Well, I revisited Sozo Trading Co. today and I was greeted warmly again when I entered the store. The clothing selection looked just as great as it did the last time I was in the store and I also noticed other things such as beautiful glassware, dishes, sturdy furniture, electronics, a variety of linens plus several light fixtures and nice lamps. And then I noticed the jewelry, because the last time I visited I was looking for mystery jewelry jars and today I was happy to see five or six baggies absolutely full of costume jewelry that appeared wearable along with beads and watch parts and just everything I could use for crafting and repurposing with jewelry. So, I purchased two jewelry bags and the contents did not disappoint me when I opened them at home. So, it was another productive and great day shopping at Sozo Trading Co. In addition, there is always plenty of free parking and if you have the time there are a couple of restaurants nearby. read more

Sozo Trading Co recently turned 10!!! I can't believe they have been around this long already. This is one of my favorite thrift stores to visit. At their 10 year celebration, it was such a fun environment! They had raffles , special pricing and even had a coffee truck on site. I really enjoyed coming here to celebrate with them! The staff is hardworking and seem to enjoy their jobs. read more

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Since people nice selection of clothes well organized.they also have booths managed by individual vendors. Prices are reasonable

Fun place to spend an hour browsing through clothing and housewares. Good pricing for thrift store/ second hand.

Excllent service,excellent prices, and good clothes. I was very pleased with what I found and with the ease of navigating the store.

Really nice, clean, well laid out thrift store! The selection and pricing is very good.

Everyone is so friendly and welcoming! And I love that it's the most unique thrift store out there. You will always find things there that you will never see anywhere else. Not to mention that the whole vision behind this wonderful store is changing Ugandan children's lives forever. read more

When I traveled to Birmingham, never did I think I had such a shopping experience on the way! While staying in the area, I saw Sozo pop up on the map of nearby businesses and being a bargain hunter, I couldn't let it pass me by! And boy, am I glad I didn't! I love bargain shopping, especially in the thrifting game, but most stores usually lack great organizational order or you feel like you're at the Salvation Army. Sozo made me feel like I was in a boutique at times! With their organized racks, incredibly efficient little booths and the overall variety - I was shocked that the prices were so low! I stopped by one day and came back the next! (This time I checked in on Yelp and got 20% off!) I ended up purchasing about 2 dresses, 3 blouses, 1 cardigan, and 2 super cute fitted sweater tops for under $35 in total! Along with those fabulous and frugal finds, I snagged a few pieces of jewelry in the true boutique-full priced area of the store, and fell in love with the awesome quality and creativity in those pieces! Not to be missed in the store - the center section filled with items benefitting the children of Sozo. Beautiful pieces displayed among amazing photographs, artwork and more info about the mission. I can't wait to return to Birmingham to visit Sozo... next time I'll bring an extra suitcase! read more

One of the best thrift stores I've been to. There's a few consignment booths, but I didn't see anything I liked as much in those. There's an amazing selection and it's incredibly well-organized. You can definitely spend a good amount of time here. Prices are really decent. Definitely has thrift store prices even though it's a lot cleaner and nicer than most. Most items I looked at were under ten dollars, and many had specials tags, which were up to half or seventy-five off. There's also a large dollar rack, where I got one of the favorite skirts ever! I wore it three times in a month so trying to chill on it now, but still such an excellent bargain. The thrift store smell (you know that one I'm talking about), is very faint, though I did dry clean a few of the items I got to get it out. Even with that investment, excellent deals. They also have a few new things and jewelry and an expansive housewares selection. If I hadn't had a suitcase that was already going to be overstuffed, this would have been incredibly dangerous. People working were really nice and helpful too. So happy I went in this place! read more

I love thrifting. And Sozo is a very nice well put together thrift store with its own boutique and a section where you can buy handmade nick nacks and jewelry from South America and African countries and all proceeds go to help those countries. read more

The store is well organized and clean. The staff is always super friendly. I love spending a nice day thrifting, and I always make it a point to stop here. read more

THE MOST AMAZING THIRFT STORE!!! I found a pair of new black Doc Marten boots for $20!! They had an amazing selection of clothes and furniture. Today they had balloons at the cash register that had coupons in them and I got 50% off my purchase so the boots ended up being $10 bucks!! I repeat, the best thrift store ever. They even had cookies, brownies, and water for free at the front today!!! read more

Sozo Trading - Thrift Stores Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

We went a few months ago. It's a huge amount of stuff, great place to find cute stuff while being a friend to the Earth .

This is a really unique thrift store in the heart of the Avondale community. A mixture of new and used items will keep you coming back again and again! This store is huge! Honestly, it was a little overwhelming walking in for the first time. They had really great quality items for great prices (duh!). This store goes further with the vendor booths that line the the perimeter of the store! Some had old- some had new items. But, the variety was a great change of pace in a thrift store! My favorite part were the homemade items in the front middle of the space. There were numerous jewelry pieces, as well as many other items made by women in Uganda! And, 100% of all proceeds from all new and used items goes to Sozo Children. Make sure to stop by Sozo before going to your favorite boutique. You may find the perfect piece and be helping vulnerable children all at the same time! read more

To preface: first and last time doing business with this establishment. Me and my younger sister were all but blatantly accused of stealing merchandise by a lady who portrayed herself as the owner/manager(I'm assuming). She approached me verbally questioning me about a tag she found ON THE GROUND that she insisted came from a garment we had tried on even though I showed her that all the items in our buggy had their tags. We had returned some unwanted items to their booths before checking out in order to be helpful since it was close to closing hour(big mistake apparently), so I even retrieved those items to show her that they all had their original tags as well. When all of this wasn't enough, I finally offered up my bag for her to search in order to prove we had no other items that the tag could possibly belong to..She didn't reply to my offer so I walked to the dressing room we used and asked if she was sure it had come from that particular room or had not been there previously, she STILL insisted it was our doing. She watched us so closely for the remainder of the time we spent there that by the time we left we were both in a very apparent state of anxiety. She stood breathing down my neck as I was being checked out by another employee, I felt so uncomfortable that I opened my purse and left it gaping open on the counter with some of the contents emptied out of it so that she could see for herself since she obviously was incapable to communicating her intentions to me in an appropriate way. She then had the audacity to ask me where we were from, as I was clearly trying to ignore her presence for the sheer fact of keeping my composure and getting the h*ll out of there. She finally walked away from me but watched my sister closely as we left, scanning her clothes and making her more uncomfortable as well. I was originally just going to leave a blank 1 star review but after reading through some of the recent reviews, I had to speak up. I hate to see that they have a rep for multiple forms of profiling and treating customers unfairly. To read that some people were treated so harshly with no justification was very disheartening, I couldn't imagine how distraught some of their customers were left feeling. This type of behavior has to end, and the management of this store should be truly ashamed of themselves. I will be warning everyone I know nearby to pick another establishment to do their donating/thrifting. read more

This is cool place and I love what they stand for in supporting children who are less fortunate. Went right when it opened on a Saturday. It was very clean and had a good bit to choose from. I unfortunately did not find anything, BUT when I checked in on Yelp I got a 20% off coupon to use. That was a cool perk. It is set up a little different than most thrift stores. They have vendor booths set up with reasonable prices and very cute in season options. They also have handmade items for purchase as well. The prices are good and they have lots to choose from: clothes jewelry, decor, furniture, and much more. The one thing I did not like was the setup of the shop. read more

Great store, great items, great mission! Definitely recommend stopping by! They've got everything from clothes to furniture to household items and more read more

I am a huge supporter of Sozo. The time that the staff spends arranging the items for sell is well spent. It's easy to see what's available and they have rightfully earned the title of "upscale thrift" market. The staff is kind and go out of their way to be helpful. High quality goods at low prices. AND the money goes to fund their mission in Uganda, so it is a genuine win-win! read more

I love Sozo! There's always a treasure to find, from Ugly Christmas Sweaters to clothes you can wear to work or date night, you'll find something. Unique dinnerware, furniture, toys, books, vintage, lamps, workout equipment. Staff is so helpful and friendly! The space is big so it doesn't feel like you're rummaging. It's not overwhelming and there's just enough to keep you interested but not overwhelmed with junk! My favorite spot and proceeds go to an amazing cause, which makes you wanna but even more awesome stuff! read more

Really neat place! Found a few awesomely priced clothes from the thrift store section, but the clothing and items in the small booths against the wall were way over priced. The middle of the store features an area dedicated to beautiful art and handmade items from third world countries that missionaries have brought here to sell. I assume a percentage of the price of those items go towards a good cause. Truly a beautiful and unique store, can't wait to go back! read more

I happened to find this place right after it opened up. They've taken part of the old Mazer building and turned it into a nice sized thrift store. It's organized, clean, and renovated; also an outreach ministry that supports poverty in Africa, making it comparable to Vapor in every way. I think they have plans to expand and incorporate spaces for individuals to set up and sell as well. They need to increase inventory and remove some of the typical junk you find in ordinary thrifts to set them apart. Not quite there yet, but they have potential. read more

I love, love, love this place! I had not been in a few months, and since my last visit they have further organized and done a lot with displays to make the store more appealing. They have a great selection of thrifted items, plus the vendor booths which also have a great variety of things at reasonable prices. I think this is my favorite thrift store- planning to get back sooner this time! read more

The store used to have so many good high quality items at affordable prices but lately the racks are either bare with items from forever 21 or even Walmart priced up to at least $12 simply because it is considered "trendy" or the racks are packed full of items also priced so high that it's not even worth looking through. The quality of their furniture is also horrible and most of the time nothing is under $80. I understand that they have sale colors but even then you're paying well over a reasonable amount for something that was given to them for free. They claim to be non profit but the prices sure don't show it, you ask why and they give you a story about helping kids in Africa (of course) it gives off very much white savior complex. I've seen them get an attitude with black customers when they ask about a price change but automatically give in when the customer is white or when they're homeless and white. I will be taking my business elsewhere from now on and I hope everyone else does the same. read more

Love SOZO and the cause it supports! Women and children in Third World countries. The handmade jewelry is beautiful and well crafted. God will bless SOZO read more

Love this place! It's clean and well organized. They do a great job of limiting what's on the floor so it is not overwhelming to novice thrifters. The prices generally range from about $2 to $12. You'll find a lot of brands like J Crew, Ann Taylor, Target, etc if that's what you like. I really like the store, but it's not a place where find stand out unique or vintage pieces. It's more a place for simple, new looking items on trend. read more

Very organized and easy to find things! First time visit, and I'll definitely be back!

One of the best upscale thrift locations in town! The staff is so sweet and friendly, plus it's in a great neighborhood with lots of food options! read more

We stopped here for a quick visit on our way to Orange Beach. It was a lot bigger than we had expected! Lots of clothes and items to choose from. They also had an entire section designated to the Sozo Children where you could buy handmade jewelry, clothing and other items from Uganda and t-shirts with the Sozo brand on them. At the front of the store is a cute boutique so if you didn't want to thrift, there are other options to buy new. My only suggestion is to provide shoppers with a pamphlet about Sozo and the ministry when they enter. I had to go online to get more info about the program and all of the amazing things that they are doing for the children of Uganda. read more

I love the mission behind Sozo Trading Co! All proceeds go towards helping vulnerable children in Uganda. STC is a great place to find unique gift items as well as shop upscale thrift. A must visit in booming Avondale! read more

This is quite possibly one of the coolest stores I've been to in Birmingham, and all the profits go back to helping children in Uganda!