Out of the Closet Thrift Store

I’ve mostly come here to pick up cheap tshirts for crafting and sewing practice, but I popped in during the Halloween season to find a few extra pieces for a costume.
The place was busy, as one would expect, but I was able to find various items and get into the change room to try them on. As an FYI, I’m not a fan of the change room at all. It’s essentially just a curtain that doesn’t really block you off from other customers in the store. There’s literally nothing stopping anyone from opening it up while you’re standing there with half your clothes off. I made it in and out of the clothes I was trying on in record time instead of getting caught with my pants down.
Sizing is also really questionable so I’d advise trying stuff on. I picked out several pairs of pants in a similar size range and they literally went from stuff I couldn’t get past my knees to ones I’d need a belt to hold up. I know clothes will move around the racks and you should check the labels, but these were definitely labeled in the same range but were definitely not the same size.

I’ve shopped here for years. The store is a wonderful treasure hunt. Further, it is great that most of the net proceeds supoort a very worthy cause.
The clerks have always been great UNTIL TODAY. A Caucasian female clerk in her 20’s was nasty. She gave me a$ 10 bill in my change. The bill was falling apart and should not have been in circulation. When I asked if she would exchange it, she refused. When I nicely asked for her name, she wanted to know why and then hid her name tag in her jacket. This woman should not be working with the public. She’s mean.

We were actually driving on our way to a different thrift store but we didn’t know the area too well and I saw a bright pink place called «Out of Closet-​the most fabulous thrift store» and I was like «naahhh forget the other one, let’s check this out» apon arrival there is a basket of free condoms to help prevent the spread of STD’s and I noticed a sign that said something like «95% of our earnings go towards AIDS treatment for those who can’t afford it» which is nice to know your money goes towards a good cause.
I found a really cute, warm jacket for only like $ 8, some workout shorts for $ 3 and a wallet for $ 3. There was a ton of cute stuff: clothes, bags, hats, movies, dishes, little trinkets. Good prices

I LOVE THIS PLACE! Was able to get my entire vacation wardrobe here with over 10 cute items, and complete with purse & earrings, for $ 60. The service is also great. Now I come here often and find items that I like every time.

i have donated here twice but never again. last time the rude guy grabbed the bag and spilled it on the floor 2 items broke he didn’t even apologize. as for shopping here no way!!! i had a question for the manager and he was the rudest nastiest ass i have ever dealt with. i wanted to buy something in the window i was told they do not sell the window items when i asked what they do with those items the guy yelled at me and told me to get the f*** out of his store. i think there is something very wrong with him and he scared me so badly i now walk on the other side
of polk st. rather than walk by that place

I love thrift stores and to find one on Polk St is the bomb. The store is close to transit, easy to walk and bike. Car parking meters are near by.
It is smaller than the Out of the Closet near 9^th St. The prices are great. The selection varies on season and what you want to find. I went with a friend to see what was inside.
They accept credit and debit cards.

All of my clothes and shoes were accepted but donating was not a pleasant experience. The employee was rude and arrogant. I will never donate here again.

A surprising thrift store. I thought most of the clothes would be awful but I did spot some decent items. Also most of the items are actually reasonably priced. I bought a dress for $ 6!
I did spot some Hugo Boss men’s shirts for like $ 12 or so.
They also accept credit card here. You can also get free condoms!

Terrible attitude. I have given donations here 3 times but never again. The assistants are unfriendly and quick to say what they do not take. Go to Goodwill instead where they are friendly and welcoming and even thank you for the donation. No gratitude = no future donations.

Wasn’t totes feeling the sweater, so I asked the worker’s gaypinion. He flat-​out told me all the ways he disapproved, how it was «too old-​man» and «depressing» and a person should «never wear that». He thought he was steering me clear; little did he know he was sealing the deal. Bought it. #notahipster

It’s always a toss-​up with thrift stores. You never know what’s been donated, what’s going to be on the rack, whatever. But this location seems to have the very best stuff all the time. I consistently find name brand clothes at this location that are still in season, with tags on.
In addition, the place itself is clean, organized, and doesn’t smell nasty. I don’t really feel like I’m thrifting when I’m there (as opposed to the Goodwill Stores), more like I’m treasure hunting. I also love their window displays and the humor
and fun that goes into them.

I’d been told about this place by a tour guide, so I made a special trip out here. Honestly I’m not sure what i was hoping for, I don’t usually thrift, but I did give it a chance. Sizing is odd, they don’t separate out anything from the XL grouping, if you’re an XL or plus size, Good Luck!
I did find ONE thing, it was in the «Better garments» and it was from a catalogue i was familar with. I bought it and I’m quite happy with my purchase of $ 6.50.

Fine by me. You’ve got a big space with lots of thrift stuff, so dig in. I’m betting you’re rarely going to find a real treasure at this location, but I doubt you’ll find much hideously wrong. And you won’t pay much for it.
As far as the men’s stuff goes, I had hoped for more interesting stuff. Much of it is pretty middle of the road and safe. Jeans. Plain jackets. Uninteresting button-​ups. But part of the reason I thrift is to find the stuff that’s not safe; the extraordinary.
Great deals on certain colored tags – the longer it’s been there the more you save. Check the wall for the color of the tags that will give you the best deals. Those $ 1 items are rare but special. Take one home, if for no other reason than it’s $ 1.
Of course you have to dig, and if you do, you’ll probably be rewarded with something nice. Not over the top, but nice. That’s the name of the game here. Nice, normal, plain. And in the right light, there’s nothing wrong with that.

I gotta go with four-​stars for OTC, even though the shop is pretty much a three-​star thrift shop.
The merchandise is VERY hit or miss. Compared to other stores (ie. Buffalo Exchange) who are pickier with what they put out, OTC will sell items that are stained, damaged, or worn. That makes for some good prices, but some bad quality if you don’t inspect carefully.
BUT you can get a voucher for your donations that allows you to do a nice tax-​write off. And the underlying philosophy and charity of the store, as well as the HIV testing and counseling, are priceless. So, you know what… five stars. We should all go sort through the racks, separate the wheat from the chaff, and feel good about ourselves for being part of the solution…

I’ve been going into this store since it opened. I’ve seen managers and staff come and go.
I have to give this place a one star rating as frankly to me it is the worst thrift shop in San Francisco. I almost never find anything of interest. In a year I might find two things which aren’t junk, broken or incomplete. I usually buy household goods not clothing.
I also am disappointed a lot of the stuff I’m interested is just dumped in the middle of the floor for someone to trip over rather than being merchandised in any sense of the word (household goods and electronics).
I’m not into buying clothes at this store which may explain a lot over most of the positive reviews which seem to concern women’s clothing. I ran into an elegant lady there recently who thought they were overpriced and the clothing was shoddy. She suggested shopping up the street at the Towne School Thrift shop which has a lot nicer items and often at up to 75% off the marked price. Towne would throw out a lot of what Out Of The Closet sells as junk.
I got motivated to write this review due to the new snotty gal at the register. I’ve been coming in to look and donate since the store opened. The gal who is apparently the new part time clerk tells me I have to check my bag or I can’t shop there when I’ve been coming in for years. Nobody else has told me that. I noted to her I did not want to leave the bag since I had baked goods in it and did not want them squashed. It would have taken me 2 minutes to look at what I wanted to see since they almost never have anything worthwhile.
I sincerely regret having recently donated some San Francisco Cable Car historical items to the store which sell for about $ 40 each up the hill at the Cable Car Museum. I specifically donated to OTC because they are the only thrift shop on the cable car system so I though they would get maximum benefit from the sale.
Had i known a part time 20 something prissy gal would get in my face, I would not have bothered. Miss Prissy you need to figure out who rips you off, not older people who donate to the store who cannot even find anything to buy while you let the young thugs in with impunity. Try giving your smart mouth attitude to a thug and see where it gets you.
If I still wanted to go in I probably could do so when an old timer is working other than miss prissy but since I never find anything I’m just avoiding the place and so should you unless you want a big time hassle.
Most resale stores do a lot better than Out of The Closet…

She asked if I was looking for clothes to take off, or
clothes to take off in.
To take off to the moon in, or to Burning Man in,
and to flicker brightly in, sequined.
I was just looking for clothes to put on or
Clothes to put on in.
She showed me to a dusty Marc Jacobs tie, in its former glory.
She showed me some kitten ears, but had she forgot?
I’m not going to Burning Man.
She slipped the ears in the bag,
Spirited past the point of sale.
It’s a tough road to travel alone, she said.
You gotta have a gimmick.

Out of the Closet thrift has a large inventory of used clothes for men and women
i;.e. pants @6.5, didn’t see any in my size. prices seem reasonable.
leftovers:
–books didn’t have any interesting titles, prices good: paperback (1), hardback (2).
–not much free parking around. no time to browse.
–clothers well organized…

Variety is good for men’s.
Organized well
Staff was nice enough — wasnt rude to me and was helpful. I was happy with her service.
Dressing area is um… a sheet curtain that has two parts that dont overlap well meaning when you get in, check to your left towards register because you might be giving customers a free show! but this being SF… i wonder if that was on purpose.
Many items but like any place you must spend some time.
a year later i’m still wearing my hoodie i got from there…

I’m echoing some of the other complaints about this spot. While it’s for a great cause and hey, I’m always a fan of making one person’s trash another person’s somewhat useful item, this one has a very big lack of anything that is remotely interesting. The clothing selection was poorly organized and rather picked over.
I guess these things are all issues that one’s mileage will vary, but it just seemed like this OotC was just lacking that memorable aspect that most of the chain’s stores have.
The service wasn’t anything to write home about either. It seemed like there was some sort of entitlement here and for as poor as a selection they typically carried, they were coming across as if this was some sort of Buffalo exchange.
Eh, there’s plenty other thrift stores to choose from. This one is probably one you’d want to skip when looking for someone’s hand-​me-​downs.

Well, aside from the old and dingy closet smell you’ll experience at a typical thrift store, this location is pretty decent for what they offer. We stopped by on a weekday afternoon, so the store wasn’t too busy. There was only one cashier at the time.
If you’re looking for anything besides clothing, you’ll need to look elsewhere. I would say that about 90% of what is sold is clothing-​related. You’ll find a few decorative and useful items along the side, back walls, and towards the cash register. I noticed some things that you could possibly use in fairly good condition. I’m glad they don’t just pile worthless trash around hoping that someone will buy it.