This is a wonderfully curated thrift store with an extensive selection of vintage items including furniture, dishes, home decor. Lots of clothing, jewelry, shelves and handbags as well. Super friendly and helpful staff. Items are very reasonably priced - great value They even wrap your breakables at the register. Can't wait to visit again read more

Amazing selection! I hadn't been here before, surprisingly, but stopped by while Christmas shopping. So many good finds. The clothes are mostly name-brand and in excellent shape. The volunteers who work here are so friendly and helpful. We found Christmas decor, gifts, and some household items. The prices were well below Goodwill, which is crazy, considering how much nicer everything was. read more

Updating my review since they've moved locations. They are no longer a thrift store full of bargains, they are more of a high end boutique. Their price have gone up considerably and they are more expensive than Goodwill. Which keeps me from shopping here. I like to support non profits doing great things for the community but I can't afford to shop here any longer. read more

Great stuff! Big selection of home stuff, jewelry and clothes. Excellent service and reasonable prices. So glad we found this treasure and they donate to children's charity. Win win! read more

Merchandise is displayed artfully. It's a feast for your eyes. Always find interesting and one of a kind items. read more

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The place is adorable but for a thrift store is sure is expensive and overpriced! It's all donated so why are the prices so high?

This is by far my favorite thrift store. The merchandise is well selected and beautifully displayed, and it's a true pleasure to be there. All for a wonderful cause. read more

Fabulous thrift store. I found two great necklaces and a few other odds and ends. It made my shopping day perfect.

I have been buying things at Caroline's for years. I recall purchasing a beautiful crystal candlestick there for $4. What a find. In recent years, though, the prices have continued to go up and frankly, my shopping trips have become less frequent because of it. Maybe this is just the way it is now, but the bargains are rare and my interest has waned. While I continue to come in on occasion, I've had to adjust my expectations with regard to Caroline's. IMHO, they are not what I'd consider a thrift shop anymore. read more

Fantastic thrift store. Friendly staff. I met Caroline and had a lovely conversation. The items are impeccably displayed. They have a great sense of style. I purchased a photo of the San Francisco Bay Bridge- old juxtaposed to the new bridge before destruction with sailboats in the foreground. Priceless. My husband sorted through an eclectic selection of vinyl albums. I snagged a silk Barry Bricken shirt for more festive days. The Holiday trees have a theme and are tastefully decorated. Such a great store and ALL the proceeds go to the Hospice of Santa Cruz County. Selfless volunteers staff the stores. read more

Caroline's Thrift Store - Holiday decor - Thrift Stores Near Me - Aptos, California

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My favorite " thrift" store in the Santa Cruz vicinity! The merchandise is incredible, high end, displays excellent, volunteers are the best, attentive, and helpful. They sell fabric bags, potholders and napkin sets sewn by volunteers, which are great, but pricey. ( I'm sure they have " tested" these prices and feel that they are fair, but not bargains at all). The whole "project" is wonderful for the community in so many ways. read more

Strange experience while attempting to make a substantial donation. Called ahead, told them what I was donating, they said great, bring it in. I carried a box of high-value items into store, asked where to put it, was told to put on counter at back of shop. Then, an older woman walked up me, and told me, repeatedly, that I should have parked in back of the shop and dropped off the box there. She was frowning, and continued to lecture me. I did not feel welcome and withdrew the donation. Grey Bears always welcoming and friendly, and will now be given all our local donations of lightly used valuables. read more

Today was my first visit. I was extremely impressed by a multitude of things: 1- All proceeds benefit the community 2- The owner Christy and all the volunteers were so amazing, helpful and friendly! It was apparent they took pride w/ their positions 3- The two extremely large connected stores are clean, orderly, designed well displays. 4- Quality of items was amazing - 5- Clothing was not typical of a thrift store- higher end quality. 6- Extremely large clothing and jewelry sections I'm excited to return. 6- Prices were reasonable read more

Lovely find in Aptos!!!! We can't wait to return on our next trip. The selection is excellent, quality is superb. Plan time for your visit because they have quantity and quality. Super excited about our finds at great prices!!! I would give 1/2 star off being the two stores which causes confusion between you and staff. Also if you set items aside they place them on your account, which you may decide not to purchase. But despite trying to run a business with 2 stores and volunteer staff, they are friendly and super attentive. Also a wonderful philanthropy. read more

Love the idea that this thrift store has donated millions for needy kids, and other causes. That convinced me to look far and wide to try to buy things from this shop. This is not a Goodwill shop, neither in pricing or lower quality selections. These shops are more boutique like with everything from collectible China and crystal to unique costume jewelry and a few higher end pieces of jewelry, and of course a good variety of women's clothes and some men clothes too. They also have a cutely displayed vintage cup and saucer section that were very reasonably priced. They were wrapped with ribbon and those cups/saucer sets would make nice gifts. Parking was not easy as the lot is shared with other businesses, but we were able to find parking. I'd encourage all to drop in and browse the 2 Caroline's shops that are situated next to each other. When shopping here think of the causes they support, and when you buy how they truly are helping others. read more

My sister and I went in yesterday looking for a brooch, we were not received well by the ladies working there.They were very cold and unfriendly. I took it as maybe just a hard day for everyone. Today we went back to pick up some tea cups. Again they were watching us from the very moment we walked in, no one offered any help. It was a very unpleasant visit both times. Very sad that this happens anywhere. Especially a second hand store saying they help the community. Very unfortunate for customers of any race! read more

I always feel grateful when I drop items off at Caroline's. They do such a good job of staging everything. Thank you Caroline's!

The best in the area, beautiful finds, and gives back to the community in so many ways

This is the best place to thrift in Santa Cruz County. Store is very stylish and has absolutely wonderful pieces everywhere, at a reasonable price. The inventory consistently turns over so there is always new treasures to see whenever I go there. The volunteers are nice, and helpful too. Love this place, a WOW! read more

If you are in the area and looking for something particular, it's worth swinging in for a quick check. Caroline's occupies two buildings and they even had a shipping container out back. The yellow building was staged a little nicer and the gal who worked there was very sweet. She helped us look at chairs and my daughter fell in love with one. People mention prices. Yes, it is give or take based on what they are offering. The chair cushions that we ended up buying were hand made, good quality and worth the price. My daughter wanted the Morris chair that they were sitting on. It was very cute but it also had some condition issues (broken support, missing matching arm detail, plywood where the missing spring box should have been located, worn finish etc). I paused when I saw it listed at least 2x what it should have been. I asked about a price adjustment and the owner wouldn't budge. However, sometimes when one thing doesn't work out, something else does. Tonight my mom passed down my grandmother's Morris chair frame to my daughter and the cushions fit perfectly! The day ended with smiles on our faces. I love that this little shop does support local charities but like any other place that you walk into, know what you are willing to pay for something. Some things are absolutely worth it, others not. read more

The owner may donate to a great cause, but what does she put in her pocket? She doesn't pay any salary to her employees and according to non-profit rules you can set your own salary... She charges way more than the average thrift store for common items.. Yes, there are some nice things but I don't trust her business practices when you don't pay your employees a dime! There's something wrong with this picture. Don't support Caroline.. Just send your money directly to the organization itself.. They will get more! read more

Great thrift store with quality merchandise. All proceeds donated for local non profits! A win win shopping experience!

Lots of interesting items through the window. I waited around until noon on a Saturday when they were scheduled to open but nobody was inside. I will have to come back next tim I am in the area. read more

I really like Caroline's. They donate a ton of money to local causes. The volunteers are always very polite and helpful and her merchandise is well displayed and reasonably priced. Keep up the good work. Thanks for filling a need in the community. read more

I'm disappointed to see a few Yelp reviews targeting grumpy volunteers. The volunteers we have met have been helpful and honest. This is not the place, in my opinion, to drop off your scarred old items that you would not gift to someone you love. It's for gently used merchandise and many items in the store are more upscale than one would find at a garden-variety thrift store. Think of vintage rather than old. (This is only my observation/opinion.) They went out of their way to provide us with some original packaging and they wrapped all fragile items very well. Our last visit we dropped off items they could use, bought a few items, and then took other items they couldn't use on to Goodwill down the road. There are 2 "tiny house" buildings, plus an outbuilding or two, and space is tight. The volunteers shared with me that ceilings and windows are getting leaky, so they really do need donations, volunteer time, sales and love. The lack of a fifth star is because they need to upgrade their space. Part of how that happens will be up to us in the community choosing to donate and shop there whenever we can. I have no financial or managerial association with them at all. I just believe they do great work and deserve our support. read more

Every time I shop here I find something! Everyone who volunteers here is welcoming and helpful. I'd say the donations are higher end so the pricing is also a bit higher than other thrift stores, but they do have sales on things which make it a great value. It's a couple cottage size buildings, so it is cramped but so worth it. Proceeds go to local charities. Check it out, there's something for everyone. read more

Caroline's is a warm and inviting thrift shop that is set up in a charming way. The volunteers are sweet and always helpful. Not to mention that it is a 100% non-profit organization which donates its proceeds to local charities. I am always glad to donate lightly used goods to them and do a little shopping after. Thank you Caroline's for all you do in Santa Cruz County. read more

Awesome little hidden gems. Every time I visit I leave with a trunk full. The staff is exceptional. Plus the proceeds are donated to local charities. Everyone is a winner. read more

The story behind this shop and all that they do for the community is really touching. It's one of my favorite places to donate. My suggestion to Caroline's is to work with your volunteers so they understand their presence and efforts can increase goodwill. Sadly, it can also be a big turnoff. It's a joy to bring in a donation and very disheartening to have that wind knocked out of my sails by a man who seemed so disgruntled that I even came by to drop off boxes. He saw wire hangers in my car and said in a nasty tone, "We don't take hangers." I said I was returning them to the dry cleaners, but thanks for stopping me at the pass lest I had dared entertain the idea of donating them to you. And the ladies who volunteer in the shop... perhaps a little less territorial growling when we're browsing and little more smiling. read more

This was an awesome little thrift store!! My family is all about deals and great finds, and this little gem is near our house! I don't know why we'd never noticed it before. That being said, they were oddly obsessed with closing at 5. Yes, it was a Saturday and I know that the workers/volunteers have lives and are working out of the goodness of their hearts... but if a place says it's open till 5, I expect it to be open until that time. We walked up and were looking at the stuff outside when a women came up abruptly and was like "If you're going in, go in now." And my mom was like, "Oh, do you close soon?" and the woman says "We close at 5." So we look at the clock and it's 4:50, ten full minutes. We walk in and you can just feel the other two workers tense up. While we're in there, they casually bring up closing at 5 MULTIPLE TIMES in the conversation between the two of them ("Do you think we have time to fold these?" "Well, we DO CLOSE AT 5"). So we find some cute stuff and pay (by 4:55) and my mom mentions that she's looking forward to coming back to look around more, and yet again one of the women is like "We're open tomorrow at noon, but today we close at 5." Calm down, Captain! Honestly, this visit was like some sort of twisted drinking game. I know it must be frustrating to work in retail and have people staying beyond the closing time, but this was a little much. Again, love love love the shop. I'm not angry, it was actually pretty funny, but someone else might not have appreciated it. Tip: On Saturdays, they close at 5. read more

Old hag was a complete bitch. As soon as my mother and I stepped foot in the store she said, "we're closed" and proceeded to shut the door. Keep in mind there were other people still shopping in the store! And as we drove off, we noticed the door was back to open with another new customer in there. Still can't make sense of that situation to this day lol. read more

EDIT 1/23/17: Staff STILL needs help. NO ONE EVER greets me when I come in. I spend money there, you'd think they'd be nicer. I do like this place, and hate to give it so few stars. I love what they stand for. I have bought many terrific things here. That being said, most of the staff and who I believe to be the owner, could be nicer. As others have mentioned, the man who organizes the large donations is disgustingly rude. I avoid him at all costs or don't even bother to go in if I see him. He was especially rude one time when I went in to ask if they had a certain furniture item. NEVER AGAIN. I was in recently and this one woman was so rude and apparently tried to walk behind me as I stepped back to look at something, slamming into me. She said NOTHING when I said "Oops sorry!" other than "Mhhmm" as she continued to walk away. Parking sucks. Both stores are lovely. Staff needs improvement. read more

I LOVE Carolines. I kind of don't want to share this little gem with anyone else. They are a non-profit, and give back to the community. They repurpose and fix up old furniture, and offer great prices (I got a vintage, sage green bedside table for $75). They have a lot of cute, old-fashioned china, some fun clothing to look through, and a lot of decor/furniture. The people that work there are very sweet. And the resident poodle was wearing pearls last I went in. What more do you need!? Great place to find things for your home, or for a rustic country wedding. read more

Caroline's is an opportunity to donate vintage items that will generate thousands of dollars to help children with illnesses. It is truly a labor of love, and the volunteers do an amazing job of receiving, sorting and displaying tons of donated material. Most Caroline shoppers understand the enormous work that goes into making this shop a special opportunity to both find treasures and to assist the nearby community. My only (minor) complaint is that management does not always seem to appreciate the gifts people bring as donations. Yes, the job of plowing through tons of items is hard, particularly when not all items can be put on the shelf. Their attitude, though, is blunt, like "Yeah, okay...you have a donation. Set it by the door." This can be hurtful to someone who is donating all their late mother's fine silk scarves, or a collection of handcrafted teddy bears, or a complete set of heirloom dishes. Giving these precious items to Caroline's is giving them new life with a great benefit all around, but the ambivalence (however unintended) feels like, "Ouch." read more

A wonderful thrift store , has so many unique things.. Also have a small furniture and household items next door. Great place. All the money made goes to non profits in the area. Every time I go to Aptos , I go here. I brought my sorority sisters today, read more

Volunteers here are very sweet and it's so great that this store exists to support local charities. I love that! A friend told me she felt their prices were getting much too high. Unfortunately, I have to agree. Management is clueless, and I think they've forgotten they are a thrift store. They use an inflated comparison to justify very hefty price tags on many items. Often the price is at or near the price you can purchase the item new, many times over double what those items will sell for used. This info can be easily found for most items with a little sleuthing. I felt condescended to when I inquired about the inflated price. Since I'm not a fool, I left and found the item I was interested in for less than half the price elsewhere. Willing to buy from Caroline's, in fact I'd rather support them, but not interested in getting ripped off. read more

Carolines is my favorite place to shop. They have good quality stuff and all profits go to charity. It's all volunteer run and they have donated over a million dollar's. The staff is friendly and they have a wide selection. Knowing my money is going to a good cause is a great feeling. read more

Great selection of items and great prices. Watch out for older shopkeeper with blonde hair - very rude. If you stay one minute past closing she's basically kicking you out the door! Even though we spent over $100 read more

LOVE this place (two places, actually... side by side, plus more set up behind ). The Ladies that volunteer at Caroline's are dedicated, welcoming and fun. The shops are beautifully set up with absolutely lovely items at good prices for the quality items that are sold ! You will love it . read more

I love everything about Carolines! What a wonderful way to contribute to local charities as you buy a little treasure. I have bought beautiful clothes, antique doll furniture and items for my home such as pillows, plates and glasses. The workers here are all volunteer and they are so hard working! I'm always greeted with smiles! It's amazing to see the chalk boards above the register showing how much money they have raised for local charities!! read more