So far disappointed in the recent changes at the local thrift shop. It used to be a place where you could rummage through lightly organized sections and discover items for art projects, the garden, or furnishing a home after a move. Finding a small project or a new piece of clothing always felt satisfying, and the store had a personality of its own. Now it feels like a cookie-cutter version of many other thrift stores. The selection is limited, the sense of discovery is gone, and the prices are surprisingly high for a thrift shop. Even the costume jewelry appears inexpensive in quality yet still overpriced. I'm sorry to make the comparison, but the earlier experience there was genuinely much better. read more

Community Worx, formerly PTA Thrift. The last few times I've been in, I have been literally disgusted with the condition of this store. What a filthy mess..I felt like I needed a shower. The worst section is where the DVDS and CDs and electronics are located. One big hot mess.. boxes with cds that are dirty, completely disorganized...wires all over the place...I don't know what that new slim guy does back there but it's horrible. All the sections look neglected but for the books..that is the one very nice area TENDED BY VOLUNTEERS so there's a problem here. Work ethic seems obsolete along with some of the very moody sales clerks. read more

I used to go there regularly to purchase clothing. Something fundamental has changed. Prices are silly high. And who is getting the money? No more, folks. If you like to find bargains, go somewhere else. read more

This was my first time going but it was a decent thrift shop, it was a bit small but still found a very nice spice rack (which I've been needing) and some comics. There was not too many items to check out but either way the staff were nice. read more

Seriously rude. Don't park in back and shop unless you want to suffer the wrath of the seriously witchy older lady who won't make eye contact and nearly run you off the ramp with furniture. read more

The people responsible for selling the merchandise here should be more diligent about claims of authenticity...If they are going to sell "sterling silver', the items SHOULD BE MARKED. I bought two bogus pair of "sterling" earrings at inflated prices and they both turned out to be cheap brass. Last week a woman was telling the clerk that she spent about $30 for a "sterling" necklace that was pure crap metal. Get with the program..I mentioned my experience and was told, "we have authorities for the silver" and not any suggestion of apology or recompense. Shame. read more

You will feel dirty when you walk in here. Be prepared for it, and you might have a good time. There's a lot to be had here, all the way from LPs and TVs to shower curtain rods. the PTA Thrift Shop will meet all of your home furnishing needs, so long as matching and mold aren't an issue. Selection is the advantage here... they're almost certain to have what you're looking for or something close to it (although, to be honest, you're probably better off coming in without an idea of what you want and just letting fancy take you). Actually FINDING what you want, though, is a bit of a toss-up. The organization of the store is shoddy at best. Budget at least half an hour just to pick through the dust and stray coaxial cables tripping you up. It's a major problem, and I wish they would just arrange things better. The service is also an issue. I found the staff to be extremely rude, almost to the point of implying they thought my business was more trouble than it was worth. read more

PTA Thrift Shops - Thrift Stores Near Me - Carrboro, North Carolina

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I always find something (photo frame, blender, clothes), though the selection is smaller than some other Triangle thrift shops. Certainly a good place for finding furniture, if you can come out early (and they deliver). Prices are fine for me. I'm mostly concerned about their staff--they seem to employ too few folks, and the cashiers have nowhere to sit?? That causes pain and doesn't make sense. I'm also surprised they aren't Orange County Living Wage-certified, or otherwise advertise that they take care of their workforce. These days, thank goodness, that's something to boast of and attract community members with. read more

Signed up online to donate our sofa with pick up this morning. No show. Tonight, just now I get an email from "Karen" to announce they are not doing pick ups. How about changing your website to reflect your new policy? If you are not going to change your website, how about monitoring your current site so that we'll meaning people like me don't sit around waiting for a pick up that you have discontinued? You give truth to the stereotype of disorganized charity organizations. Shame on you. read more

For years I shopped at PTA weekly - both in Carrboro and Elliot Rd(now closed). They hired a new manager that first worked at Elliot Rd. Prices went way up!!! She then moved to the Carrboro PTA and did the same there. It now feels like you are shopping at a specialty boutique! Additionally, I understand that this is a college town with many small size people - but larger sizes are not there to choose from. A size 12 is hanging with the plus size clothing! There are large size women in the community, and it feels like they just don't put the clothing out.- I had an unbelievable pricing experience in Carrboro after the new manager started. I tried to buy a small wood window screen. The wood was snapped in half - absolutely useless for its purpose!! I only needed the actual screening and asked if they would discount the price. They took $1 off making a broken screen $4!!!! ........ I would suggest you find another thrift store to shop. Durham Rescue Mission has a huge thrift store with great prices - on Durham Chapel Hill Blvd. They also always have a designated tag color that is half off. I never go to CommunityWorx as I can shop regular stores and get better prices on the sale rack! read more

These shops dare to use the PTA in their names, and give no money to the schools. They won't disclose where their money is going, and they won't comply with the demand that they stop using the PTA in their name. They want us to donate our stuff to them and volunteer for them, but they don't give anything back. Even though my children are in the CHCCS district, I will donate to the Chatham thrift shop. They give money to the schools. read more

PTA got a fancy new big building! I was so excited to check it out when it opened a while back. I've now been there about ... 6? 8 times? ... and I feel like I can review it. Here's the long and short: It's bigger, it's nicer, but for the life of me I can't figure out WHY but.... the Chapel Hill location has much, much better stuff. For its size, the Carrboro location feels like there's just not much interesting in there. They're not utilizing the space well, and they sure aren't getting the same quality donations as the other place. I almost never buy anything at all when I browse through there. The saddest thing for me was going for the $1 per bag of books sale, and not being able to get anywhere near filling up a bag. Admittedly it had been picked over, but I'd been earlier in the week and struck out then as well during the half price book sale. I put back the couple books I had halfheartedly picked out, then went to the other location later in the week and found a couple of really cool little items. TL;DR? The store is nice. It's a pleasant browsing experience. You'll very rarely find anything of note, though. Go to the Chapel Hill PTA shop instead. read more

So here's the thing...if it is true that they are not funding the CHCC schools like they were previously, then SHAME ON THEM! My issue is that it is a thrift store. Who the heck is deciding on the pricing? I've been in there many times only to find the pricing ridiculous. $9 for a muffin tin. Really? A used muffin tin for $9?! How do the people who are pricing these things sleep at night. There was a mom/daughter shopping and the young daughter asked her mom to buy it so they could make cupcakes. Her mom looked at the price and passed. I picked it up thinking I would purchase it for the little girl and have the clerk surprise her, but when I read the $9 price tag, I put it back as well. Also, it seems like anything for the house, they like to price at around $8. I don't know how many items I saw like that and they should have been between $2 and $4. It really is shameful. I used to donate quite frequently here, but as they've raised their prices significantly, and as I've heard about them keeping the money for themselves instead of the schools they are supposed to support, I am taking my money and my donations elsewhere. I would highly suggest you do the same. read more

This place is hopping! I've been wanting to do some thrifting and Chapel Hill/Carrboro sure have quite a few to check out on Main and Franklin. This was one of the nicest I've been in with quite a bit of staging. Of course some of the staging had items that weren't for sale which was a bummer because I really wanted that pink metallic Easter tree on display. No really, I did! I didn't find much in the way of clothing though my teenager found a nice black Chico's skirt. I didn't tell her that that's where her grandma shopped though I get comments on shopping at American Eagle and Forever 21! I found the book Outliers hardback for $1.50 and some hanging lantern lights for $5 and my other daughter found some artwork for $5 that she liked. If I had room and a way to get furniture home they actually had a few cool pieces. There is this neat fainting couch that has been reupholstered in a contemporary pattern for $65 and a huge dollhouse with furniture for $65. If you're reading this today (April 6th Sunday) they are open today for a special Spring promotion. read more

The down and dirty on this thrift store: - Not a lot of clothes, tends to get very picked over by the college kids - Tons of glassware - Good place for furniture if you're willing to haul it yourself - Decent selection of books, sometimes decent on vinyl as well - They have day of the week deals and sales from time to time, make sure you read all the signs Definitely worth a visit if you're in the mood to dig around! read more

The PTA Thrift Shop got a shiny new store in 2012 thanks to funds raised by local families. Since then, their contributions to CHCC Schools dropped from about $200,000 a year to almost nothing ($13,000 last year), despite their revenue going UP significantly. Meanwhile, they quietly eliminated PTA membership on their Board. DO NOT SHOP HERE. read more

This place a huge mosh posh of well organized second hand goods. The personnel are very friendly and helpful when needed. The great part is that THEY DO NOT USE PLASTIC BAGS!! Praise thee!!! I was delighted to see the beautiful pile of brown bags below the counter. THANK YOU!!! read more

This is an amazing place! Every time I come here I never leave empty handed! The employees are very helpful, and they have great selection on everything here. One tip I would give is that if you see something you like, get it while you're there. If you leave and decide you want it later, it'll probably be gone. I've made this mistake a few times. My one complaint is that the times I've gone, the clothes are pretty stained. It's a great place to get kitchen items and furniture! read more

This thrift store is mildly crazy but appears to have just about everything. Crazy as in jumbled merchandise and fend-for-yourself shopping experience. I visited the location near Whole Foods in Chapel Hill and it was pretty much dominated by clothing. At this location in Carrboro, there are a lot more housewares - a lot more everything - and I found the chairs and dishes I was looking for. Proceeds support local schools. read more

I almost want to give it a bad rating so no one else knows how great it is ;) Some of this store's knick knacks are overpriced, and for basic kitchen items you'd do better at durham rescue mission, but for clothing, purses, wallets, etc. this is your spot. It seems like half of my wardrobe is from PTA; all J Crew, Loft, Banana Republic, and other good brands. I've seen some Patagonia here as well as Vineyard Vines too! I found a (real!) Kate Spade bag for $6 here the other day! They also have lots of art and frames here- the frames are cheap, but the art seems arbitrarily priced. Some nice stuff is only $5, but I've seen other art pieces for as much as 20-30. Jewelry is a little pricy for thrift too, but I'm always so excited by the clothes that I don't mind. Books are a good deal too; they have lots of sales on books so keep an eye out. Parking isn't great, which is the only reason I don't come here that often and instead visit the Eliott road location. What it lacks in parking it makes up for in aesthetics though; the building looks brand new and is well designed, which is nice compared to other thrift stores that just look like a warehouse or a shack. This is the most well-known thrift store in the area to students, and it's on the bus line, so students will donate the best stuff when they have to move out at the end of the semester. This means you get stuff that normally no one would have donated! read more

Pretty good thrift store. Clothing selection, especially men's, is a little slim. But there is a wide variety of stuff, electronics, books, dvds, etc. read more

This thrift store has clothes, shoes, boots, ties, old computer accessories, TVs, books and sometimes you'll find a car for sale there too. The clothes are not too worn or tattered and you might even find something that suits your style and taste. I've found tops that I've liked and worn, as well as, some slacks. They've kids clothes, toys and other accessories, so much to choose from, all layed out neatly and well organized. read more

Looking at the reviews here, I'm not sure some of these folks have been to a real thrift store before. Of course you should fend for yourself, of course it's dirty! How else do you expect to pay $1.00 for a cd or 0.50 for a book. That said, there's always something neat there everytime I've gone in (my favorite was a tiny home meat slicer). The kind of classic thrift store that seems to be disappearing in favor of vintage shops calling themselves "thrift" read more

Broken promise of delivery time. So disappointing. No call from them to update me either after I left messages.

Yesterday afternoon my daughter and I brought a very large donation to the back of the Carrboro PTA Thrift Shop. Rarely in my life have I ever experienced such rudeness. The man who was working in the back apparently didn't feel like meeting us outside, so he ordered each one of us to bring our donations inside the store and proceeded to act as though he was doing US a favor by deigning to take our donations. As we left, he said nothing and my daughter remarked "I don't like that man. He's mean." It is rare for her to criticize anyone. I returned and asked for a receipt. "What for?" he rudely demanded to know! "For the donations," I replied. I had to repeat this twice as he pretended not to hear me the first time. After he finally gave me a receipt, I mentioned that giving receipts for donations is not unusual. His response: "You got your receipt! What else do you want?" I completely blame the management for hiring someone like this, and I will never donate anything to this thrift shop ever again. read more