Second Time Around

Let me start off by saying, I absolutely love secondhand stores and thrift stores. Employees do not have to WOW me, as I am sifting through racks and piles of gently used clothing.
However, the employees here are SO rude to the point where I cannot even shop here. I pop in every once in a while, and the vibe is just so terrible I walk back out. Nobody says hello, goodbye, etc. I think their stuff is great and would sell out if it wasn’t for the unwelcoming vibe someone gets every time they walk in. It is really sad. This place could do so much better. Someone NEEDS to fix this.
¹⁄₅ stars.

I have been a STA shopper for 10 years, in multiple locations (Cambridge, Boston, and Philadelphia). The staff at this location are particularly rude and do not treat consigners well. It may be a problem with the central management of this company as well, because they have changed (gotten rid of) their loyalty program, which is an extremely poor business decision in the age of data collection for improved marketing. The staff here were also racist, saying to me that Chinese clothes are not welcome here. I am never coming to this location again.

This place is the bomb! I am only posting a review because I love the staff… Otherwise I would keep this place all to myself and the few friends I share it with.

This store is terrible. The clothes are really unfashionable for young women and anything that is cute is wayyyy over priced for a second hand item. The girls who work in the store all just gossip among each other and seem bothered if you ask them a question. I’m almost amused the number of times the girls working there show no professionalism or friendliness to potential shoppers. You’re better off browsing across the street at Buffalo Exchange, much better prices for second hand items and a cooler collection that’s updated more often with people working there that care about their trade.

Most of the staff at this location are pretty friendly. If your stopping by just to shop no real concerns at all. However if your interested in CONSIGNMENT PLEASE READ further!!! Beware !!! I’ve consigned at many shops in NYC, Bethesda MD., San Francisco, and Long Island (The Hamptons), Second Time Around in my opinion is by far the worst! I do hope my experience will provide you with info so you have a better experience. I will personally never consign here again!
* Read the contract carefully — my $ 495 Prada boots new, never worn were sold for $ 149 my profit $ 59. I would have never ever agree to this! All other consignment experiences we agree on selling price and profit and items are not discounted unless agreed upon. At 2^nd time around it appears they own your items once you sign and leave them.
* No real inventory system exist — at other consignment shops a detailed inventory is provided to include what you leave to be sold, what price item will be sold at. Clear understanding of what sold when and for how much. Nothing close to this exist for customer review. You are taking a 100% good faith relationship that your items have been sold. This is not business.
* No process or agreement re: prices or discounts taken on your items.
* Your item may be lost, stolen or damaged — If they can’t find your property they will quickly tell you that it may have been stolen. Nothing you can do! Apparently three of my items were «stolen». I have NEVER consigned and any item was lost, stolen or donated!!!
I can go on and on as I do have other examples. But, this by far was a horribly unprofessional experience! I lost a significant amount of money and many of my items!!!
Huge lesson learned!!!

Bad customer service and rude on multiple occasions. Initially, I thought maybe I caught them on an off day but they have been rude on multiple trips into the store. They do not accept high end brands for products that have never been used. Apparently they only accept Louis Vuitton in the luggage department. I can never find anything in there that I would buy. These girls do not know much about fashion or merchandising. Every time I tell myself I will never go back there. I think I have finally learned my lesson. They have driven me to write my first Unilocal review. I wish there was a no star option.

I wish that I could say kind things about this store however, the customer service here is poor at best and I’m being nice. I’ve visited the store on numerous occasions with my best friend, and almost every time, we are ignored and made to feel like we do not belong!
I gave this place one star because I had to! I refuse to shop at a store that doesn’t appreciate MY business! The selection of clothes are ok, a real hit or miss. The staff here take the fun out of thrift/​consignment shopping!

I LOVE that they have a ton of high end brands for lower prices!!! I was disappointed when I realized buffalo doesn’t have those kinds of things. (don’t get mad, I know that’s not the point of their store, I just didn’t realize that at first, LMAO)
they have a great selection of real and faux furs!!!
most of the brands are things like liz claiborne, theory, lol im kind of blanking on the rest but my point is it wasn’t as high end as versace and gucci, but higher than forever 21 and H&M. I saw a SUPER cute older Coach jacket.
the workers were really nice! i was worried they would be the kind of people that look down on people who aren’t dressed in high end clothes (thinking they wouldn’t actually buy anything) but they were perfectly polite, both to me and other people dressed casually.
hmm what else should i say… the racks were honestly over crowded which made it a little difficult to look through, but i did go the day after black friday so maybe they had a ton of people consigning things to make money to go shopping! lol
anyways… go here

Pros: The workers were very nice and helpful. The clothes were very good quality. A lot of high end brands.
Cons: Small selection and the prices were a bit pricey for my budget.

After I posted the review below, the store manager called to follow up and credited my account for the missing ring.

Do NOT buy anything from here. Let me tell you why… First of all, they do not have a return policy, fine, I get it. However, I bought an item from here for $ 245 after around five days, I decided I could do without it, and tried to resell it to a great company that I’ve done business with before. They looked up the product code and first an Asian website came up. I was mortified, but he told me this can happen sometimes, so he looked up the actual name of the product, found it, not in the color I had, but said it was the same wallet nonetheless. He then put the product code into eBay and it came up that this item sold for $ 50. Let me repeat that, FIFTY DOLLARS. I am livid. I paid TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE DOLLARS for this item.
The employees here are very sweet, but I was robbed. I am extremely upset and will tell every single person I know in the Philadelphia area NEVER to buy from them.

I used to like this store a lot. As a matter of fact I was one of the original first 20 consignors. Over the years I spent a tone of money at the store, but also earned some.
In the last few months STL decided that they want to sell high end only and won’t take consignment for zara, ted baker, club Monaco and a tone of other good designers. Really?!
This approach may work in NYC. However, I am not sure who can afford or wants to buy that stuff in philly. Walked in today and racks were empty (no surprise as there is no one to consign).
Very dissapointed and pretty much done with the place.

Horrible experience consigning items here. Woman was extremely rude. They rarely take any of your items, even designer couture with tags, yet the items in the store are outdated and drab. Will never shop or consign here again. The store in Lauderdale is 100x better and the staff is kind and respectful, unlike Philly.

Why have I never been in here before?!? Instead of scouring every single store in the Rittenhouse area for a cocktail dress… come here first! I found a Ralph Lauren floor-​length black dress for a fancy event for just $ 47! By the time I got here, I was exhausted and just wanted to be in and out, but I am sure to return to look through the rest of what they have here.

Here’s why this STA is one of my favorite of their locations: there’s an entire room dedicated to clearance, where every item is under $ 20 with most being in the $ 10-​$ 15 range. I find the rest of the stock to be pretty overpriced here, but I ended up with plenty of back room goodies this time: a Michael Stars dress, Saks dress and a cute pair of starfish earrings all for around $ 40.

Nice selection of used designer items. The prices are fair, but the store really caters to a specific look that focuses on conventional (i.e., boring) pieces that will appeal to the largest audience. If you’re looking for special and one-​of-​a-​kind items, this place will disappoint. If you need yet another navy blazer, then this is your place. The staff is very bubbly and make for a pleasant shopping experience.

Second Time Around is all right, but not one of my favourites for secondhand shopping. Much of the selection (women’s clothing) is either in bad condition or pretty ugly or cheap-​looking. It’s often hard to find anything I’d want.
Selection ain’t great.
Prices aren’t low.
Service is not especially helpful or friendly.
But, if you’re in the area and don’t mind a high chaff-​to-​wheat ratio, STA will do.
2.5 stars

Just like the locations at home in NY.
This location is pretty large and has a HUGE assortment of handbags behind the counter. The usual markdowns based on the sticker color still apply. I had to resist looking at every single purse or I may have walked out with a ton and no way to get them back home.

I have been in this store a few times and I have yet to walk out with anything. Mostly because there are very few items I have seen that warrant the price marked. And while they do have particular colored sale tags, the 30−50% off prices still don’t reflect the perceived value with the price on the garment. It seems to me that the prices are grossly inflated to make the customer think they are getting a great deal. Perhaps I need to spend a little more time in this store sifting. There are some good brands here and I’ve seen a lot of great stuff. But so far, nothing so wonderful at such a great deal that it makes me swoon. Overall, I feel as though the prices are marked up 25%-30% more than what they should be. A used Betsey Johnson dress at 50% off should be around $ 35, not $ 50.

Don’t come to this place if you’re in a rush. The racks are worth picking through but you also have to take the time to thoroughly examine the garments. The biggest drawback is that many are not in great condition and have noticeable blemishes.
That being said, I came in with a mission, browsed for a giant armload of cocktail dresses and tried them on as fast as possible in their horribly ill-​concealing changing room. After 8 dresses I was ready to move on to another store, not having found anything that made me say «wow», but the 9^th dress stopped me in my tracks.
Slinky, sophisticated little black dress, perfect low sweetheart neckline, ruched and stretchy for a forgiving fit. Tags from Bloomingdale’s were still on it, so obviously it was in perfect condition, and it fit like a glove. Curves in all the right places, no need for alterations, it fit the bill to the T. Retail price on the original tag was $ 199 and STA had it marked for $ 100. Normally I’d say that’s not enough mark down for a second hand store, even one that considers itself a «boutique», but it was essentially brand-​new so I had no qualms.
I’ve come here in the past looking for work clothes and I always find one or two good pieces but reject 10 – 15 because of condition mostly.