The 10 best thrift stores in Boston
Secondhand shopping in Boston runs from nonprofit thrift stores with $5 bins to Newbury Street consignment rooms selling designer labels. This list covers ten thrift, vintage and consignment shops inside the city limits, from Allston and Jamaica Plain to Roslindale, the South End and Back Bay. Shoppers on a student budget, people furnishing a first apartment and anyone hunting for a specific vintage jacket will each find a place here.
The list favors independent and nonprofit shops over national resale chains. Prices vary widely by type. Donation-based thrift stores price most clothing in the single digits and run weekly discount days, curated vintage shops charge roughly $20 to $200 a piece, and designer consignment runs into the hundreds of dollars.
How we chose
The list is alphabetical, not ranked. Each shop is inside the City of Boston, sells secondhand goods as the main business, and was confirmed open in fall 2026 through the shop’s own website or a dated 2026 guide from Boston University’s BU Today or Meet Boston. Selection weighed years in business, coverage in local press, published prices and consignment terms, and a spread across neighborhoods and price levels. Star ratings from review sites played no part.
Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.
Boomerangs by More Than Words
Young adults in a paid job-training program run this South End thrift store, which sells used clothing, books, music, housewares and furniture from a former garment industry building on East Berkeley Street. The operator is More Than Words, a nonprofit that also sells new and used books. According to BU Today, More Than Words revived the Boomerangs name after Fenway Health closed the original stores in 2024. Furniture is the reason to come with a car or a friend. Weekday parking at the building is limited to a few short-stay visitor spots, and the store’s website points drivers to nearby garages that start at $2.50 an hour.
Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed Monday.
Address: 242 East Berkeley St., South End, Boston
Why they made the list
- Sales pay for job training for young adults ages 16 to 24, according to Meet Boston’s October 2026 guide.
- Donations are accepted at the store during open hours, and the nonprofit also schedules pickups.
- More Than Words runs two other Boomerangs stores, in Cambridge and Waltham.
Castanet
Up a flight of stairs at 175 Newbury Street, Castanet is a consignment shop for high-end designer clothing. BU Today’s 2026 guide lists Chanel, Balenciaga and Isabel Marant among the labels on the racks and says pieces are accepted only in excellent condition. Prices reflect the brands, so this is the place for one investment coat or handbag, not a full bag of basics. People selling can earn up to 50 percent of the sale price, according to the same guide. BU Today advises calling ahead before a visit, since the shop keeps short afternoon hours and is closed on Sunday and Monday.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 175 Newbury St., second floor, Back Bay, Boston
Why they made the list
- The Improper Bostonian named Castanet the Boston’s Best winner for consignment in 2018.
- Boston magazine gave the shop a Best of Boston award in 2018.
- Covet’s Back Bay store is at 176 Newbury Street, so two consignment stops fit in one block.
Covet
Hanadi Hamzeh opened the first Covet in South Boston in 2013 after selling secondhand clothing on eBay, by the company’s account, and the consignment business now has four Boston stores. Racks mix mall brands with designer pieces; BU Today’s 2026 guide spotted a Prada bag at $550 and Gucci sunglasses at $225. The company does not carry real fur or exotic skins. Consignors receive 40 percent of the selling price, or 50 to 70 percent on luxury items, and can walk in with up to 25 pieces on weekdays between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Bargain hunters should watch for the $5 bin sales; the next one is set for November 18, 2026.
Hours: South Boston and Beacon Hill: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Back Bay: daily, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. South End: daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Address: 391 W. Broadway, Boston, MA 02127; 109 Charles St., Boston, MA 02114; 176 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116; 575 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02118
Why they made the list
- Staff post more than 100 items a day to Instagram stories and ship purchases made there.
- Consignors who take store credit instead of a payout get 15 percent off purchases.
- Payouts are made by cash, check or Venmo.
- The four stores cover South Boston, Beacon Hill, Back Bay and the South End.
Diversity Consignment
Founder Ian Drake moved his consignment business from Pembroke to Centre Street in Jamaica Plain in 2020, according to the shop’s published history, first under the name DVSTY Consignment. The store sells gender-inclusive secondhand clothing on two levels, along with jewelry, vinyl records and decor noted in BU Today’s 2026 guide. Staff also book personal styling sessions, color analysis and tailoring. Standard consignment pays in store credit only: sellers earn 33 percent of the selling price, boosted by 1.25 times as credit, over a 30-day selling period. BU Today reports a monthly fill-a-bag sale for $5, which is the cheapest way to shop here.
Hours: Monday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Address: 713 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Why they made the list
- Consignment drop-off needs no appointment during intake hours, and each piece is reviewed in person.
- Unsold consigned items can be picked up before the 30 days end.
- The shop runs Project Runway Reworked, an upcycling contest with a $250 prize, according to BU Today.
The Goodwill Store
Jamaica Plain’s Goodwill branch is the plain, cheap end of the Centre Street secondhand strip, on the same stretch as the curated racks at Diversity Consignment, at 713 Centre. The store at 678 Centre Street is run by Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries and stocks donated clothing, shoes and household goods at fixed prices by item type. Three weekly discounts apply here: 25 percent off on Tuesday for shoppers 62 and older, 25 percent off on Wednesday with military or veteran ID, and 15 percent off on Thursday with teacher or student ID. Bring identification to claim any of them. Friday and Saturday are the late nights, with doors open until 8 p.m.
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Address: 678 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Why they made the list
- The store takes donations Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- BU Today’s 2026 guide found short-sleeve shirts at $4.99 and dresses from $7.99 at Goodwill’s Commonwealth Avenue branch, which uses the same fixed-price approach.
- Purchases fund the nonprofit’s job training and career services.
See the full directory listing
Groovy Thrifty
Everything in the upcycled line at Groovy Thrifty is handmade in Boston from secondhand materials, and no two pieces match. The garden-level shop on Brighton Avenue in Allston sells patchwork pants, reworked Boston sports gear and band shirts next to hand-picked vintage sweaters and used books. Upcycled pieces in the online catalog run from $45 for cut-off jean shorts to about $100 for patchwork cargo pants; BU Today’s 2026 guide puts most vintage at $25 to $35 and notes a $5 bin. The owner also sells at pop-up markets around New England, and weekend shop hours end at 4 p.m., so go early.
Hours: Wednesday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday.
Address: 64 Brighton Ave. (garden level), Allston, MA 02134
Why they made the list
- The Daily Free Press, Boston University’s student newspaper, covered the shop’s start on Brighton Avenue in March 2022.
- Mending, custom upcycling and classes are available, according to BU Today.
- Online orders over $100 ship free.
Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries
Goodwill started in Boston, founded in 1895 by the Rev. Edgar J. Helms according to BU Today, and the Massachusetts organization still keeps headquarters at 1010 Harrison Avenue. The building holds a full retail store, a career center, a donation center and an outlet store that keeps separate hours. Among the four Goodwill locations inside the city, only this one lists an outlet on the organization’s hours page, so shoppers can cover the regular store and the outlet in a single trip to the South End and Roxbury line. The outlet closes at 5 p.m. and does not open on Sunday, and the chain’s weekly senior, military and student discounts are not honored there.
Hours: Store: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. Outlet: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Sunday.
Address: 1010 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02119
Why they made the list
- The Goodwill Boston Career Center, which runs free workshops and job placement help, shares the address.
- Other Goodwill stores inside Boston are at 965 Commonwealth Ave., 678 Centre St. in Jamaica Plain and 892 River St. in Hyde Park.
- The donation center at the Harrison Avenue building is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
See the full directory listing
SoWa Vintage Market
Every Sunday of the year, vendors set up indoors at 450 Harrison Avenue in the South End to sell vintage clothing, jewelry, art, antiques, lighting and furniture. SoWa Vintage Market is a group of independent dealers under one roof, so prices and specialties change from booth to booth and the stock turns over weekly. Admission is free. The market also opens on the first Friday evening of each month, and the organizers describe the market as part of the SoWa art and design district. Street parking in Boston is free on Sunday, and the organizers direct drivers who want a paid lot to the SoWa event parking under Interstate 93, using 324 Albany Street as the GPS address.
Hours: Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., year-round; first Friday of each month, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Address: 450 Harrison Ave., South End, Boston
Why they made the list
- The market runs every Sunday of the year, by the organizers’ own schedule.
- BU Today’s 2026 guide counts dozens of vintage vendors inside the brick warehouse.
- Guest vendors rotate in alongside the year-round dealers.
Thrift Shop of Boston
Open since 1926, the Thrift Shop of Boston is a nonprofit store in Roslindale Village that gives all proceeds to The Home for Little Wanderers, a child and family service agency. Shelves hold clothing, furniture, household goods, books, jewelry and artwork. Weekly sales follow a fixed calendar: seniors 65 and older get 10 percent off on Tuesday, children’s clothing and shoes are half price on Wednesday, books, music and movies are half price on Thursday, and jewelry is half price on Friday. Anything with a blue tag is half price any day. Four parking spaces are reserved for shoppers in the far corner of the Bank of America lot behind the store.
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Address: 33 Corinth St., Roslindale, MA 02131
Why they made the list
- The shop has given more than $1 million to The Home for Little Wanderers, by the organization’s own count.
- The nonprofit’s website describes the store as the oldest secondhand shop of its kind in Boston.
- Donations are taken by appointment only, through a loading area at the back entrance.
See the full directory listing
Vivant Vintage
Vivant Vintage, pronounced “vee-vaunt,” has two Boston stores: a warehouse in Allston and a newer shop on Newbury Street. The Allston location, called the Bargain Basement Warehouse, has more than 3,500 square feet of vintage clothing on two floors, according to the company. BU Today’s 2026 guide prices leather jackets at $65 to $200 and graphic T-shirts at $20 to $30, with $5 and $10 bins in Allston for shoppers who like to dig. Jewelry, records and denim fill out both stores, and each location carries a different mix. Students get 10 percent off on Wednesdays, the guide reports.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 318 Lincoln St., Allston, and 332 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston
Why they made the list
- The company’s website lists stores in both Allston and on Newbury Street.
- Both stores host in-store events, which the company posts online.
- Crystals start at $2, according to BU Today.
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