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 I (Dorian) have been to every thrift shop in Victoria many, many times and I know them by heart. It's funny how the cheaper the places are, and the less the people are paid (especially if they're getting paid nothing) the nicer they are and the more fun and cheap it is!!! Start with the stuff at the top and work your way down.
The best thing: How to find random garage sales
Just go biking around James Bay on a saturday morning in summer and you'll land at least a few garage sales.Also, Victoria has a great tradition of leaving free stuff on lawns so if you’re on a budget and want to do some shopping, have a walk around nearby residential neighbourhoods.
Awesome Christian ladies, garage sale prices, and a slight walk: Friday morning 'til 2pm church sale in James Bay
If it's a friday and you've got a half hour to walk over there, do it. Seriously, do it. Cheapest stuff ever and the people are so nice. What a scene. I was scoring 10-cent records, and one of them turned out to be some of the source material for my favourite Kitty Craft song! It's a BJ Thomas record and she sampled "The Greatest Love" to make "Alright." What a song. Also got spoons for 5 cents each, shirts for 25 cents each, plaid PJs for 50 cents... holy moly moly. You'll believe in god after you see this place.
I don't know what the hours for this thing are. It ends at 2pm I think. Go there early like around 11am or something!!!
- Go down Pandora towards town, and turn left on Government St.
- Go through town, through old town, through the inner harbour, past the parliament buildings (are you having fun yet?) and finally turn right on Michigan St.
- It'll be there on your left. If you get to Menzies St you've gone too far!
Bibles for Missions Thrift Shop Victoria Branch
This is the farthest store away, but it's also the best and cheapest. Records 50 cents each, rad clothes, extremely cheap... and the people who work there are volunteers from a local church so they're super nice. Actually the coolest thing about this place is you don't get that awful thrift shop nausea. It's small and nice, not very picked-over, there's always amazing stuff there. We found big fur jackets for $20 (in good shape), Phoebe got some cute dresses for like $4 each, we saw this rad electric organ, $150, and it's got a theremin-style ribbon-controlled synth in it.
2520 Government Street. (map) 250-361-9398
The Salvation Army
Lots of fun random stuff, a good selection of clothes, cheaper than Value Village (mentioned below), and hey, it's right at the bottom of Johnson.
525 Johnson Street. (map) 250-384-3755
St. Vincent De Paul
Very cheap and good. I've gotten computer keyboards, glasses, man... tons of stuff there! Good for halloween stuff too. Very cheap, lots of housewares and stuff.
833 Yates Street. (map)
Value Village
The biggest, baddest thrift shop around. Also more expensive than the other places I've mentioned. But I mean, the place is huge. It's mostly women's clothes, but there's a decent men's section, a bunch of electronics, bikes, toys, tons of (new, not second-hand) Halloween stuff during October, etc... if you're a woman, you'll find tons of cool clothes here. And if you're male... there are some cool sweaters, and some clothes that'll get you that coveted drug dealer look. But if you dig, you can find cool stuff. I got these shoes there, for example, they were $15, the cheapest shoes I ever got, they're these simple grey nondescript runners, and they get more compliments and attention than any other shoes ever. Warning: if you spend more than a half hour here, check your head for nausea, headache, stomach-ache etc. There's something wrong with the ventilation or something.
1810 Store Street. (map) 250-380-9422
Win - Women in Need Society Store
If you're looking for something, look here first. They’ve got just about everything you’re looking for and the merchandise changes all the time. Also, the best window displays for a thrift shop around!
They also have a store on 1803 Cook Street. This store is much bigger, although they mostly have clothes.
Win is directly next door to Ocean Island on Pandora Ave at Blanshard. 250-361-9303
Trendy & more expensive second-hand clothing shops
For places that are a bit more up-market, most of which get their stuff from the above stores and then wash it (which is a plus), or the owners go to garage sales etc... check out our Clothing Shops page.
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