Unique Thrift Store

Half off days at Unique are super addicting! They have them every Monday and major holidays such as Memorial Day. This location is high traffic, so I feel that you need to frequent often to find good stuff. I’ve picked up a few items on the last few visits, but haven’t had as much luck in the women’s section as the other locations, but men’s items have been decent! We found men’s American Eagle hoodies, and GAP/​Club Monaco button down shirts for $ 4.99. Since it is by Chinatown, there’s been a few times where I spotted tea sets and silk qipao dresses for under $ 10. Among my favorite finds is a pair of new Argo Tea mugs for only $ 0.49 after the 50% off. Great neighborhood place to hunt for deals!

It went yesterday because … why not? The store is nice sized and well organized. I found a 12 month shirt from Children’s Place ($ 2), a Chicago baseball jersey ($ 3), tons of socks ($ 0.40 each) and some material ($ 3). When I took everything up to the counter, it turns out that it was half price day. Whoo hoo!
I got all that and a few extra things for $ 7. I was just at the outlet mall in Aurora and saw a similar children’s shirt for $ 16 full price and $ 6 at the outlet. I got mine for $ 1 in perfect condition. =)
I will be returning.

I’m so spoiled by the half-​Monday sale, so shopping on other days of the week just isn’t an option anymore.
I was meeting my hubby since he was working on a call nearby. He wanted to check it out this afternoon.
This is a fairly-​clean and well-​organized location. The venue is much bigger than the one in McKinley Park by the CTA 35^th./Archer Orange line station. Thus, the shopping carts can actually pass through each aisle without too many «excuse me!»
Perhaps because it wasn’t a Monday, the store appeared to be peaceful and orderly. Items were neatly hung on the hangers or clamps. I can only imagine what a Monday will look like. Rosa J. is a pretty skillful thrift-​shopper, but she dislikes fighting with the crowd. However, not being claustrophobic is beneficial, so she will get into a battle if she needs to.
Rosa J. still likes great deals, so she will act when her next available Monday comes by. Hubby, on the other hand, purchased some kind of video game cable for $ 3. He believes that it was a reasonable purchase.
On the side note, they play great late 80s/​early 90s music in store.

I quite like this location. Sure it can be a little jenky but I’ve grown up in the area and I’m used to it. There are some great finds here if you have to patience and time to look through it. I’ve gotten myself great tops and excellent condition purses here. Even my SO wonders how I can find such nice stuff at thrift store. Most of the time I have pretty good luck, other times I’ll walk out empty handed. But all in all, not bad.

Been going here for years!!! saved me when i was in a bind plenty of times. i totally recoomend it

BEWARE OF THIS STORE! STAFFS ARE SUSPECTED THIEFS.
I was browsing through products in store and I left my bag on the cart next to me. While browsing, one of the staff strike a conversation with me to distract my attention away from my bag. Little did I know, my bag was missing after that conversation. When I begged for help, the staffs did NOTHING at all. They were selfish, inconsiderate and unhelpful. They claim to be «busy» but were doing nothing.

It’s very organize other than Monday if you GO MONDAY and EARLY at 6 if possible. It can get pricey and they are nice condition. Also, they don’t have a fitting room.

You’ve really got to look through the items here. Most of it is pretty lackluster. But, if you dig around, you’ll find a thing or two. also, they hang all of their pants by the top corner. it’s kind of strange looking and makes looking through them quite a task. no dressing room. dress to try things on in the aisle.
found a great skirt, a great pair of vintage pumps and a cute scarf. just so happened to but again, i had to really search.

I liked it better years ago before it moved to this location. When it was down the street I used to find some really good upscale items at thrift store prices. Now it’s junk and greater than thrift store prices. Generally items are over priced but I will go look on Mondays

Friendly staff, great selection, you can find just about anything here. I’m addicted to this place,

It’s hit or miss but definitely worth frequenting. I found a pair of AG (Adriano Goldschmied) jeans for $ 4.99 — size 29 — supersoft and nothing wrong with them! Be patient when looking and perhaps, you too, will score a decent find. I also found a black halter Laundry cocktail dress for $ 6.99 size 4 — one can never have too many black dresses. Parking is a headache.

I often find some hidden gems here. Great prices, a different deal every day. (Pay attention to the color of the tags and the signs in the store! A blue tag could mean 50% off one day!) I’ve bought some really cute clothes here. I’ve also bought some not-​so-​nice things to make a costume with for really, really cheap. A lot of miscellaneous goodies could be found, as well. We’re talking board games, wall décor, pretty pillows, bags of toys, costumes, etc.
Only giving it four stars because a) there’s no fitting room and b) the place is overwhelmingly disorganized.

4 stars for being a godsend in finding my last minute DIY Halloween costume!
This location is far better than another UTS I have been to in West Rogers Park. The aisles are wider, it is more organized by comparison, and brighter (doesn’t feel like a dungeon). The only downside is that the parking lot can be a big mess to get in and out of.

I just came in here for a quick glance while my food was getting prepared (ordered at Triple Crown express in the same plaza).
They had really cheap books that are in good condition. Moreover, everything seems to be organized though there are a little bit of everything.
I got a bit exited over the fancy dresses (prom/​evening gowns/​etc) that were at the far right of the store. They were second (maybe even more hands…) hands that are at a reasonable price. I didn’t examine too closely, but they seemed relatively new to me. There are a lot of slim dresses. People might do well if they are in a dress emergency with an extremely tight budget. Who can tell that the dress was previously owned by someone else?

I wasn’t sure what to expect because that was the first Unique location I’ve been to. There was a strange stench the moment I walked in, but thanks to olfactory fatigue, you don’t notice it after a few minutes. It was kind of a hot mess when we got there. There were things strewn on the floor and on top of racks, but I don’t really care about things like that since it just makes the hunt that much more interesting. All the Unique stores have a store wide 50% off sale on Mondays so it was a pretty good deal. The selection isn’t all too amazing. There are some mid-​high brands that you run across, but for the most part it’s a lot of random, junky tops, dresses, bottoms, etc. I didn’t find any gems, but I found some decent pieces that I can see myself wearing on a day to day basis. They also don’t have much in the way of shoes.
Warning: The parking lot is a headache.

Do not come here expecting great customer service. Do come here expecting great deals. I outfitted my kitchen for less than $ 20 and managed to snag matching cups, plates and bowls.
Parking lot is packed! Free parking but packed to the gills. Go ahead and pay for parking on Halsted. You are saving tons of money anyways shopping here. Save yourself the headache.

This location is the first Unique Store I have found.
I REALLY liked it because:
1) there is free, available parking (in a lot)
2) the clothes are by sizes, not color like Goodwill seems to do
3) they have deals by color of tags, and on their website they have TONs of sales on varying days of the week.
4) books are über cheap! I think it’s something like 10 soft covers for 0.99? Great for kids books!
5) the place was clean and was pleasant, and cool (in hot weather).
6) TONS of shoe selection, it outranks Target and their shoes
7) Their curtains and sheets were all hung up nicely instead of shoved on a shelf
8) It’s a pretty big store-​though I’ve only been to 1 so far.
Cons or Wish List: I wish they had shelving units for the office supplies, wooden knickknacks, housewares, all the ‘other stuff’ that I like to peruse. They currently have them on the top of the clothing racks, which is a little under eye level for me.

I walk in, perfectly innocent and with no intentions to steal anything and the first thing I’m told is that I have to leave my backpack at the counter. This is nothing short of an affront. If they can’t trust me not to steal their mostly crappy clothes why should I trust them not to steal stuff out of my back-​pack? To compound the insult, it took close to ten minutes for someone to arrive at the counter to return my back-​pack when I was done and ready to leave the store.
Not only is this tactic an unforgivable insult, it discourages people from carrying their own bags which is something we should all be doing by now right?

I’m quite certain the manager of this particular Unique Thrift is either 10 months pregnant and nesting, or has OCD.
Read: It’s more organized than some stores that sell new crap, like Target or Marshall’s, or TJ Maxx. Now, I realize that isn’t saying a whole lot… but if you’ve been to a few Unique Thrift’s in your day, you know they can be a hot mess most of the time, jam-​packed with mothbally sweaters and snot-​laden children.
This Bridgeport one, it’s sparklin’. Organized by color, plenty of room to walk between aisles, CLEAN, and un-​frantical. No crazy mothers screeching down the aisles running into people with carts. In fact, we sort of guessed this would be the case strolling in ¹⁰⁄₃₀ around 2pm with last minute Halloween shoppers and it being a Saturday and all. But nope, quite civilized.
However, this comes at a price. My goblin selected perhaps the ugliest combo of paisley shirt and rug-​type glitter vest, and each piece was…$ 5.99?! Are they crazy?! This stuff is so ugly/​dated, it should be about $ 1. No more! But, he was last minute and needed the makings of a hot Jan Skylar on the quick, so he wasn’t as concerned about price, I suppose.
Do note that it does seem a bit pricier than other UTs, but you do get a nice, spiffy clean place to shop, organized and easy to find whatever crap you may be seeking, and minimal crazies. They do have the classic UT deals with different colored tags, etc and of course they STAPLE the tags into the clothes (never understand that, it makes HOLES in them, people!).
However, the parking lot is a HOT MESS. It’s kind of narrow and disfigured and is shared by shoppers at Walgreens, McDonald’s and a few other strip mall stores. Parker beware, you may be better off with the free street parking nearby!!!

In a small mall so it’s easy to get in and out. The racks were surprisingly pretty organized when I dropped by. Pricier than other thrift stores, but the quality is prolly better too.
The kicker for me though was when I was leaving and eyeing a $ 45 pink (and frivolous) «coach» purse behind the valuable loots counter. I asked a sales lady to help me look at it. She wouldn’t let me leave the counter area to look at a mirror. That was Unique policy.
But she more than made up for it.
She got me a ridiculously small mirror and held it up for a better angle. Then she told me how that purse was gonna be gone in no time, cause so many customers were eyeing it. Then she did the favor of explaining to me how the purse was fake. And she would know cause her other prior purchases were fake.
I was puzzled b/​c it was so cute (pink!), and cause I know you could likely buy a new fake one for a similar price. Lol.
Then I took a better look at the inside fabric, and noticed it was the wrong type of lining for a Coach purse.
I just looked at her and said, «Thank you for taking the time to help me so much.» (I meant to say thank you for not almost letting me pay full price for a used knock off!) She replied warmly, «You’re welcome, it’s my job to help the consumer, either way.» I left Unique thinking, «wow.that was seriously classy.»