Out of the Closet

This place should be named out of the basement… yes I did give this place 5 stars because we did come out with great finds, however, it had more everything than clothes (which was our main goal). I was looking for clothes for an upcoming business trip up north. I came out with books, lamps, shoes, purses and videos. I did not find clothes that I liked. However, their customer service is extraordinary. The man in charge is so nice, so helpful I did not mind that I did not mind not finding clothes that suited me. I will definitely go back again but not necessarily for clothes but just to see any new items. On a separate note, it is too bad that they close the location on the beach, it was right next to my work. But it is definitely worth the extra miles to this place. Come without a goal mind and you will find some great gems.

They hate dogs here I really don’t get Miami and it’s total absolute hatred of dogs don’t even try to get an apartment here with dogs they will rape you! Who ever heard of not being able to bring two small dogs into a thrift store I can bring them in any store balenciaga for chrissakes this is just going too far it’s a charity the floors are filthy I think it’s just mean!

I try my best not to give 5-​stars when I do reviews, because you always want to leave room for improvement. But Out of The Closet on Miami Beach, Alton Rd., continues to impress me and I give them, without hesitation, a solid 5-​stars. I want to personally commend and give Ida, [whom I believe is the Manager] a A++. She definitely knows and exhibits Customer Service so much that I recommend friends here in Miami Beach BUT also in Brooklyn, New York on Atlantic Avenue to visit and donate their gently used clothes and items.
Out Of The Closet on Miami Beach, Alton Rd., has a wide selection, color specific racks of clothing, awesome finds [and if you’re a designer like me looking to flip and give new life to unwanted items, this is absolutely the place to go], they have a friendly & helpful staff, they price everything reasonably… and they truly APPRECIATE and showcase ALL donations!
I love knowing that most of their proceeds goes TO a great cause, and their mission statement is posted clearly for everyone to see [over the check-​out desks], they definitely give back to the community; from reasonably priced items to their free HIV testing and more.
I have witnessed first hand on several occasions homeless people patronizing the store; and just a few of them apparently showed signs of being homeless due to their unpleasant smell and dis-​shuffled appearance. BUT never once-​not once did the Out Of The Closet staff deny their business, make them feel less than or speak down to them. And that says a lot…
After all… that is truly what a THRIFT Store was ORIGINALLY created for-​for people with lesser means and who were/​are «less fortunate» to shop and buy low cost and good condition clothes and items. And Out Of The Closet on Alton Road DEFINITELY has not forgotten this fact! That is why I give them 5-​Stars!!!

If you live locally you’ll know that Alton Road is torn up and under construction. Parking is scarce. I went to the Einstein Bagel next door to Out of the Closet to pick up a carry out order. The Einstein parking lot was full. The Out of the Closet lot was empty. I parked in the about of the Closet lot until the manager (or owner) looked outside and told me I couldn’t park there. Appeals to «work with me» for the 10 minutes fell on deaf ears. Although the law may be on his side, he certainly has lost me as a customer forever. The best gauge of someone is how they act to someone who needs help. I would never trust this store based on how I was treated.

Wide selection. Everything is color coordinated and the store was very clean. They had a beautiful bike up for grabs which I wish I could have taken but unfortunately at the moment I couldn’t. The man at the cash register was extremely sweet.

Fabulous day for crate digging! Got a sweet Al Green album and the soundtrack to Beat Street plus other treasures for 50 cents each. Good sales on books and clothes too. All donations go to fight aids. Can’t go wrong visiting this sobe thrift store.

Not too much to choose from in this Miami Beach location and the manager talks about customers who are currently shopping in the store. I have heard the staff and manager making fun of customers. Very unprofessional, especially for a not for profit organization. I wouldn’t even donate to this establishment!

Great place to buy used CD’s to add to my iTunes!!!

Been here a couple times and haven’t really found anything my style. But it’s a thrift so not only is that subjective but the merchandise is constantly changing. So maybe next time :) the reason for the 4 stores is the friendly staff and for what they do :) I’m all about supporting stores like this with a good cause and would much rathe donate here then goodwill

Welllllll when I was living down here last year it was very promising and I made several purchases. Popped in today and it was super empty and the thrifty of the thrift. Certainly it’s for a good cause, hopefully people will make better donations. Friendly staff.

Bought a couple art deco dining room chairs here. Well worth the price — I feel like they mismarked them they were so cheap!!! The place is EXTREMELY CLEAN for a thrift store, and everything seem really well organized. And one of the workers helped me with the chairs out to my truck so I was very thankful. Quick, easy check-​out too. They seemed adequately staff and very pleasant — and it seems like the proceed go to free medical care so it made me feel even better about my purchase.
I do have one concern with this place — I understand part of their sales (maybe all — who knows), goes towards medical testing. So, I wish they would take down or fix their «Free HIV» sign upstairs. I believe the backdrop to the word «testing» has been removed so their sign literally reads «Free HIV» from the street. I’m sure they’re not giving out a lethal disease so this is pretty disturbing to me — please fix your sign so it will read «Free HIV Testing» with a quick glance. Part of me feels the sign is left this way for kicks or to grab attention — but it’s just plain disturbing! I can’t wait til this is done so my image of you guys can be absolute perfection! Thanks!

I have been on the prowl to find a cool South Florida Consignment /​thrift store and have been very disappointed in most. This one has a fighting chance.
It is clear that they are fairly new to their space (1 year) and are trying to get it up to speed. The morning I stopped in most of the back and half of the front of the store was being painted. I consider this a very positive event because the space (which is huge) is immensely brighten up. For now, the clothes and bits of furniture are cornered into about ¹⁄₃ of the store. Once the painting is done, I suspect that everything will have the space necessary.
The secret to a great consigment/​thrift store is the love of the community. It will take the neighborhood to fall in love with the store to make it shine. I have decided to make this one my drop off for clothes that need a new loving home.
In short —– stop in, check it out and donate what you can to this great cause. You may be very surprised at what treasure you find.

By comparison to the Out of the Closet stores in Fort Lauderdale, I can hardly even rate this one in Miami as a two star. There isn’t much in the store and what is in there doesn’t begin to even compare with a Salvation Army, Goodwill or Twice Around shop. Things are nearly as orderly as the other two stores in Fort Lauderdale and those working there seem far more interest in their cells phones, twitters or whatever than they are in their customers.
I also found far more items mislabeled as to size along with a good number of used designer items that would have been at a reasonable price if it were not for holes or other seriously detracting problems.

In an effort to try and avoid becoming one of those people on the TV show «Hoarders», as a general rule, each time I purchase new clothing items, I try and discard at least an equal amount of stuff from my closet and dresser drawers. Also, if I haven’t worn something in at least a year and a half or two years, I figure that chances are I’m not going to wear it again and I remove those items as well, usually with the goal of donating them to charity.
Though I’d driven past other «Out of the Closet» locations on Biscayne Blvd. and in Ft. Lauderdale, I never really knew what they were about until I read Carla L.‘s review of this location. In the past, I’d always donated things to Goodwill, but the donation location closest to me always had limited hours. There are also donation bins at few nearby churches, but the ones I’ve seen specify that they’ll only take donations of clothing and nothing else.
When doing a bit of house cleaning recently, I found that I had lots of clothes to donate, but also some household items, decorative items and some electronics and other things that were hardly used but that I no longer needed.
On a recent Sunday I was heading to a friends’ house on the beach, I checked Out of the Closet’s website and saw that they’re open from 10a-​6p on Sundays. I drove past this place, the meter in front of their store was open, so I pulled in and took a few bags of items in to donate.
This location is on Alton Road, about a block away from Lincoln Road. On this Sunday it was fairly busy. I dropped off my items and though I was in a bit of a hurry, it looked like they were selling pretty much anything one can imagine. According to their website, they have trucks that they’ll send to your home to pick up couches and furniture as well, which was great to know!
As Carla mentions, this company uses the money they make from the sale of donated items to provide counseling and medical care to people who are ill and who couldn’t otherwise afford medication and other needs. They also offer free HIV testing at each of their stores in Miami and Lauderdale, which is also funded by the sales they make in their thrift stores.

A great thrift store…
Dropped off some donations and checked out the merchandise today. I was glad to see that the prices are actually «thrifty,» unlike other thrift stores on the beach. I saw some cute things and I’ll be back when I have more time to browse.
But wait, there’s more…
Proceeds benefit the AIDS Health Foundation and I think they will soon offer free HIV testing, because it is offered at all their other locations. Support these guys by bringing all your unwanted, still-​usable stuff here! (You can also call them to come pick up bigger items @ (877) 2 PICK IT UP.)

I really loved this store in LA. And am happy to see it has made its way to the East Coast.
There were well priced items. Some cool furniture pieces. And since it is new, everything is still well organized and neat. Time to go thrifting without leaving the beach!

Its a thrift store like any other. It has some really cool items and some you wouldn’t even think of touching (like used underwear — OH MY).
The best part of this place and the part that I love is that $ 0.95 of every dollar goes to helping stop HIV worldwide. I am absolutely donating my old stuff here and coming to check in every once in a while to see what treasures they have.
They even have furniture and it was VERY nice stuff. Make sure you check out this cute shop, the cause is a good one.

It was about time that we had a store named «Out of the closet» in South Beach, wouldn’t you say? This Thrift store is not open yet! They are, however accepting donations, so wheel in your old stuff and get a tax deduction receipt in return. They’ll be opening their doors to shoppers on January 8^th, 2011.