2ND Time Around

I like the store layout and the selection of clothes and shoes but their customer service is horrible. They were not helpful when I went to shop and when I dropped off my consignments. When I went to pick up clothes that did not sell after a couple of months, the store manager did not show up till 11:45am although the store is supposed to open at 11:00am. I also found out that one of my clothes went missing. The manager said she will have to look for it in the inventory room later and will call me back later that day but I never received a call from her. I ended up calling her several times following up on the lost item. At the end she said she will give me some credits, which was not much. What was most frustrating was that she was never apologetic about losing my cloth. It was a very frustrating experience. I don’t think I’ll ever do business with them again.

Employees are not very friendly, especially one of the managers, she was there today. I’ve brought really nice things in there & they sell them at a very low price or not at all. I agree with some of these reviews, they don’t know how to sell or price high end clothing/​purses.

I would like to start by saying I in no way enjoy second hand clothing shopping, in fact I avoid it like the plague.
My mom, sister, and I were shopping and they convinced me to go in — I am glad I did!
Found some of my favorite wardrobe pieces there — and almost everything was marked down an additional percentage. I got a beautiful brown suede vest and a black celine jacket with cut outs. Wasn’t cheap but so worth it !!!

I am on the fence here. They do have a great selection in the smaller sizes, but sadly not at size 8 and above. On all of my visits the sales staff have been cordial and non intrusive. However, I noticed that some items are reasonably priced and others are not. Unfortunately, the issue that is the most troublesome for me is that some items are more appropriate for a thrift store as they have stains and/​holes or tears in them. One needs to draw the line on gently used clothing that is resale shop appropriate and merely used clothing that should be donated to a charitable thrift store. To price items that have noticeable wear and tear issues as if they are gently used items in very good to excellent condition is wrong, in my opinion. Shopper beware!

I really enjoyed my trip to this store. The employees were the opposite of rude to me, although I wasn’t selling anything. I tried on a lot of pieces & only bought a couple of them, and the employees were very nice to me the whole time.
I also thought there was a great selection, and the store was nicely presented! Very organized and clean. Prices seemed good to me!

Prices are high for the type and condition of merchandise they sell. I just put on a sweater I bought, and there’s a hole in the sleeve. Many of the things I’ve tried on in store have had stains on them. Bring the items to the natural light for inspection.

Second time in this store. I like the layout and I like the selection, but I think some of the stuff is overpriced. Chick behind the counter spoke, but was busy entering stuff into the computer to do much else… which is cool, I don’t like being hounded by sales people anyway… I guess I would come back on occasion to see what I can see… that’s about it, nothing super exciting…

I was disgusted by the customer service at this store. I’ve been going for years, and just have put up with how rude the employees are. This time, I dropped off clothes and one of them brushed me off but said they would call me when they could look at them. No call, and I didn’t EVER say to get rid of clothes if they weren’t taking them. Went back in and the clothes were gone. That’s one thing (hundreds of dollars worth of clothes), but my biggest issue was how I was treated. No apologies, no excuses (besides, sometimes calls just don’t go through). The woman was ABSOLUTELY the rudest person I have ever worked with in retail. I really don’t know understand how a manager can accept that. I will never go back, and have told all my friends who shop there not to go back either. Super disappointing.

Love this store. I found incredible buys and I wear the clothing I bought here constantly. I just started shopping at second hand stores recently and there are vast differences from one to the next. I live in the Western suburbs and wish I lived closer to Second Time Around.

This place has the best selection and prices in Chicago. I have consigned at shops all over the Northside and they are fantastic. It is clean, organized, and they have a huge range of brands from Tory Burch & Missoni to Gap and Ann Taylor. They also get a lot of foot traffic which is great I you’re trying to consign. I love the online tracking system, and they never lose my items, which has happened at several other Chicago consignment stores. I also like the wicker park location, but I think this one has more high end designer items.

I have never posted before but I really thought the store should know about my last experience. I was shopping on ⁵⁄₁₇ in the late afternoon, and I had a collection of items on my arms. I asked one of the employees to start a fitting room, which they promptly did. A few minutes later, I noticed that the other employee was going around the store putting everything back that I had just left in the fitting room. I was rather surprised, and politely said «hey, I think that top might be from the items I just had placed in my fitting room.» She replied — «oh» and handed the top back to me. She did not apologize, did not offer to help me find the three other items that were put back before I said anything, and honestly looked indifferent. How difficult is it to say sorry? I am certain I forgot to find a few items, as well, so the store likely missed out on a few sales.
I really love to shop here, but I have honestly never been treated like this before in a store, ever! The experience really left a bad taste in my mouth.

You get 40% of the take, but I think they underprice certain things and I know they overprice others. I am sure I was informed that after the expiration date, if the consigner doesn’t pick up the item, SAC will give away the unsold item to charity; turns out that’s not so. They actually keep trying to sell it, only you don’t get any of the return at all. I walked in months after and saw an item they had overpriced at more than I’d spent for it years ago. They did let me take it home, but who knows how many of my other items they sold rather than donated. Staff does not seem to be that clothing literate at the higher end.

I’m so disappointed from this store. The clothes are overpriced, and not in fabulous condition. I’ve seen better (and less expensive) finds at the Salvation Army. They don’t carry fabulous brands either.

Great selection of everything and great sales! Go here!

This place is fun!
I’m starting a business-​casual type job soon, and so I needed some conservative, summery, closed-​toe shoes. I found some really cute ones here for $ 25! I’ll have to come back when I have a better feel for the dress code, because they have an excellent shoe selection, and I kinda want to buy all the shoes.
EDIT: A piece of advice to the business is, please don’t tape the ever-​loving crap out of the tags/​shoes. I was pulling off thin strips of the leather sole when removing my tag :-/

I normally drop my things off at a charity or give things to friends, but after watching that reality show on tv, I thought it would be cool to try and consign some of my designer pieces.
I started off with some shoes, all barely worn and in their boxes. One pair were almost brand new (no wearing on them) Coach heels, in the original box.
I called when the deadline was up to see if my items were sold and found out that I got $ 8 for my coach shoes.
I had a bunch of other pieces I could have cosigned with them, but it wasn’t worth it. I would rather give my things away then give my things to them to make money off of it.
Totally their loss. I never went in and picked up the check, I never went in there again period. What a waste of my time!

This is definitely an upscale second hand store. I stopped in thinking I would find furniture but I was mistaken. It’s all clothes, cute accessories and some shoes. Since I’m not a big fan of buying used clothes or shoes, I was instantly turned off. I was even MORE turned off when I looked at the price tag, hence the upscale-​ness. I’d rather pay those prices for a brand new piece. Duh.

I don’t like second hand/​vintage shops. They usually smell funny and are filled with relics I wouldn’t have worn in the day. But not Second Time Around. This store is clean, well organized, and has great merchandise. My husband actually calls it my jeans store because every time we walk through the door to peruse, I walk out with a new pair of perfectly fitting designer jeans. And the best part is that all of the prices are very reasonable, and often the item (s) I want are an additional percentage off the price on the tag.
Sometimes the sales associates are helpful, and sometimes they aren’t. But I don’t really bother with them because it’s not like they are going to find a size for you or something. They’re really just there to keep the store organized and ring up purchases.

Step by step
Day by day
A fresh start over
A different hand to play
Only time will tell
But you know what they say
We’ll make it better
The second time around
(Huge roller coaster drop) Weeeeeeeeee! Sorry, I’m just replaying the Step by Step intro in my mind. Anyways, I’m a fan of this shop. Yeah, that sitcom is from the 90’s but you won’t find outdated styles here. They have a good range of prices and a lot of really cute clothing and accessory items. Sifting through the racks you’ll find a diverse choice of designers and labels. A lot of dresses, and cute, girly items.
The girl at the cash register greeted me with a hello and a smile when I walked in, and was very friendly. The store’s well-​organized and looks more like a boutique than a resale shop. The next time I’m looking for a casual date night outfit I’ll probably hit up Second Time Around.

«Oh crap! Did I just accidentally walk into a boutique?» This was racing through my head as I entered Second Time Around.
I had passed STA several times, but was never compelled to go in. Why? I know it sounds silly, but it was because of the sign. The gold letters on a green background seemed most appropriate for a sign on your cookie cutter Irish bar such as Paddy O’Leprechaun’s, or a consignment store targeting the prim and preppy. Seriously, from the outside it seemed like the place women consigned their last season Brooks Brothers wardrobes and starter pearls, rather than anything fashionable. I know, I don’t have room to talk since I’m light years away from being considered cutting edge or trendsetting, but that’s the vibe I got.
During my all-​out resale clothing blitz I decided to check this place out. I had already spent a pretty penny on a meter (grrr) to go into McShane’s Exchange next door and had some time to burn. This place and McShane’s couldn’t be more visually opposite on the inside. McShane’s is an old house, with worn paint on the wood work, clothing racks crammed in every room and accessories piled in every crevice (even a non-​functioning bathroom). STA is bright, new and clean looking, spacious and almost minimalist, plenty of room to browse racks without bumping into or squeezing past others.
STA is also impeccably organized, unlike the Armitage McShane’s where it seems very chaotic and the clothing is frequently missorted. Each rack at STA describes exactly what it is: skirts, dresses, shirts, etc. However, they take it one step further labeling and dedicating racks to new arrivals, high end, and boutique items. The fitting rooms are small and simple, but there’s plenty of room and privacy to be had.
I didn’t find anything I needed, but I did try on a number of items, which were all reasonably priced. I steered clear of the high end and boutique items figuring they were out of my price range. It also seems like they’re careful about what they put out, there weren’t any items I saw that should’ve been put in the trash rather than consigned.
I hovered between 3 and 4 stars solely because of service. Aside from starting fitting rooms, the staff here was completely self-​absorbed. The whole time I shopped they chit-​chatted with each other and tried on accessories; I know it was a slow rainy day, but come on there were still a few people in the store. If you needed some assistance you had to ask, but shouldn’t it work the other way around?
TIP: For all you Twitterers (Tweeters?) you can find them at STA_​Armitage
TIP: This place is a national chain, their website’s pretty nice and offers an online consignment option.