Unique

We have shopped here last ¹⁰⁄₂₀₁₄ and we shopped for Halloween costumes, wigs accessories. We shopped for other miscellaneous items for the home. It was better organized than Unique Thrift on Lakeshore Blvd. in Willowick OH. It is always interesting to shop here.

Ch’Ch’Ch’Changes!
Unique has recently made huge changes! What was a staple for convenience, but never seemed to changed, and never seemed to be well organized, and always had grumpy employees, has reinvented itself to be a wonderful shopping experience!
I’ve visited Unique several times in the last few months and am constantly surprised by how well everything is organized and displayed now! The labels are descriptive and sometimes bilingual!
They now have a drop-​off bucket in the front and their set-​up has changed to be more efficient and convenient. In addition, while I used to drop off big items in the back — more often than not I’d ring the bell and sit there and sit there and never be helped. Now everyone is punctual, all the employees have been very helpful, knowledgeable (where the blue slips are used to be a real hang-​up), and full of smiles!
I’m serious. This place has changed for the better! (it’s still a little on the expensive side, but pay attention to what tickets have sales and come in on sale days and it’s much more reasonable)

Not a bad place to go if you have patience. It’s always packed. They have remodeled and moved everything. It looks nice but the whole fun of the the place is that it wasn’t organized and it was fun to look through. Don’t go on a Monday its half price day. Everything is picked over by the afternoon.

I hear the management switched since my last review. The prices have been scaled back in a big way. They probably realized prices were too crazy once they figured out people been walking out with those 9 dollar torn levis strauss’s under their snowpants. still only two stars because they tore down that sweet country font store sign and replaced it with lame geneva caps. bad move.

Large store with many wares! Found a good deal on belts, barware, and a cheap Bodrum French Press! Score!

Unique Thrift is Unique Thrift. But THIS Unique Thrift is on a major bus route and has a hotdog cart outside. That’s what makes it unique.

I was from out of town and visiting Cleveland. I love going to thrift stores when I travel. This store did not disappoint. A nice variety, and fairly well organized. Prices were not dirt cheap but far less than retail.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. Ten years ago, I could pop in here and get some pretty solid t-​shirts, decent dress clothing, and other random stuff. All for super cheap. The only real caveat was that I had to really do some hard digging. The prices have indeed gone up over the years, but so has the quality of the store operations, it seems. Digging for cool shizz isn’t so hard anymore. So I’m ok with the prices. Plus, it’s not like prices went up to vintage boutique levels and I’m paying $ 200 for someone’s used jacket. Things at Unique are still way cheaper than buying new. My only real problem is that the Men’s selection seems smaller now than in the past. Perhaps my memory is a little too fuzzy on things. But even back then, I would have probably given this place 3 to 4 stars given all the cool stuff I found. Like any thrift shop, it’s a crap shoot depending on the day. Given that this place is cleaner and better organized now, I’ll probably be coming back and taking that crap shoot more often. Time will tell if it’s worth the effort. Overall, I’m still as happy with this place as I was a decade ago.

Meh. It was really overpriced for what you get. Also, many of the clothes were wrinkled, stained or not in the best of shape. Also not very well organized. There seemed to be too many super large clothes and not enough medium sized ones. The place did have free parking and a unique retro vibe to it, but the quality of the clothes for the prices they were marked was not impressive.

All about the Mondays… everything is half off all day Mondays. Not the greatest selection, as many items are super worn or have hole or stained. Dont think they wash or dry clean items before they put them out to sell. I’ve seen tons of blazers with receipts or dirty tissue still in the pocket. Even still, you can catch some serious deals here.

WILLOWICK is the only location I frequent anymore. They’ve made some major updates to brighten things up. I think they even put in new white ceiling tiles. I do think shift stores in general have changed with Ebay opportunists — or charging higher prices on certain things like «ugly sweaters» that are trending. Thrift stores are fully aware of collectable items they can treat with an antique mall price scale. You’ll still find some gems they missed occasionally. Friends and coworkers will note things I wear and comment that I was «lucky». The key these days is frequency. Don’t go expecting to find something specific like a tuxedo. You’ll like find something you might need later. I really don’t like how they create a whole Halloween area every fall. That’s all cheap crap.

When I first read the recent reviews of Unique in few months, I groaned. Ohio City, the burgeoning premier westside neighborhood, had made another step in gentrification, and its thrift store jumped the shark by becoming overpriced.
Yes, it has changed and not for the better but I am still out whether it had jumped the shark. Prices are no longer written in crayon on a stapled piece of paper, the increased prices are now displayed on a plastic tag, barcoded through aplastic loop (like a real clothing retailer). I stopped in during lunchtime on Tuesday: jeans are $ 5 – 10; a vintage Sears alarm clock from the 70s (in mint condition and original box) is $ 9 (wtf, really, that much?). Music CDs were $ 2 each, double of their previous price.
Items are organized by size but the store was much neater, items organized by size, and still had some name brands.
These prices are no doubt higher than before but it is not ridiculous, even for Cleveland’s cheap standards.
Has it sold out? I still found a like-​brand new pair of lands end pants for $ 6 and debated on a couple others, so I’d like to think not yet. You’ll still getting a good buy but not a great one.
A very high 3 stars.

Dresses average around $ 15 for used Target and Old Navy crap. I’ve found my best finds at this Unique, but it’s rare. The prices are outrageous now… Jewelry items for $ 40. Disappointing that Unique has gauged its prices so much in the past couple of years. Used to be the best.

Ok a week or so later… I feel like a need to place a updated review! I been back about 3 times (including the one in Willowick-​prices are lower) because I’ve been working in the area and again needed to relieve some stress. Well yesterday I decided to try my luck considering it was Monday half off. I ended up with a pretty good load that included a blazer, 3shirts, cross body bag, and a candle holder all for 15 bucks! Not bad but considering I asked about the wear and tear on the body bag and she marked it lower. Also, every shirt is not worth 3.99 but I purchased the best value out of my hand that I thought was worth it! I would have gave the updated review 3stars if I wouldn’t have come across a roller set new with a Marcs sticker at .99cents and the new Unique price for 2.99. Talk about mark up from the original?

Unique, you’re kind of blowing it. When you reorganized everything by size (yeah right) instead of color and style, you made my head explode. It is cool that you built our changing rooms but I would rather that time be spent sweeping or cleaning the deplorably dusty shopping carts!
The hours for half price Monday are fantastic for pretty much any human’s schedule, so that is a plus. I only wish there was more that I wanted– selection is really hit or miss these days– and that I could buy the patience to scale though the unorganized racks. Sigh, Unique. Sigh.

What can I say, this place is exactly what it sounds like. Not in a good way, unless you have an odd fascination for that 70s smell, odd selections of various household items like the dock for the first cordless phone ever and no phone, lol. Theres always a diamond in the rough, my buddy P.W. got some priceless photos there, actually theyre posted for this store. hahahaha, stop in, you wont regret it, or will you?

I have been coming to Unique for years. It is my favorite thrift store. I found a set of 5 pictures in frames, qty 2 5×7 and qty 3 4×6 of old guys in bowling outfits at different tournaments from the 70’s and 80’s. I converted them to coasters by putting little rubber bottoms on the backs of them. The one dude looks so grumpy and puzzled in every picture. It is even more funny because if you check the back, it has all of the dude’s names on it. The guy who looks weird is Norm Booth. His friend’s name is Jack Haugh. Read that name and say it out loud. Yeah, it is about the best find at a thrift store ever. I saw a picture of Tom Sellick framed in there two times ago. Wish I would have copped that. I will try to remember to post pictures of those coasters. They are so awesome. Every guest at my apartment flips out when they see them.

My feelings about this thrift store seem to waver depending on when I go, but its definitely worth checking back on a semi-​regular basis.
There are periods of 3 – 4 times in a row that I’ve visited and not found a thing. I agree with some of the Unilocalers that can be a little crusty-​like in some areas and it seems like the kitchen wares section is way messier than it used to be.
Regardless I’ve found antique books, cool knit hats, scarves, 80’s Browns shirts and most recently, an old library table for $ 15. It’s huge, we refinished it and it’s now our office desk. It looks perfectly rustic and we barely spent anything on it. Win!

Not sure what people saw in this place, it just wasn’t doing it for me. Not a great selection, and a LOT of crap selection here.
We arrived as they opened and were surprised to see people waiting to get in. After about 15 minutes of looking and mocking some of the ancient crap they were trying to sell, we decided to call it quits and left empty handed.

I’m a thrift store fanatic! I get these crazy urges to go find unique things that don’t look appealing to others and to make them awesome, whether it’s clothes or furniture! So, when I get these urges when I’m not home and near my true favorite thrift store, I head to Unique Thrift. How fitting that I find unique things here!
If you’re a thrifter, you know the basics:
1. Patience
2. Hand sanitizer in the car
3. Know your size by eyeballing things
4. Check zippers
5. Careful when reaching into purses
6. Watch for broken glass and/​or splinters on picture frames, paintings, etc
At Unique you must follow all of these rules, and if you do, you will love the place. Sure, it’s dusty and has that thrift store smell, but if you’re worried about those things, you should probably head somewhere else and keep less of a tight grip on the contents of your wallet. What you don’t pay for in dollars, you may pay for in inconveniences, which I find are easy to put up with for such a selection and a more interesting shopping experience.