh. They have a good amount of super-​cheap furniture in here, but a lot of it is severely broken or stained. Why accept this stuff as donations? I guess someone’s buying it, but you would do better checking the «free» listings on Craigslist than actually paying money for this stuff.

CHEAP BOOKS. The Second Mile Too building (next door to the main location that has all the clothes, furniture, etc) has a book section in the back, and the books are priced by weight. Unusual, but this means that most books are less than $ 1.00! There’re a lot of old, not-​so-​appealing reads (like a huge hardcover book with photos of Princess Diana or books about fertility), but you can find something interesting with some digging.
As for the main location, I hardly ever find any clothes or shoes that fit or don’t look too worn out, but I did once find a cute purse for a few dollars and a bedside table for $ 10. It just depends on the day, I guess.

This place is full of a lot of junk. If you sift through, you might find something worth your while. And, if you do, you will get it dirt cheap.
But to be honest, most items in here I would not touch. They are just not in good shape. I don’t blame them. They rely on donations and the money goes to charity. So, why not take what they can and fill the store.
If you have time to waste, it doesn’t hurt. You never know when you might get lucky.

Second Mile has no change rooms! Many thanks to other Unilocalers for the heads up – good thing I came prepared.
Besides that, this is a great thrift store with a variety of clothing, furniture & other goods. We came in looking for stuff to use for Halloween, and did not leave empty handed. Prices seem pretty reasonable. Hours are convenient.
3.5 stars

Second Mile is big (but not as big as it used to be – they used to have a store with clothing and misc, one with housewares, and a store front for furniture across the street, and now they’ve closed the one for furniture and moved all of the furniture to the back of the clothing and misc store). They also have frequent sales for 50% certain types of merchandise, e.g. women’s clothes, accessories, kitchen stuff (as others have said, holiday weekends are the best time to look for a sale). They always have a lot to browse and they restock a lot, so there are plenty of new things to see, even if you go frequently.
But they’re not a great thrift store, and they’re not even as good as they were 4 – 5 years ago. They have always lacked dressing rooms, which is annoying (if you find out that it doesn’t fit after you get home, you can bring it back within 24 hours, but only for store credit). Pricing is wildly inconsistent and has gone up substantially over the past few years. They put some really lousy stuff out on the floor, so there’s a lot of crap you need to sort through in order to get to the good items, and good stuff disappears more quickly (it used to be pretty easy to leave something on the shelf and decide the next day whether it was worth going back for… no longer). Often, there simply are no good items. Look carefully for underarm stains, holes, etc before you buy! Their signature method of organization will also slow you down: clothing is arranged by color, not size!
I keep going back to Second Mile because they’re an easy walk from other places I like to go in the area (Saad’s!), and because I still find a very good deal on occasion. But now that prices are higher and overall quality is lower, I tend to wait for a sale to wander in.