As promised I have composed a list (and map!!) of the best thrift stores we’ve come across in all of our 4 years of living here and knowing each other. I know it has taken me longer than I had planned to write this, but that just means it will be that much better, right?

I made a cute little map (thanks google!) with different colored pins for each thrift/junk/antique store we know and love. Here is a little key for you:

GREEN - super cheap (a chair is $5)
YELLOW – moderately priced (a chair is $20-30)
RED – uber expensive (a chair is $300)
BLUE – these are flea markets

Click here for a larger map

Now I realize these are not all of the thrift stores in SA because A. I haven’t been to ALL of them yet, and B. I purposely left off the ones that (in my opinion) stunk. Like the downtown Goodwill. DO NOT GO THERE, it’s a total waste of your time. All they do is resell surplus Target merchandise for double the price. Awkward.

So now that my little disclaimer is out of the way, let’s get down to business. In alphabetical order..

Assistance League Thrift House

Price: $
What they have: an even mix of nice furniture, housewares, and clothing

I stumbled upon AL Thrift house by accident on my way out of a really lovely Salvation Army. It’s kind of tucked back away from the main street but once you walk inside you would think you’d stepped into a cute little boutique in small town downtown square or something. Everything is so organized and perfectly displayed and oh so cheap. Like cheaper than Goodwill cheap. And the ladies that all work there are so sweet. I’ve actually already written about this place here if you want more info and photos of the inside. Definitely at the top of my list!

Beacon Hill Market Place

Price: $$$
What they have: mostly vintage/antique furniture, housewares, and collectables

Okay so I actually have mixed feelings about this one. She has a TON of stuff. You may have seen their name pop up on Craigslist with every other listing. Like I said, a lot of stuff. But the downside is that I think the owner is actually a hoarder because she has priced everything outrageously. I mean she has more things than she knows what to do with that is just piled and piled from floor to ceiling. But charging $300 for a chair that looks like it was left out in the rain and a mountain lion got ahold of is not cool in my book. She does have a bunch of smaller treasures though that are more moderately priced. And whatever you’re looking for she has it, just be ready to haggle or pay a pretty penny for any treasure you find.

Bussey’s Flea Market

Price: $-$$$
What they have: any and everything, it’s a flea market!

If you haven’t been to Bussey’s you really must go! But be sure to go early because the good stuff goes fast. If you stop at the guy’s booth on the end with all of the old jars and medicine bottles, do not ask him about his Nazi collection. You will throw up or run away crying. Never again! There are a few booths with actual treasure if you get past all of the glowing cell phone cases and beanie babies.

Capitol Antiques

Price: $$-$$$
What they have: furniture ranging from school desks, to Queen Anne chairs, to patio chairs, to grandfather clocks

This place is another case of hoarders anonymous. It is literally room after room after room of piled furniture, and it’s much cleaner than Beacon Hill. But if you want something from a back room under a stack of chairs and filing cabinets, I have no idea how you would ever get it out. My parents and I have almost gotten lost several times at Capitol, it’s just very windy and all of the rooms look the same so it’s easy to lose your bearings. He has some very unique items too and some are expensive but some are moderately priced, he always surprises me!

Community Thrift

Price: $
What they have: an even mix of low end furniture, housewares, and clothing

This is a very interesting place. It’s sort of setup like a warehouse and is a little pricier than Goodwill, but they have lots of sales on different colored dots each day and an additional 20% if you’re a senior! They didn’t have a lot of furniture though, it was like the broken section of Goodwill, but lots of glassware, frames, clothes, things like that.

Goodwill

Price: $
What they have: an even mix of nice furniture, housewares, and clothing

Okay so I know Goodwill seems a little obvious, but lately I haven’t been too impressed with Goodwill. It’s overpriced, inconsistently priced, and a lot of broken or damaged items. So the handful of Goodwills I’ve noted are the creme de la creme in San Antonio. I chose them because they have a huge selection, constantly moving through inventory, are super cheap, and have a lot of furniture or housewares.

Hildebrand Shops

Price: $-$$
What they have: oodles and oodles of furniture

I’m going to lump all of these together because if you are going to one you may as well go to all of them. And frankly, I can’t tell them apart anymore, so my descriptions would be confusing. There are about 10-15 shops along Blanco and Hildebrand right before you get to San Pedro. I may have skipped a few because there are just so many sprinkled in there, but if they have furniture sitting outside you’re at the right place! This is where Derek and I found our Gunlocke chairs along with a few other treasured pieces, and a few that have slipped between our fingers because we didn’t act fast enough. This stuff goes quick so you better be in a buying mood! Oh and the guys at Junction and Judys love to haggle so be sure to not settled on the sticker price. I also wrote about these shops here if you want more info and pictures of some of their pieces.

Mod Pad

Price: $$$
What they have: lots of consignment mid-century furniture and accessories

So if I had a million dollars I would eat this place up, but alas I usually just go there to oogle the dreamy mid-century finds. This place is two stories and filled with little furniture vignettes, and it’s a great place if you’re looking for some great staple pieces to invest in.

Oz

Price: $$$
What they have: lots of mid-century furniture and accessories

Oz is like Mod Pad but better. They usually have a few high end mid-century pieces or replicas. But the replicas tend to still be priced pretty high. They usually have a lot of chairs too, which we love.

Salvation Army

Price: $
What they have: an even mix of furniture, housewares, and clothing

Obviously you know what Salvation Army is, but this location is the best of the best here in SA. It’s right down the street from us and you bet your buttons I walk there every week. It’s absolutely huge and filled with TONS of furniture and housewares and the prices are fantastic! Also we donated everything we didn’t sell from our garage sale to them so that’s always neat to see haha.

Texas Thrift

Price: $
What they have: an even mix of furniture, housewares, and clothing

Okay so Texas Thrift is my favorite ever, but only on holidays. Why? Because every holiday EVERYTHING in the store is half off. No joke! But you have to get there early because the lines get super long. I’ve been there every holiday for wedding stuff which has saved us a ton of money. Plus every Texas Thrift is HUGE. Seriously. They’re like empty Walmarts turned into a thrift store. You can’t beat it.

Thrift Town

Price: $
What they have: an equal amount of furniture, housewares, and clothing

I always forget about this place because it’s kind of far away from my usual stomping grounds, but it’s always filled lots of inexpensive treasures and sometimes really nice furniture items. I usually go here for frames, glassware, fabric, things like that.

Vinny’s Values

Price: $
What they have: lots of furniture, records, accessories, housewares, and a small clothing section

This is my newest thrift store on my list. My parents and I stumbled on it a few months ago but it was closed, and we were finally able to check it out a few weeks ago. It was love at first sight! It’s pretty small but it’s packed full of lots of great furniture, accessories, and they have an entire wall of records for $1. And they have ceramic animals so you know it’s a win for me.

So that’s my list! Do you guys have any places I should add? I love finding out about out new places in the area.