Red Cross Shop Karangahape Rd

The Red Cross shop on Karangahape Road is one of the more traditional op shops there. It’s really great if all you want is a simple op shop rather than the more ‘vintagey’ ones along the stretch of shops.
And what this also means is that their prices aren’t as ridiculous as other places. Yay for that. It does what an op shop should do; provide cheap clothes for people who need them. Or for people who need something for a dress up party ;)
Because it’s more of a traditional op shop rather than a vintage shop it does mean that the clothes can be a little mainstream and early nineties. You definitely won’t find a chic satchel or denim cutoffs there. But that’s what makes it so great.

Meh. When it comes to Red Cross shops and Salvation Armies, I’m always hopeful, and eager, because they always have good finds at cheap prices, and there’s something more authentic about them than those pretentious «vintage not second hand» second hand shops. But, unfortunately, the K’Rd Red Cross sucks. They never have anything!!! Nothing good anyway. It’s a decent sized store with lots of stuff so you go in feeling very optimistic that you’re going to find something awesome, but you never do. Either everyone else has managed to grab the cool stuff before you got there, or they just never have anything cool. It won’t stop you going in every time you pass it though, because there’s just something about it that makes you want to go in. But I promise you, you won’t buy anything. Ever.

I’m always disappointed by this op shop. It doesn’t seem to have a big selection, you kind of browse through but it doesn’t take very long and it’s somehow an unfulfilling store to look through. That being said, there’s nothing really wrong with it; it’s tidy, there’s room to walk around without elbowing other customers (which is more than you can say for some of the other K Rd second hand stores) and overall it’s not an unpleasant experience. Maybe I’ve just never come across anything good here, but that’s not to say that other people don’t. It’s nice though to have it as part of the selection of thrift stores along this strip.

For me the Red Cross Op-​shop on K’Rd is a symbol of hope. Not trying to get too deep about what the Red Cross do, I just mean that whenever I go in I’m always hopeful. Red Cross. They’ll have what I’m looking for. Or if I’m just browsing, they’ll have that unknown gem that’s eluded me at all the other places.
But I honestly don’t think I’ve ever bought anything from the place. Years of roaming the narrow racks, and I’m yet to actually succeed at finding anything I want. And yet, the next time I’m in town, no doubt I’ll be going past and think ‘Ooh. Maybe I’ll just pop in for a quick look. Maybe this time…‘
My theory: Everyone else is getting great deals here, and their enthusiasm for it has leaked onto me. So don’t let my failures put you off, someone must be scoring some sweet threads from this shop…

It’s so easy to walk right past the Red Cross shop on Karangahape Road, because it’s really just a doorway and a sign, but it’s totally worth keeping an eye out for it.
Now I consider myself to be a pretty brave op-​shopper, undeterred by unusual odours and willing to do the hard yards to find the bargains, but entering this shop does put me off slightly — it’s a bit like squeezing into the hallway at your mad uncle’s house; you never know what you might find, or what condition it’ll be in. But, as I’ve found with most Red Cross shops, it pays dividends to the more intrepid shopper. In any case, everything is so cheap (especially for an op shop in the middle of town), you might as well be brave and shop shop shop for charity.