The New River Valley has an abundance of thrift stores and consignment shops scattered across the area. From Blacksburg’s Bohemian Trading Company to the YMCA thrift stores, there is no shortage of businesses offering inexpensive, used, and quality products. With the economy in shambles, everyone is looking for a bargain.

Virginia Tech’s on-campus YMCA has been around since 1902 to promote the well-being of its students. But the Y’s Thrift Shop is also extremely successful at getting the most out of the donations they receive. With YMCA Thrift Shops located near Virginia Tech and Radford University campuses, the amount of students in need of supplies increases each year, especially now when the country’s economy is in a downturn.

Alex Stone, employee of 4 years at the Fairlawn YMCA Thrift Shop just across the New River from Radford, said that although he feels the YMCA has been successful during the economic crisis, it is a give and take relationship.

“The store has been busier shopping-wise recently, however, people who have been affected by the crisis are less able to donate goods. There are more average products delivered to the store, and fewer exceptional items to sell,” Stone said.

Stone stated the YMCA Thrift Shop usually has the same customers frequenting the store everyday, but is hoping more and more people choose to shop inexpensively, while still retaining its loyal clientele.

With the YMCA’s “Y-Toss” program, the shop looks to do just that. Setting up a station on Radford University’s campus during the spring, the YMCA will collect any items students are willing to donate. They store the items during the summer and resell them during the fall.

Goodwill Industries has stores located all around the New River Valley. Goodwill Industries are funded by the selling of their donated products, but also by individual and corporate donations. Goodwill officials say that 92 cents on every dollar benefits the store’s Mission Services programs to those who are disabled or have disadvantages.

Suni Heflin, marketing manager of Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, stated that the Goodwill stores in the area are performing exceptionally well during these tough economic times. With newly opened stores in Blacksburg and Roanoke, Goodwill Industries seems to be benefiting from the situation.

“We have seen an increase in our shopper base and a change in our demographic, however, we still need to work hard to increase our donations,” Heflin said.

Goodwill Industries are managing partners for the Workforce Centers located throughout the state of Virginia. Not only is Goodwill providing thrift shop services to customers, but they are also helping people to find jobs, when businesses have had to lay off workers.

One example as to how well Goodwill Industries is faring comes in the form of Pulaski’s Goodwill Clearance Center. Once a warehouse, the Clearance Center is not a regular thrift shop but is a business that sells items for about half of what a regular Goodwill store does. This ensures customers will frequent both types of stores.

Goodwill stores are located in Blacksburg, Fairlawn, Christiansburg, and the Clearance Center in Pulaski.

Focusing more on fashion and trendiness is Bohemian Trading Company. With clothing styles that appeal to high school and college students, but also to more experienced customers who are used to shopping name-brand stores, Bohemian Trading Company is becoming a popular shopping destination.

Even the most popular consignment shops can fall victim to the recession hitting the United States, however. In an interview with Planet Blacksburg, Donna Smith, owner of Bohemian Trading Company, explained the negative outcome of the economic crisis on her store.

“Every time you looked in the paper it was don’t spend money, die rich. … But then after all the politics and everything kind of died down, I saw more spending coming in,” Smith said.

A less-recognized establishment, the faith-based Looky Here Thrift Store in Fairlawn hopes to become a staple for the community. The store derived from an initial business called “The Building,” located in Pulaski, which administrator Kathy Denny offered the tag line, “We’re a hand up; not a hand out.” Looky Here Thrift Store, which opened in March of this year, looks to provide a helping hand to those who cannot afford new mainstream products.

Byron Blankenship, manager of the store, said, “People come here and can buy five outfits for the price of one in a regular store.”

The recession has helped sustain the Looky Here Thrift Store’s sales thus far.

Nicky’s Resale Fashions is a consignment shop in Christiansburg that focuses on women’s clothing needs. Linda Bell, owner of almost 12 years, provides clothing for women at a more reasonable cost. The store consists of name-brand attire, purses, and jewelry—and even wedding dresses.

“Our target audiences are women who need formal wear for school or a business woman looking for the proper attire, however, Nicky’s Resale Fashions caters to all women looking for lower prices on quality items,” Bell said.

In terms of how the business is faring in this recession, Bell stated she has not lost any customers, but people are not buying as much, too. In the past, she has put out TV commercials and other forms of advertising, but insists that word of mouth has been what has kept her store successful for 12 years.

With the help of these local shops, perhaps there are alternative ways to recycle and spend your money wisely instead of only buying used items.

Looking for a thrift or consignment shop near you? Try one of these NRV stores.

Bohemian Trading Company, 1400 S Main Street, Blacksburg; 540.953.2953

Corner Cupboard, 7331 Peppers Ferry Blvd, Fairlawn; 540.639.9520

DeJaVu Consignment Boutique, Inc, 690 Radford Street, Christiansburg; 540.260.9095

Goodwill, 1411 N Main Street, Blacksburg; 540.951.0215

Goodwill, 255 Peppers Ferry Road NE, Christiansburg; 540.381.1544

Goodwill, 7335 Lee Highway, Fairlawn; 540.731.1360

Goodwill, 1130 E Main Street, Pulaski; 540.980.9790

Looky Here Thrift Store, 7318 Pepper’s Ferry Blvd, Fairlawn; 540.980.5050

Nicky’s Resale Fashions, 3135 N Franklin Street, Christiansburg; 540.381.4568

Once Upon A Child, 360 Arbor Dr Ste A, Christiansburg; 540.382.5045

Quick Stop Auctions Inc, 875 Park Street, Christiansburg; 540.381.3011

Quick Stop Auctions Inc, 1411 Rock Road, Christiansburg; 540.633.0059

Raz Rags Consignment, 7466 Lee Highway, Fairlawn; 540.633.1188

Second Chance Consignments, 8 Roanoke Street, Christiansburg; 540.381.5970

Style Hip Hop, 782 New River Road, Christiansburg; 540.381.4613

The Upscale Attic, 360 Arbor Drive, Christiansburg; 540.381.0551

YMCA Thrift Shop Radford, 7478 Lee Highway, Fairlawn; 540.633.0746

YMCA Thrift Shop Virginia Tech, 1000 N Main Street, Blacksburg; 540.552.2085

Do you have a favorite thrift store, or did we leave one off the list? Tell us about it by commenting below.

Josh Nash is an intern for the New River Voice.