Goodwill for furniture (Venice: condo, shops, moving)

[KMerendino]

Originally Posted by kramco

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think my wife and I will stop frequenting goodwill. So far we haven't bought more than a couple plates, pint glasses and a small pot since I started shopping to equip the apartment.

visit, but don't buy anything from Goodwill ! want to do good? give to your local church, Diocese, SA or shelter.

[kramco]

As a followup to the original post requesting some thrift stores (and I realize now that I shouldn't have used "goodwill" in the title when I really meant "thrift stores".... kind of like using Kleenex or Xerox):

Ended up getting some good club chairs, a good quality desk, a nice lamp, and a very nice entrance table at the Salvation Army. Also got random home furnishing at the Humane society, Habitat for .., and St Francis Animal Rescue, and we did get into the Goodwill up 41 where I picked up a digital wifi scale for $7 - while I had it in the physical (non virtual) shopping cart I was cancelling my amz order that was going to be delivered the following day and saved $50 right there.

Bought mattresses and frames online from amz, a TV cabinet from target, and bought a TV from best buy. We are close to set up and can comfortably relax now and pick up other stuff at our leisure (of which we have a lot), and very much enjoying our new residence in Venice. There are still some other thrift stores not mentioned and we will visit them as we learn the town.

[rfomd129]

Originally Posted by kramco

As a followup to the original post requesting some thrift stores (and I realize now that I shouldn't have used "goodwill" in the title when I really meant "thrift stores".... kind of like using Kleenex or Xerox):

Ended up getting some good club chairs, a good quality desk, a nice lamp, and a very nice entrance table at the Salvation Army. Also got random home furnishing at the Humane society, Habitat for .., and St Francis Animal Rescue, and we did get into the Goodwill up 41 where I picked up a digital wifi scale for $7 - while I had it in the physical (non virtual) shopping cart I was cancelling my amz order that was going to be delivered the following day and saved $50 right there.

Bought mattresses and frames online from amz, a TV cabinet from target, and bought a TV from best buy. We are close to set up and can comfortably relax now and pick up other stuff at our leisure (of which we have a lot), and very much enjoying our new residence in Venice. There are still some other thrift stores not mentioned and we will visit them as we learn the town.

Thanks for the update OP and welcome to SW Florida! I can't imagine living in a more beautiful place. It sounds like you did very well with your shopping. Recycling/repurposing quality goods is a real gift to all of us so enjoy your new finds and this lovely part of the world!

[choff5]

Originally Posted by rfomd129

Thanks for the update OP and welcome to SW Florida! I can't imagine living in a more beautiful place. It sounds like you did very well with your shopping. Recycling/repurposing quality goods is a real gift to all of us so enjoy your new finds and this lovely part of the world!

Ditto! So glad you found the stores and sounds like you did well. I recently made my circuit of thrift stores for the first time since the pandemic and found things that made me smile, like a 20 piece, four place setting of Corning Christmas “Winter Holly” for $14. If you haven’t, another place to check out online is Wayfair. We’ve bought several pieces of furniture from them and the only negative is you have to assemble almost everything. They are also very good at replacements if something is damaged or missing as I’ve learned.

[choff5]

One note to change on my original list. Davis Thrift store, https://davisthriftstore.com/, has moved from Tamiami Trail in Venice to a warehouse in Nokomis. I found it last month and the positive is they have much more room for much more items. The negative is it’s a warehouse that is not air conditioned. The day I was there it was hot and they had large fans running throughout it. Their webpage link I gave has their new address but check their Facebook page as they will often show pictures if what they have. It’s a for profit place, not a non prof like many of the other thrift stores are.

[newtovenice]

Originally Posted by choff5

One note to change on my original list. Davis Thrift store, https://davisthriftstore.com/, has moved from Tamiami Trail in Venice to a warehouse in Nokomis. I found it last month and the positive is they have much more room for much more items. The negative is it’s a warehouse that is not air conditioned. The day I was there it was hot and they had large fans running throughout it. Their webpage link I gave has their new address but check their Facebook page as they will often show pictures if what they have. It’s a for profit place, not a non prof like many of the other thrift stores are.

Davis is a family owned business. They do estate clean outs and then sell the goods/furniture at their store, so they move items pretty quickly.

I will say that they treat customers with respect there, and are generally helpful and courteous. Their prices have gone up over the last year, thought, just like everyone else.

[kramco]

Originally Posted by choff5

One note to change on my original list. Davis Thrift store, https://davisthriftstore.com/, has moved from Tamiami Trail in Venice to a warehouse in Nokomis.

Yeah, when I got back in town, South Venice, in November after a few months gone and was driving up Tamiami (Seems like the locals use "41", but I love the sound of Tamiami) I wondered what happened. I even pulled into the parking lot to check it out, and didn't notice a sign indicating they had moved and just thought they went out of business. Maybe I wasn't looking close enough for a sign.

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

You might try some of the used furniture stores in the area, such as Iverson's Used Furniture on Clark Rd or Twice's Nice in downtown Sarasota on Fruitville. There's another used furniture store just north of Clark Rd on the west side of Swift, I can't think of it's name at the moment.

The Whitfield Exchange on US 41 north of the airport also has some interesting items from time to time:
Home | The Whitfield Exchange


PS: Almost forgot to mention The Women's Exchange in downtown Sarasota:
https://shop.sarasotawex.com/

Iverson's has some nice stuff and they aren't inexpensive. It's been a while since I've been in there so that could have changed. Good quality, upscale furniture.

[SkyperTyper]

most of these "thrifts" aren't thrifty one bit lol

[FL dreaming]

There is a Habitat Restore hidden just off Center rd near 41 in Venice. It's mostly junk but there were a few decent inexpensive dining sets. It's a shame but people at the condos are moving and putting quality stuff out at the dumpster, often nicer than what I saw at many of the previously listed shops. Some so nice I wished I hadn't already bought one.