Salvation Army Store

Hands-​down the best Salvos store in Melbourne! And that isn’t a pronouncement that comes lightly from me.
About 60% of the store is dedicated to furniture, and though I don’t buy or know much about furniture, it all looks to be in good quality and beautifully attractive. Lots of wood and vintage glasswork and tapestry. Also lots of art deco era beauties, and ornately carved wood pieces.
The book, record and magazine section is large, with lots of antique books and a large array of magazines, especially national geographies, which is great for teachers and other art-​scounger enthusiasts.
Though the clothing section is on the small side, there are always decent finds and most of the items are in pristine condition.
My absolute favourite favourite bit, though, is the jewelry selection. Never before in an op-​shop have I seen such good quality vintage pieces. Beautiful ornate necklaces, screw-​on earrings (amazing!), delicate rings. The works.
If you need a bonus, the staff are also gems. Last time I was there one of the women helped hold my hair back while I tried on necklaces. Talk about service!

Apparently this amazing warehouse of a building was bequest to the Salvos by a generous local back in the 70’s. Interesting little trivia there.
This is one of the biggest inner city Salvos and unfortunately one of the most expensive, im not sure for their reasoning as I don’t see the surrounding suburbs as particularly affluent. Its for this reason that I rarely shop here anymore, that and the clothing selection is not usually that great.
The appeal of this store is their furniture. Like the rest of the stock its not super cheap but there is a good quality selection. Antique wardrobes, dressers, new/​near new dining tables, chairs, couches, white goods etc. This is one of the only inner stores that can accommodate such a large selection of furniture so its good in that respect.
No Salvos store is open Sunday however this one is open 12 – 4 on Sunday ONLY to accept donations so people don’t have to dump it over night.

The Abbotsford Salvation Army shop should be your first point of call when ever you’re looking for furniture, because they’ve got a really big selection of decently priced stuff to choose from. They are also quite happy to negotiate costs, so make sure you try to bargain with them. They also sterilise mattresses, so you can be some very good quality beds there quite cheap. They have a decent selection of crockery and kitchenware, books, and a particularly good selection of records on offer. They’re also selling a grand piano at the moment, so it’s really got something for everybody.
The clothing selection is nothing to write home about, so I definitely wouldn’t make a trip there if you’re only after clothes, but if you’re interested in household stuff, check it out for sure!