Never Say Never! Plato's Closet Thrift Store Review

Who hasn't heard the adage, "Never Say Never." But we all say it. Especially when we are talking about where we will be spending our money. How many times have you said, " I will NEVER spend my money here again. Or I will NEVER step foot in this place."

I went to Plato's Closet in college at one of their West Michigan locations back in 2006. I took what I thought was pretty good pieces of clothing to their store, barely worn, good quality stuff, some vintage, and they only offered me maybe $10 for an original investment of over $200. The clerk was really rude and told me that if I wanted to sell to Plato's Closet I should bring in specific brands such as "Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, and Hollister..."

Bye, Felicia! I don't play that name brand game

They turned down some nice pieces in my opinion, simply because of the brand, or lack of brand name. So I left, with all my clothes and said, "I will never shop here again."

Fast forward to 2014.

I am in Utica, waiting for traffic to die down on M-59, and there is a "Clearance Event" at Plato's Closet. My wallet said, "Give them another try, don't be like this, you have to give forgiveness to get forgiveness." Hunnies, I cleaned up, and I am here to tell you about it:

I got this awesome feathered clutch for $6.00 

Upon check out, the sales clerk, Kayla was so helpful, and super-sweet. She could see that I am always hungry for a good deal and directed me to the Clearance Rack. All clearance accessories were $1, pants were $2, and shirts were $2 as well. The Salvation Army around the corner did not have better prices. And all remaining clothing on Saturday May 10 drops down to $1, we posted about it on our facebook site.

Yes, boo. This is what $53.00 will get you at the $1 sale at Plato's Closet

Pros:

• Plato's Closet pays extreme attention to detail. They are a what I refer to as a "Filtering Thrift Store" which means that they filter through unsavory or unsatisfactory clothing. This means that their prices may be slightly higher than a Goodwill. But you are going to get what you pay for. From what I saw, their clothing was still fairly priced clearance or otherwise.
• Their clearance: Plato's Closet's Clearance is the truth. $1 for a Betsey Johnson bag. Yes please. I suggest that you join their mailing list as I hear these sales happen from time to time. 
• You can sell your gently used clothing, although they are very picky ( I would suggest selling to Regeneration)
• Whatever PC doesn't sell in their sale, they donate to charity, and they don't destroy or resell- which is ethical, and I can dig that. 

Cons:

• These are franchised stores, like McDonalds. So prices and sales will vary from location to location. So don't think if ones Plato's Closet is having a sale they all are, because they are not. The best way to know if your local Plato's Closet is having a sale is to go to their website and sign up to be on their email list and hope that they email you in enough time for you to get your coins together. 
• This place is rather crowded. In fact, all of the PC's that I have ever been to have been this way, and it is after all a thrift store.
• No vintage clothing at all. Boo!
• Although you can find items for any woman at a Plato's Closet, it has been my choice to find clothes for my teenager here, and not myself. It is targeted for the Taylor Swift, Glee watching, bubblegum popping crowd, so lower your expectations to reflect that.  

So never say never thrifters, and always be willing to give a place a second spin!