Living in the midwest requires an arsenal of clothing for different weather conditions. In one season, you may be wearing shorts one day and a puffer jacket the next. Some can find maintaining a good selection difficult when dorm closet space is so limited. Thrifting is a great, eco-friendly way to frequently update your wardrobe and donate unwanted pieces in the same trip.
For your convenience, I have ranked all of the thrift stores within three miles of William Jewell College’s campus. I ranked on a five-star scale using four criteria: selection, affordability, organization and the integrity of the business itself.
4. Goodwill
Selection: 3/5
Affordability: 4/5
Organization: 3/5
Integrity: 2/5
Yes, we have a Goodwill here – it’s located around two miles northwest of Jewell’s campus. However, I do not recommend taking the trip to visit this particular Goodwill. For such a large building, its selection is quite small. It still has the low prices characteristic of Goodwill, but those prices come at the cost of contributing to a company with a shady past that includes paying disabled workers less than minimum wage. As well, Goodwill stores throw away a significant amount of their donations. However, apparently some Goodwill locations recently went bagless, so there’s that. Good for them.
Overall score: 60/100
3. Savers
Selection: 5/5
Affordability: 2/5
Organization: 5/5
Integrity: 2/5
There is a significant amount of appeal stored in the sheer size and wonder of Savers. It’s huge and the stock changes constantly. They’re great about keeping their racks seasonally appropriate, even for specific holidays. The organization of the store is very sensible. However, their prices are often outrageous, even with their 20 percent student discount. This company has had its fair share of scandals and throws away many of its donations. However, Savers gets honors points for being open late on most evenings, which is a rarity for a thrift store.
Overall score: 70/100
2. Immaculata Manor Thrift Store
Selection: 3/5
Affordability: 5/5
Organization: 3/5
Integrity: 5/5
A thrift store located next to Price Chopper on Brown S
However, the racks are jam-packed and clothing does not get rotated very often, so you cannot visit very regularly. Their website is sparse, so it is difficult to tell what they do with their leftover items. The organization of the store is not very intuitive, though the women’s clothing is color coordinated. They also have begun to stock more furniture and household-related items. Overall, this is a lovely place to spend your money!
Overall Score: 80/100
1. Hillcrest Hope
Selection: 4/5
Affordability: 5/5
Organization: 5/5
Integrity: 5/5
Chances are that you have driven by this place hundreds of times and never thought to go inside. I urge you to visit this wonderful store sometime – this thrift store donates all of its proceeds to its parent organization, which holistically supports low-income families within the Liberty community. As a thrift store, it excels in almost every area: it is impeccably organized, the clothes are cleaned before being racked, its large selection changes fairly often, it offers a large selection of non-clothing items and 95 percent of what is donated either gets sold or recycled. Plus, the whole store has Goodwill-level prices!
Overall score: 95/100