Avalon Exchange — Local services in Cleveland

A sidenote:

...Be warned, Google maps had a crazy glitch at the time of this review (morning of 8/15/2025), and took me almost 10 miles into west Cleveland aka Lakewood to a hot fried chicken shop!!! Lol No matter what I did maps kept taking me miles from this area, even when I entered other addresses nearby, like 2926 instead of 2925... it was a borderline disaster, and a huge inconvenience!!! So message is, don't trust google maps anymore...

...so when I told the store about this, I was impressed to learn they had already updated the listing with Google directly, according to the classy auburn-haired girl working that day. Unfortunately, Google sucks. Anyways, their store did not suck! Lots of killer denim, especially cutoff jackets, even a rare denim hat, plenty of weird vintage, and always some classy, rare finds for that special occasion! Exactly why I started going to Avalon boutiques in the first place, in Pittsburgh, literally 15 years ago. Hey, you're not going to make it rich selling clothes secondhand either, so I can't complain about an extra 20 in my pocket for 5 fits that I didn't want anymore (you would get an offer of about %50-%66 of that elsewhere, and very few places around nowadays have the deep vintage selection that the Avalon stores actively curate, on a daily basis.

This small independently owned chain of about 7 stores, has 2 locations in Cleveland (this, and Coventry Village), Pittsburgh (the original, represent), and a few more smattered down the eastern seaboard. I have always received slightly better offers here than the garbage corporate chains likr Plato's Closet, Uptown Cheapskate, Buffalo Exchange (all are garbage, comparatively, and that's the best compliment I can...

Consistently hit or miss items. In the 4 years I've been in Cleveland I've only found one truly nice item between this location and Coventry (and I stop into both probably once a month). They often have realtively cheap clothes or fast fashion marked at a high price (I recall a used H&M shirt for $35 and Forever21 shorts at $25 when these items would have cost that new). I much prefer to buy their new accessories like sunglasses and enamel pins. They have good selections of both at cheap prices. I don't think its just me, as typically most shoppers I see leave empty handed or with small purchases.

For selling, its almost never worth it. They've never bought a single item from me that I am frequently able to then flip on Poshmark or at other resale shops in town. I understand thet they buy based on store needs, but its hard to hear that when the sticky board the clerk just had me read says "Buying now: Men's sweaters, small to large" and that's what I brought in. I also feel like the staff don't actually take the time to look at what you bring in (in order to check labels, if item has new tags, sizes, etc).

The store just is not worth a trip, but if you are passing by and not too frugal it can be worth it. You will probably have a much better time at a local Goodwill, other shops in coventry like Moon Vintage, or an online shop like ThreadUp or Poshmark.

TL;DR - I don't think Avalon Exchange knows what "on trend" means. You're much better off visiting other local shops, or just going online for to Poshmark or ThreadUp. Staff don't take time to actually appraise what you bring in, and in store inventory is rarely wothwhile. I honestly only stop in when I'm killing time...

Don't waste your time. Went in today to sell some clothes. As a Saint Louis native, I'm familiar with the chain and am now fond solely of the Saint Louis Delmar location. The girls were apathetic at best, ignoring my boyfriend and I for a good several minutes while we waited at the counter. (Mind you, the store was empty, and there were two girls chatting with one another behind the counter.) After pushing an application in his general direction, they pilfered through our clean basket of nicely folded clothes and returned it to us after looking at maybe half of it. The basket looked like a bargain bin at Walmart when they were finished, and they said "we just don't need any of this in our store." It wasn't about money. We've worked in exchange places before, and as said, I wanted to try out this location, because of my fondness for the store in Saint Louis. We did, however, have brand clothing worth at least looking at for the upcoming season, and their 30 second pilfer and lack of customer respect or even acknowledgment left us feeling drained and unwanted. We won't be returning. I wouldn't leave any stars, but I have to leave one in order to leave this review/warning to others that want to check out this store. I've worked retail for ten years, and my boyfriend works at an exchange store currently. This is not posted out of spite, but disappointment at the lack of caring that the workers at this...