Similar to other reviews, I'm of mixed opinions on this one. It's a large place and they had good…read moreprices. But the building has seen better days and I felt that the inventory was a bit on the lower end. I don't know that I'd stop in again and I wouldn't go out of my way to visit.

I'm hopelessly addicted to thrifting... spending hours perusing the various apps and websites, but…read morealso crisscrossing the city so I can aimlessly stroll the aisles of my favorite stores. If I were to create a list of my favorite stores in Portland, Better Bargains is one that I would deliberate intensely on whether or not I should add it to the list. It's one of those hit or miss places that has potential for finding the bargain of the century. Don't visit during peak traffic because the business is on a section of Sandy that is impossible during rush hour. The parking lot is directly across from the intersection of 102nd and Sandy, and traffic backs up such that it blocks the entrance. You'll hate your life if you get trapped in this vortex of parking hell. The store has several aisles of furniture stacked high with assorted bits and pieces, and the east and west walls are covered with a patchwork of bagged treasures that are preassembled and priced accordingly. If you are big into art and craft projects, I've found some of these curated bags to be useful. It's best to visit the store on Wednesdays and Saturdays when a 25% storewide discount is applied toward all purchases. For me, the jury is still out on this thrift shop because I've yet to find a treasure I want to show off to all my friends. Maybe one day!

What a super cute concept! As the name suggests, My Vinyl Underground is, well, underground…read more Located inside a small comic/picture book store, descend a small flight of wooden stairs and you find yourself transported into a tiny room with records aplenty. There is quite the wide selection of records, and they also buy records. We brought some of ours to sell, and after inspecting the condition, we were given decently good money back on them. If I have more time in the future, I would definitely go take a deeper look at their offerings. This was a fun little adventure that's worth the trip!

I absolutely loved this place me and my friend happen to find it by chance when visiting Portland…read moreand it was totally worth it!!. the employee was so cool and nice they really did tie our experience all together. The prices where to die for I would spend all my money here if I could truly. Thank you letting us hang around

​I love library bookstores and sales. ​While some libraries have little stores inside their…read morebranches, some of the larger "Friends" groups operate separate retail outlets for their discarded and donated books. Luckily, Portland has a wonderful reading community that operates Rose City Reads. I actually found out about this location from a volunteer at the store in the Main library. Located in a strip mall, this location is out in the northeast, an area with few bookstores. Each time I've ventured in, there are plenty of other patrons roaming the stacks. And because this location is run by caring volunteers, it's always well organized with clearly labeled shelves. About half of the books are library discards, while the rest are community donations. And most everything is less than $5, so there are plenty of deals to be had.

Excellent selection of used books at excellent prices. It's like walking into a library where all…read morethe books are for sale. There are interesting collectible books as well. Friendly staff and quick check out. They accept used book donations.

What a dream bookstore for book lovers indeed! Founded in 1971, Powell's is such a Portland staple,…read moreand this location in the Pearl District is ginormous. You can seriously spend hours perusing all the books and choosing your next read, coffee table book, or whatever your heart desires. My favorite section of the bookstore hands down was the Rare Book Room, a special temperature and humidity-controlled room filled with some of the coolest books I have ever laid eyes on. And yes, they are for sale! To me, the room felt alive as I stood in the presence of historical literature, just as when I stand in the presence of great artifacts at a museum. Access to the Rare Book Room is granted as long as you grab a pass, and no food, drink, or unpaid books/merchandise is allowed inside. You can spend as long as you like (as long as it's not crowded in the room), and there is also a staff member present to answer any questions you may have. Of course I had to purchase a book from Powell's, called Freeway Birding, San Francisco to Seattle (it was even signed)! As an avid birdwatcher, this was the perfect book to add to my ever-expanding library. I also grabbed one of their wooden postcards and a couple of stickers to commemorate our time spent at this amazing bookstore. While the entire store was bustling, even on a weekday in August, take your time at Powell's and get swept away by any and all genres of literature that call to you. You never know what you may find next.

Powell's City of Books is kind of a must for any book lover! Whenever I visit a city, I try to…read morefind a local bookstore, and I knew before we even arrived that I had to check out Powell's. It was within walking distance of our hotel in the Pearl District, so we didn't need to contend with parking. It's overwhelming at first - I had heard of how large it was, but you don't quite get the scope until you start walking through - here are books and people everywhere you look! You can just wander, or make a plan of attack and strategically try to visit every corner of the store. We kind of did a combination of both, and started at the top floor and worked our way back down to ground level. The prices are typical of an independent book store, but they had a nice selection of used books and some great value books to snap up, too. There is literally something for everyone. There are lots of local authors and books set in the region. There are bookmarks around each info station with suggested/popular reads for each section of the store. There was a nice selection of local and bookish items and gifts, too - totes, t-shirts, postcards, stickers, etc. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. I'll be stopping in any time I'm in Portland!

LOVE this bookstore!! It has such a good selection of books in Japanese and English too! It is so…read morefun to look around in and prices aren't terrible, they're pretty standard. Staff is super friendly too! I'll definitely come back if I get the chance!!!

I'm not the target audience for this store, but I stopped by when shopping for a gift…read more Located off Director's Park, in the historic Guild Theater. It's cool that they kept the sign but it is a little hard to realize this is now the Kinokuniya. They've got a wide array of items - including movies and books/manga, pens and stationary, stickers and charms, mystery boxes of various kinds, items related to popular media, decor, etc. It's fairly narrow aisles and a lot to look at. They have another location in Beaverton.

This is definitely one is the worst experiences I have ever had when dealing with a business. I…read morebrought in my PSP for a simple repair since it's my childhood one and I want to play it again. I gave them the PSP in the end of June. They told me it should be 1-2 weeks, which is fine. I come to pick it up, they tell me it's on our desk next to be repaired, told me to come back in 3 days. I come back and they tell me the same exact thing. I'm now in August and feel like I'm getting played. Do not come to this place of buisness for any of your needs, just go somewhere else and save yourself the time and energy.

Not sure of the technicians name who helped me but I called around 4pm with a pretty serious…read moreproblem in my opinion. My wedding video was stuck in my PS4 and have been putting off getting my Playstation fixed and he said it could take a few days to fix it and get the disk out. Which I was fine with. So I brought it in expecting it to be fixed by the end of the week. When I got there he asked if I had a few minutes to kind of hang out Which I did and he fixed it and had my wedding video out within a half-hour I was so freaking happy I would absolutely go here again and I will always recommend this place to anyone who needs video games or consoles. I will be buying all of my video games and consoles from here from now on! THANK YOU VIDEO GAME WIZARDS! I GIVE THIS PLACE 10 THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

The family and I live out beyond the West Hills, but I genuinely enjoy my few trips to Milwaukie…read more Before we lost Kellogg Bowl to the pandemic, it was one of the few towns in the Portland metro where you still had your pick of bowling alleys. The far-flung Milwaukie brewery was my first taste of Breakside, and I'm glad to see the town has drawn a Pfriem location as well. Get a steak at Acropolis at least once. But Great American? OK, maybe it's a little like having the Quick Stop and RST Video from Clerks if they were taken over by Latter Day Saints, but it's an impressive library of rentals (if a few steps below Movie Madness) at a budget-friendly rental price. But that's not what drew me here. Portland has no problem pushing a bowl of bingsu at you on a hot day, testing your interest in Hawaiian shave ice or, or occasionally dipping a toe into kakigori or halo-halo, but it knows absolutely jack shit about Italian ice. Derived from the Sicilian granita and best described as a denser sorbet or a dairy free sherbet, Italian ice (or water ice for you Mid Atlantic kids) is a back east summer staple that occasionally appears in the Portland metro area until a pandemic or lack of interest kills it dead. With only one real producer of it here, in Gresham, Italian ice is hard to come by outside of a supermarket freezer--and I'd rather pay shipping for some Marino's than subject myself to the war crime that is Luigi's lemon ice. But Great American keeps it in high supply and plays the hits: Lemon, watermelon, root beer, black cherry, mango. Not only do they sell it alongside frozen custard--a classic boardwalk combo and the pairing that made Philly-based Rita's famous--but they'll occasionally throw in a mind-blowing seasonal like raspberry lemon. I'm good for only about one trip a year, but lately less. Thankfully, a friend on the east side is also from my corner of the world and occasionally smuggles us a couple of quarts on the Italian ice underground. This last trip? Root beer and raspberry lemon. The texture is perfect and the flavors are spot on. I'm not used to refreezing it, so I've noticed it solidifies a bit after the first serving, but otherwise, I can't recommend it enough. It isn't the place on the corner where I grew up, and it isn't the Little Jimmy's Italian ice trucks rolling through the neighborhood, but it's a little scoop of home that I can sit and enjoy with Dante and Randall when we all feel we aren't supposed to be here today.

This place is a gem and every sweet tooth's dreams. With a packed menu and endless delicious…read moreflavors and options, you have to go back to try them all. Full service drive thru drive 1983! Staff are friendly and helpful, providing the best treats and suggestions. The fruit smoothie was a tad too sweet imo but the chocolate and vanilla always hit the spot. Our go to every time we're ready for a treat. Tip: stop in on Wednesdays as it's double stamp day!

This is a smaller Barnes and Noble in Cascade Station. Plenty of books to choose from. It has…read moresome seating for you to sit and browse through a book. Many different genres of books available. Vinyl records and gifts were available. It's a good place to find birthday cards and such. Staff was helpful and could answer your questions. I find the bookstore small but very comforting. It's a good location to find gifts for the book readers and or toys for Legos.

Tiny Barnes & Noble, yet still has a sliver of the store dedicated to the Criterion Collection…read moretitles! Was able to grab a couple of the newer titles I was hoping for. I'd love a bigger section but the fact this location had any is A+ Always scour yelp for photos like this to decide which B&N to stop at during CC sales so here ya go.

Maybe there's some treasures to be found here on occasion, but just about everything we saw here…read morewas useless junk. The bins are not well maintained or organized: they are filled with a lot of discarded packaging, loose items that were once part of bundles (and thus not worth even their piddling asking price), and bits and bobs of unidentifiable purpose. The only item of interest we saw was an identical copy of our TV remote, which did come in handy (right up until my toddler lost it). Not impressed, unfortunately.

I was there today when everything was just a dollar. The place was packed but so were the bins. I…read morethink I need to pay attention more to the day of the week I go. Killer deals on a Thursday!