Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Mis-Adventures at Buffalo Exchange

I had been hearing great things about Buffalo Exchange from Solanah a blogger who resides in Seattle. Determined to find one near me I went on Google and found one in Sherman Oaks near L.A. Only 107 miles away! So I gathered up two of my daughters and one of their friends. We got a pile of clothes that didn't fit us anymore together to exchange for store credit or money and hit the road! It wasn't too hard to find the store on Ventura Blvd. We were very excited to see what it looked like inside. We were a bit let down upon entering. I must admit it was like any thrift store inside. Overall I got an impression of brownness.
So we took our items up to the counter and the girl there went through them. She seemed nice, but as one of my daughter said, there wasn't a good vibe from her. She definitely did not "mesh" with us style wise. She was a tattooed, dreadlocked Kat Von D wannabe and we were either retro or casual. Needless to say she took NONE of our clothes. She said they were all out of style. Even though I had clothes with tags still attached. She tried very hard to get my youngest daughter to "donate" her items to their charity. I went ahead and donated the items I didn't care about, but now I really wonder if they are ending up at the charity. We walked around the store afterwards and saw on the racks items similar to what we had brought in but in MUCH worse condition! One dress there was ripped all down the side. I can definitely say We will not be going there again. I get much better deals and better quality shopping at Goodwill and I can always sell my clothes I am tired of on ebay or Etsy. In a nutshell, Buffalo Exchange did not live up to my expectations and I would not recommend it.
I will let you all know when my daughter puts her clothes up on ebay so you can see for yourself how "unstylish" they are *grin*

Pel

5 comments:

  1. Bummer. I'd heard tempting things about Buffalo Exchange in Albuquerque, but never made it to one. A few years later, Daisy Exchange came to OKC, which I presume is the same basic concept. They make a point of saying they cater to the young, trendy crowd, taking clothes two years old or newer (how can they really tell?), in brands like Abercrombie, Limited, etc. The one time I wander into the shop, I wasn't impressed.
    On a happier note, today I discovered what happens if a grrl has 20 extra bucks in her pocket when she ventures into Target for kitchen bin bags; she comes home with a stunning new pair of t-strap shoes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had stuff from Express, Gap, J. Crew, Victoria's Secret, etc and it was all pretty new. It looked much better than what they already had in their store.

    I want to see the t-straps!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love Buffalo! They only take current styles (even if they have tags) but that's how I find such cute things on the rack. I'm not exactly "edgy" either.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've taken things on several occasions, and never managed to sell anything to them, even just a simple pair of jeans. The clothing selection they have at my Albuquerque location tends to be consistantly...hippie-ish, so I don't know how that would fit with the so-called edginess they try to convey. I also have an issue with some of their prices. $28 for used jeans, or $9 for a Faded Glory pair that sell for, what $14 NEW at Walmart? Maybe it's just me, but I've also felt rather uncomfortable with some of the staff.

    I tend to prefer FALLAS discount store. You can get BRAND NEW shirts there for $5 (many for even less, which I find INSANE), or jeans for around $14. They get some brand names occasionally too. There was a denim Baby Phat jacket that still had it's original retail tag of $39, which they were selling for $19.
    ...Or South Pole high tops which were about $20.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yeah, I am giving Buffalo Eaxchange a pass. At least the one in my area. However, I can definitely recommend Goodwill! Just wait until you see what I unearthed at the one in Victorville. You will all drool! Ahh but that is for next Friday! So I will leave you all on tenterhooks while I get them cleaned and photographed *grin*

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for commenting. I love to hear from you!

Related Posts with Thumbnails