Where to Find a Furniture Thrift Store? This post is about thrift furniture stores in the US. Our posts about selling and donating second hand furniture in the UK are here:
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Furniture contributed 12 million tones of waste in 2018. 20% was ‘combusted for energy recovery’. The remaining 80% of discarded furniture went to the landfill. Office furniture is a significant part of the problem. It contributed to 8.5 million tones of waste, and the majority of this was high quality reusable furniture.
Home furniture contributed 3.5 million tons of waste. The problem with resale and recycling of home furniture is the wide adoption of ‘Fast Furniture’. This inexpensive ‘starter’ furniture is produced from less robust materials. These materials, such as veneer-covered particle board are more susceptible to damage, are not economical to recycle and are slow to compost in landfills.
In a recent survey of 2000 Americans about their attitudes to ‘fast furniture’, 80% said they are more likely to throw it away than donate or sell. As a result, an average life expectancy of a Fast Furniture piece is 2 years before it ends up in landfill.
This cycle is difficult to break. Two-thirds of those surveyed said there’s a negative stigma around buying used furniture or picking up free furniture. Majority said they would be willing to buy used furniture if there was less of a taboo around thrift stores.
Opportunities for reuse of older, higher quality furniture pieces are great, through donation, resale and upcycling. Whether it is to save money, declutter, add vintage pieces… there are many stores and online resources (some referenced below) to help us achieve these goals.
Where is a Furniture Thrift Store near me?
The ecosystem of second hand furniture in North America is, as you would expect, is highly diverse. Many traditional business models co-exist with new online businesses. There are broadly 3 large worlds: Thrift-store centric, furniture stores selling second hand, and eCommerce marketplaces, with both generalist and furniture specialist competitors.
Thrift stores and directories
- Directories of thrift stores (e.g. Thrift Stores, The Thrift Shopper, Thriftstored)
- Charity stores (e.g. Habitat, Goodwill, Salvation Army, St Vincent De Paul, Red Cross)
- For-profit stores and services (eg Savers®)
- Furniture banks for furniture donations (eg Furniture Bank)
- Donation collection services (e.g. LoadUp, GreenDrop)
Furniture stores selling used furniture
- Offered as part of a wider product/services catalogue (eg IKEA, Cort Furniture Outlet)
eCommerce marketplaces
- Marketplaces that sell / give away Furniture among other categories (e.g. Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, eBay, Etsy and Freecycle)
- Furniture marketplaces (eg AptDeco.com, kaiyo.com, kashew.com)
Thrift Stores and Directories
According to Forbes’ America’s Top 100 Charities, charity business in Americas is HUGE! The largest charity (Feeding America) generates $4.2B revenue, while the 100th (JDRF International) earns $240M. With thousands of thrift stores managed by different organizations, no wonder that online directories have emerged to help navigate this ecosystem and find a thrift store of any kind by zipcode.
Directories
Thrift Stores
- Thrift Stores is a resource for searching thrift store locations nationwide. They are not affiliated with any thrift store. You can find details of all types of thrift stores, from mom and pop shops to major charity chains, selling clothing, products, and furniture.
- Find used furniture Thrift Stores in my area
The Thrift Shopper
- The Thrift Shopper is another national US thrift store directory. The goal is to provide shoppers/donors with the most comprehensive charity thrift store directory. We list only charity-driven thrift stores so your purchases and donations will be going to a worthy cause.
- Thrift Shopper directory
Thriftstored
- Thriftstored is a list of selected thrift stores. Includes thrift store details, reviews and product information
- Find the best thrift stores
Charity stores
Habitat for Humanity
- Habitat for Humanity partners with people in communities to help them build or improve their home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage
- Habitat for Humanity ReStores are home improvement stores and donation centres selling new and gently used furniture, appliances, home goods and building materials
- Habitat ReStores are independently owned stores operated by local Habitat for Humanity organizations. ReStores accept donations and sell diverse, high-quality merchandise at a fraction of the retail price, while diverting reusable household items and building materials from area landfills.
- Where is a 2nd hand furniture store near me? List of ReStores.
Goodwill
- Goodwill is a leading non-profit provider of educational and workforce-related services. Goodwill helps people to find a job and grow their careers.
- In 2022, Goodwill served over 2.1 million individuals worldwide and helped 130K people train for careers in industries such as banking, IT and health care.
- Goodwill also helped to provide support services, such as English language training, additional education, and access to transportation and child care.
- The Goodwill Enterprise is a network of more than 150 community-based, autonomous organizations in the United States and Canada with a presence in 12 other countries. To meet the needs of their local communities, each local Goodwill organization designs its own programs and services to help people find work near where they live.
- Local Goodwill organizations are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that create job training programs, employment placement and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 3,200 Goodwill stores (North America) and online at shopgoodwill.com® and other e-commerce platforms.
- How to find a secondhand furniture store near me? Use this locator
Salvation Army
- The Salvation Army is well known for its network of thrift stores, which raise money for its rehabilitation programs by selling donated used clothing, housewares, toys and furniture.
- When people buy items at Salvation Army thrift stores, part of the proceeds go toward The Salvation Army’s emergency relief efforts and programs.
- Shops sell new and gently-used clothing, living room furniture, including coffee tables, dining room items, including dining sets, household goods, home furnishings, home decor and appliances. Stores also serve as drop-off locations for donations.
- Store locations, as well as pick up services for furniture or large quantity of items are managed by area.
Central Territory
- Serves the Midwest: Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin
- Find used furniture stores near my location: Central Territory
Eastern Territory
- Serves Connecticut, Delaware, Northeast Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands
- Find reuse furniture store near me: Eastern Territory
Western Territory
- Serves Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
- Pacific islands included are: Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Northern Marianas.
- Find thrift stores near me that sell furniture: Western Territory
Southern Territory
- Serve Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC and West Virginia.
- Find good second hand furniture store near me: Southern Territory
St Vincent De Paul
- St Vincent De Paul provides low income relief through work programs, food pantries, disaster services, rent assistance, medical help and school supplies. Serve over 5 million people every year
- Find good used furniture stores near me: Local Stores, Assistance & Services
American Red Cross
- Provides relief and support to those in crisis, manage blood donations, provide health and safety courses for individuals and companies, deliver aid and support programs around the world. Support military service members, veterans and their families.
- Find nearby second hand furniture stores: your local Red Cross
Savers®
- Savers® stores sell one-of-a-kind, value-priced options for quality clothing and home goods.
- Savers® run stores across the U.S., Canada, and Australia and partner with local nonprofit organizations. Savers® accept donations of clothing and household items on behalf on non-profits. Savers® pay non-profits for the donations, and fund programs in their communities.
- Savers® created a leading recycling and reuse program, where they keep 700 million pounds of reusable items out of area landfills every year.
- Where is a furniture thrift shop near me? Find a store
The Furniture Bank
- The Furniture Bank Network is a collection of furniture banks from across North America.
- Furniture banks are registered charities, not-for-profit organizations or social enterprises designed to provide gently used household furnishings to individuals and families in need, at little or no cost
- Usually, a network of community agencies ensures that the right people get access to the furniture
- Donated items are gently used furniture items in good, usable condition
- Many furniture banks operate a showroom, inviting clients to browse the furniture on offer and select items that suit their tastes.
- Many furniture banks provide a pickup and delivery service. Within a set radius and for a fee, furniture donors can request their donations be picked up by their chosen furniture bank.
- Furniture banks are also active recyclers. They work with city authorities and private organizations to divert as much waste from landfills as possible.
- Find a furniture bank near me.
Donation Collection services
- GreenDrop accepts donations on behalf of a local nonprofit. Pay non-profit partners for the donations, helping them fund programs in your community.
- LoadUp Nationwide. Collects donations and delivers to your local charity.
Furniture companies
IKEA
- If you’ve got any unwanted IKEA furniture good condition, you’ll to sell it back and receive a refund card in return.
- The scheme aims to breathe new life to their products and create easy and affordable solutions to help people live more sustainably and make circular consumption more affordable and accessible.
- How it works: start by filling out the form to get emailed a quote of your buy back value. Bring a copy of your quote and your fully assembled furniture to your participating IKEA store where a co-worker will assess your furniture’s buy back value in person. You will get store credit for your next purchase.
- What you can sell: IKEA will buy back only certain used IKEA items at participating stores, including: office drawer cabinets, display storage and sideboards; bookcases and shelf units; small tables; multimedia furniture; cabinets; dining tables and desks; chairs and stools without upholstery; chests of drawers; children’s products excluding baby items, and PAX accessories.
Cort Furniture Outlet
- Cort Furniture Outlet: the majority of their furniture has been temporarily used in model homes, on movie sets, by home stagers, in corporate apartments, in corporate offices or by people who needed furniture for the short-term
- Selection is updated weekly. All furniture is inspected, cleaned and certified
- Where are the best used furniture stores near me? Find a Cort furniture outlet.
Online Marketplaces
Facebook Marketplace
- How Facebook Marketplace works: Free to list
- What you can list: almost anything at any price, except restricted items, including services, animals and medical products
- How will delivery work: Collection or delivery agreed between buyer and seller
- How will payment work: agreed between buyer and seller. Often cash on collection.
Craigslist
- How Craigslist works: You can post free
- What you can list: almost anything at any price, except certain prohibited items
- How will delivery work: Service like GoShare.com can deliver furniture
- How will payment work: Craigslist recommends cash on collection.
eBay
- How eBay works: List for free or up to 250 insertions per month
- What you can list: almost anything at any price, except restricted items
- How will delivery work: collection in person, or delivery organised by sellers. eBay partnered with FedEx, DHL Express, Aramex eCommerce, Lexship and Shiprocket X.
- How will payment work: eBay will pay the seller when the item sells. Commission is 13% for most items.
Etsy
- How Etsy works: Set up a shop and list your items: USD$0.20 listing fee
- What you can list: almost anything at any price, except restricted items
- How will delivery work: Delivery organised by sellers. Etsy’ delivery partners for items up to 150 lbs are USPS, FedEx, or Canada Post.
- How will payment work: Etsy will pay the seller when the item sells. Transaction fee is 6.5%.
OfferUp
- How OfferUp works: You can post most items free. You can pay a monthly fee for an ad-free experience
- What you can list: almost anything, except certain prohibited items
- How will delivery work: Service like GoShare.co can deliver furniture
- How will payment work: OfferUp will pay the seller, and will charge a 13% commission on items above $100
AptDeco
- What is AptDeco’s coverage: contiguous United States
- How does it work: Seller submits their items free
- What you can list: Most furniture items can be sold on AptDeco, however there are a few exceptions. We cannot sell: mattresses, IKEA wardrobes, murphy beds or electronics. Items you can sell
- How will delivery work: AptDeco provides pickup and delivery service for customers across the contiguous United States. If both the buyer and seller are located within the same standard service zone, the pickup and delivery will be fulfilled by AptDeco’s delivery team. If either the buyer or seller are located in an extended service zone or are not located in the same standard service zone, AptDeco’s delivery partner will pick up and deliver item. Buyer usually pays the delivery fee.
- How will payment work: AptDeco will pay the seller. Commission is 19 – 49%.
Kaiyo
- What is Kaiyo’s coverage: Kaiyo operates in wider NYC, Los Angeles, San Diego, Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington DC.
- How does it work: Seller submits their items. Kayo’s team reviews and accepts or declines
- What you can list: Kaiyo is focused on keeping durable, top-quality furniture out of landfills, so they are selective about what they’ll accept.
- How will delivery work: Kaiyo will pick up from the seller, hold on to it, and deliver it to the buyer free of charge.
- How will payment work: Accept fast cash offer after your appointment to earn without waiting for your furniture to sell. Not in a rush? Decline the offer and see how your item fares in our marketplace. You’ll earn a revenue share based on its final resale price once sold.
Kashew
- What is Kashew’s coverage: San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, and Miami
- How does it work: Seller can post themselves and chose their pricing. Items will be crosslisted to other local marketplaces like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Offerup and Nextdoor.
- Alternatively, the seller can consign with professional resellers, who will pick up furniture, set the price and display them in their shops.
- What you can list: Furniture in a full range of conditions
- How will delivery work: Kashew offers on-demand pickup and delivery services. As a buyer, choose delivery at checkout, Kashew delivery team will handle the pickup from your location at the agreed-upon time.
- How will payment work: Kashew will pay the seller, less their commission.
In summary, buying and selling used furniture across North Americas is very diverse. Thrift-store centric world co-exists with the second hand furniture in retail furniture stores (e.g. IKEA) and with old (e.g. Craigslist) and new (e.g. Kashew) online marketplaces.
Resale and donation of good quality furniture have never been easier. Whether it is to save money, declutter, add vintage pieces… there are many ways to save old furniture from the landfill.
Keep good things going!