Mission Outreach Thrift Store

Small selection, mostly overpriced. Not worth wasting time there. The people working there are rude. I agree with the previous reviewer who said there’s a «racist vibe» there from the stuck up employees. I have experienced this several times there, so I do not go there anymore. Friendly to some customers, downright rude to others. I hope this place closes down. I don’t want these stuck up people in my neighborhood. YOU get out.

Extremely overpriced for a thrift store, selection is usually pretty lame. Even the junk is overpriiced. Have been there 3 times now hoping it was a bad week but it never changes.

What an absolute gem of a store! Popped in to just browse, but walked out with a giant bag of goodies! The quality of the items is fantastic and the store is laid out in a gorgeous fashion. High end brands, well cared for beautiful clothes, nothing here was shoddy or tacky. Many vintage pieces. Overall, it feels more like a fancy consignment shop. Did I mention the lovely lady behind the counter is super sweet? Yeah, that made the shopping experience even better!

Over priced thrift store and has a racist feel to it! I feel uneasy when I come in, which is about 3 or 4 times since 2009! Don’t know the name of the workers there, but the front clerks at the register are always white ladies that look like they are going thru menopause and are snobs and never say hello when I come in. Is it because I am NOT a WHITE customer? Hmmm…
I end up feeling UNwelcome while I search, and I mean SEARCH around and TRY to find something worth buying so the snob register clerk of the day, or manager (?) cannot think badly of me for not buying. But all I see at that small retangular-​shaped store is racks of old lady clothes at ten dollars and up. Even the books are five dollars and up. The dishes here cost more than Walmart. Cannot understand the good reviews, the old lady worker there gave me a funny look when I turned in a bag of donations. Goodwill is cheaper and has way better stuff!

Dottie, the manager of the store, is a salt of the Earth person who goes out her way to make sure customers are well taken care of. The quality of the items in the store are better quality than other thrift stores. They may charge just a little more than avg., but you get a way better quality of item. The best part is everyone who works and volunteers at the store. They are very pleasant to talk to. I have been to other stores and always gravitate back to this one to find good quality items with a very friendly service.

This is my favorite thrift store that I’ve discovered so far. They have great items and something always catches my eye. Yes, the prices are higher than a normal thrift store but they are fair for the quality. Definitely more like a resale boutique. This week I was here multiple times and scored a vintage enamelware stock pot and a set of kitchen mats. Then, unfortunately for me, I saw a brand new Pendleton wool tote that I now want. Dottie the manager was very helpful with a question I had about an item. This shop is another reason why I love this area.

A great place to stop in and check out treasures. The merchandise seems to turn over quickly and is replaced with new goodies weekly. I’ve been shopping at Mission Thrift for a few years and find the prices very good for the quality of merchandise. The ladies
are all very helpful and friendly. Dottie does a great job managing and I think this has contributed to the longevity of this little shop. Give it a look!

This thrift store is more like a boutique. Some really nice things! I got a handmade quilt and a Brighton leather purse. The prices are fair — less than e-​Bay. The store’s sales benefit the big Methodist church in the valley.

Stopped by on a whim has I live down the street. Enjoyed going through the items in the store. Found a great pan and cute crate and barrel tea set for a great deal. My sister found a really cool book from the early 1900’s which she is fascinated with. This place holds lots of great treasures and the staff is very delightful and helpful. Happy Holidays

Small yet clothes were organized. Didn’t find what I was looking for though. They must not get as many donations as many of the bigger owned thrift shops. Prices are kinda higher than other bigger named thrift stores. Clean and tidy the store is.

Two years ago, visiting San Diego for the first time, I stayed with my grandma who happened to live just down 32^nd Street; I would always pass this thrift store but never had the chance to actually check it out. Two years later however! I have moved to San Diego and have more time to explore my surrounding area and discover the beauty of shops such as The Mission Outreach. Not only was I in pure bliss being in the shop looking at all of the items that held such great stories, I was able to meet and converse with Dotty and Ray who were the easiest people to hold a conversation with. The prices are fabulously marked and the service is great! Not to mention the appropriately chosen music that plays as you rummage through the hidden treasures of this unique thrift store.
Cheers to Dotty!

I am a total thrift sleuth, and I have scoured SD for gems for the last 15 years. Mission Outreach Thrift Store has been a place I have gone to consistently and never had a bad experience. I have seen prices vary from $ 1 — $ 100, so if you really look, there is something for everyone, though granted the ladies clothing section offers more than the men’s. Management does a good job of presenting good, clean, gently used and rare finds in a clean, more organized way than other thrift shops.
Does it cost a little more than other places… it can, but not «outrageously» so like some of the whiners on here seem to be moaning about. THEY HELP OUT CHARITY PROGRAMS, so I don’t mind coughing up $ 10 for a beautiful beaded vintage purse, Some of the awesome things I’ve found over the years are: vintage typewriters, camera equipment, beautiful tea sets, crochet table covers, journals, depression glass, frames, lamps, seasonal décor, etc, etc. I always walk out with something, and have never spent more than $ 15. The staff are genuinely nice and honestly, I’d check twice about who gives this place 1 star, because, let’s be honest, some customers are downright rude and I’ve seen them give attitude and act entitled, haven’t you? Everyone has an «off» day once in a while, but I have yet to see that in any of the staff, volunteers, or students who help out in the store.

My car automatically stops here when I drive by. Yes, as mentioned in previous reviews, the prices can be higher than most «thrift» stores, and I do agree that the prices on the books are much higher than you would expect, but I usually find some little thing that works perfectly. Depending on when you show up, and who has dropped stuff off, the clothing can be great! I wouldn’t say that the style is AARP as another reviewer suggested. Got my great leather couch there. Perfect condition at a very good price. Over the years I have developed good relationships with the staff and look forward to our little chats.

This is by far my favorite thrift store in the area. Clean and full of nice things. They are small and can only hold so much merchandise. Things are picked to keep and the rest is then donated to other thrifts in the area. The prices are fair and have to sustain the rent and utilities there. Most people are volunteers who donate their time. I take all of my donations there and so do many other people who like the store and manager. I have seen Dottie help many poor people who come in there. I am not going into specifics but she takes care of people who needed some help. I used to volunteer there and have been a customer for a long time. Everyone works very hard there to make it a nice store. I find much better quality things there than any other stores. The prices have gone up at Goodwill too. They keep all the best things to sell online. So all places are smarter than they used to be. Go to Mission Thrift and make your own opinion. Also you have to put up with much from the public there. I mean thIs is for charity. I have seen the other side of the coin. Great store in my opinion. The best furniture around. Check it out for yourself.

I walk in with my service dog and immediately get a nasty look from a snooty female employee, I smile and show my service dog tags, she asks me if I can «pick it up». Still smiling, I say «NO». I walk about for a moment and see the most outrageous price tags I’ve ever witnessed in a ‘thrift store’. I think they’ve missed the whole point of «mission outreach».

I like the way the place is set up. It’s clean and organized. All that is great but it doesn’t mean anything, really, when the items are so HIGHLY PRICED. Yikes! Sometimes I’ll find a decent deal but it’s rare. I go home empty handed on most occassions, but there is plenty I see that I’d be happy to buy if the items were priced better.
Why do I continue to drop in when I’m so displeased with the prices? Good question. I sometimes have to do business ½ block away and if I arrive too early, I look for something to entertain myself for 10 – 20 minutes. What better time to pick up some cool deals? Well not that this place.

So sad to do this, but two three years ago this was by far my most favorite «boutique» thrift store. Unfortunately there is only one person here who seems to be in charge of pricing everything & she seems to have lost it. (she is very nice) but lost a grip on the reality of how things should actually be priced for a thrift shop. Let me first start by saying since this is a small store & the proceeds go to such great causes, I did not mind when a few of the items were higher than you might pay in most thrift stores. For example, I found some really old miu miu wedges here, payed 50 dollars, but I wanted them & they were still in good condition, I payed maybe 60.00 for some Gucci heels, a older style, and needed to be re soled. But I figured, eh I want them, they are a bit over priced, but not by that much, and I get so many other great things here that are not over priced it all balances out. When I lived near by I was so addicted to this thrift shop I think one month I spent about 300 bucks in this place on random stuff. I bought some turquoise fiesta ware, and lots of cute vintage finds. The problem is now everything is looked up to find out the worth & either priced at about 65 percent of the value if it’s something not that appealing. Or right around the same as its valued, if it’s a older antique piece, & something they feel a lot of people will like, silver is weighed and sold for scrap or priced slightly higher than the scrap value, which I find appalling. First of all, when people are donating these older items, they want their family heirlooms to find a new home, instead of being scrapped. If they were interested in scrapping, they could do so themselves, and donate the appropriate amount of money. Secondly, when you are appraising and or weighing items these items should be sold at half that value to be considered a good deal. That is the way it is done with jewelry, just go to any jewelry store in the NYC diamond district. If you are buying new, this is when you should expect to pay full appraiser value. (I know this because I was a diamond specialist at T&Co for many years. It’s sad, but if things continue on this way, I don’t see this place staying in business forever. There was a church thrift shop that also used to be one of my favorites & they also got a lot of great items, prices got too high (think more antique shop & beyond) and they went out of business completely. The real clincher for me was I wanted to buy some sunglasses here, the style was very classic, they fit my face great, I own many designer shades from working high end retail for many years. Unfortunately these were no recognizable brand, and priced at 40.00. The main issue was the lenses were so scratched you literally could not wear them in that condition. It would have given you a headache & not been safe for driving. I pointed this out, called a lens replacement outfit, that told me they could replace the lenses for 69 dollars. She offered to go down to 35.00 r u kidding me? For a random god only knows what brand these are sunglasses that looked like they might be vintage from the 80’s or 90’s? Also when you try & have lenses replaced the frame can easily break. These were not the high quality plastic that makes a lower ting sound when you tap them, they made I higher pitched sound the sound of a more brittle plastic. My last ditch effort, was, «well if I try & get them replaced & they are broken in the process & can I bring them back to you for a refund or exchange?» the answer was no. And she wasn’t going to go down to 15 or 20 dollars which still would have been overpriced for this item, but I would have done it & chalked it up to «it’s for a good cause». I’m glad I saved my money, because I went to Goodwill after– and found about 20 different items for between 4.99−9.99 that no doubt would have been priced at between 15 – 60 dollars (at least) in this shop. Bottom line; if you want to pay regular retail, or antique store prices, then shop here, if you want an actual bargain from a thrift shop that remembers they received these items free, shop else wear! Good thing I’m not on a fixed income & shopping these places out of need, or I would really be offended. I just will never shop here again.

Not the worst i’ve been in but not the greatest either.
Store is clean and organized. The most important thing is it doesn’t smell like most thrift stores. That old-​closet, blanket-​pissed and wet-​hamster smell. yeah, i said it!
I found out about the store when i was running around the area and decided to come in and take a look.
They have nice stuff but a little pricey to be considered a THRIFT Store.
Expect to pay something like Ross’s or Big Lots!
Not a regular go-​to-​hope-​they-​have-​something-​good-​today place.
…just killing time.
…just stumbled upon.
…seen something interesting in the window.
…need a project.
I’ll leave it at that. :)

This place is great, may not be for your typical bag of clothes for a quarter thriftier place but has unusual items, good cheer, clean relaxed environment, parking and some pretty nice stuff. Recommended if you are into boutique thrift with some clearly rare vintage items.

A disclaimer: I’m especially enthusiastic about this store in part because I’m a fan of the work it supports. My church runs it, and I love that the proceeds to go support important work, ranging from a halfway house for women coming out of prison, to retreats for people living with HIV/​AIDS, to programs that provide food for hungry people in Mid-​City San Diego.
Also, I love that it feels like a carefully-​curated thrift store. Like the preview reviewers, I see a visit there as a bit like poking through an old person’s cottage attic, and I love that it can be the source of treasures. They often have delightful vintage pieces and you don’t have to wade through piles to find them. The book selection’s great, the usually have fun, vintage jewelry, and the linens are quality.