Northern Thrift — Local services in Coventry

Northern thrift has the potential to be an amazing thrift store… but falls completely short with their prices. This is beyond them needing to make a profit, especially when you consider they receive tons of donations every day for FREE. As someone who has been shopping at thrift stores my whole life, the prices here are ridiculous sometimes — especially clothing. I myself used to donate many high quality items to them, but now I donate my stuff to Salvation as they mark up a lot less. Tip for those who do donate to Northern: if you have clothes that are new with tags, please remove them before donating! Northern will use the price on the tag and try to get as close to it as they can. Example: saw a pair of new Express jeans here once, tag was $98 and Northern had it priced at $50. Half off seems fair in theory, BUT this is a thrift store and they get almost all of these items for free! Even if they priced it at $15 they would make a huge profit. The sad thing is had the tag been off they would have priced it way lower.

The other day I popped in and saw a Kipling bag for $30. Not new with tags or anything, it was just regular good used condition. I have nearly the same style Kipling bag and got it online on Mercari for $15. There are people selling Kipling bags on Depop for $12. For even more reference, a few months ago I saw a Kipling bag at Salvation Army for $6.99 and it was half off the color that day, so it was $3.50.

For me, there’s less and less of a reason to shop here when there’s so many online alternatives that are cheaper, and in person ones too. Another final example if I haven’t made my point clear… saw Uggs at Northern for almost $100. Popped into a Plato’s Closet in Connecticut a few weeks ago and most of their Uggs of the same style were $25, $30 max.

The only redeeming quality to Northern (hence the 2 stars) is that their selection is huge so if you have the patience to comb through the racks, you can find gems that for some reason are priced low. Typically it’s really nice brands they are completely unaware of, and price lower than their worn Old Navy items... On days where they have 50% off a lot of the clothes/store (Tues and Sun at the moment), you can certainly find a few good gems. It’s the only reason I still pop in here. But be warned, you’ll have to sort through a lot of overpriced and sometimes worn out clothing to find them. And that’s getting increasingly frustrating when there are so many alternatives out there these days.

Tip for the staff who price at Northern: you’d sell a LOT more if you lowered some of your prices. This is a THRIFT store and many of your customers can’t...

I went when they were having a big sale so it was very very busy. The store was pretty cramped due to the amount of shoppers and shoppers insisted on blocking the aisles with their carts. That isn't a knock to the store, and more of a shopper problem. It made shopping even more confusing as certain aisles would be blockaded by a family and their 3 carts piled high with clothing. The store was organized in a weird way so I mainly wandered around and looked at clothing in the size brackets I knew would fit me. The shoes were the most confusing. Sizes would start and then end. Again, it was a huge sale day so I don't know if these are regulars or customers taking advantage of a sale. My other problem with the store is the lack of quality control. I know sometimes things slip through the cracks and get marked up or put on the floor when they're defective. However, this was not an occasional stain or markup. The first pair of pants I pulled off of the rack were missing some belt loops and the remaining loops were significantly damaged. It's a thrift somethings will have some wear, but $5 is a bit of an ask for pants that are nearly unwearable. Mark-ups were just outrageous. I found a Shein romper selling for $24.99. I imagine that's it's market price on Shein, or possibly even cheaper on that site. I think it's justified for thrifts to mark-up their new clothing/expensive brands but when we start marking up Shein--- that's questionable. My last major problem is cleanliness. I know it was a busy day and I imagine employees were overworked. However, there was a lot of clothing on the floor, on top of racks, ect. I did not see any velvet or rubber hangers either, which would be a good investment as slippery clothing kept falling off of hangers. Lastly, they do not have many domestics. Their main market seems to be clothing. I am unsure of they test their electronics. Overall, it was an okay experience. They do have a huge selection of clothing so that's cool. If they have a huge sale like this again, I would go. I would...

First time stopping by this store. Their prices are absolutely brutal. Mall brands like Ralph Lauren, Vineyard Vines, Tommy Bahama, Columbia, etc., are ridiculously overpriced whether they're used or new with tags. They were asking $48.99 for a used Ralph Lauren Polo Golf shirt, $25 for a basic Vineyard Vines button up, I couldn't help but laugh at it, in fact, I was laughing more and more as I continuously fingered through the racks. There is no way this is a sustainable business model.. I did find a ton of stuff I would've bought and EASILY spent several hundred dollars if everything was reasonably priced. It's clear based off of the amount of great brands they have, that people like myself are passing on them due to the price which is why there's so much still on the racks rotting. I was able to find some great brands they clearly are unaware of (I'll avoid mentioning them as to not skyrocket future pricing). As if the pricing had me on the brink of insanity, they staple their price tag over the brand label so you have no idea what brand the item is unless you pull the price tag back. That in itself makes the hunt and thrill of thrifting astronomically more difficult as it now takes forever to find something nice.

The only positive was the store was very clean and well organized. It's clear to see management / ownership takes great pride on the operations end. Unfortunately that illusion of pride quickly turns to obvious arrogance and greed once you start browsing the racks and see the prices.

There is no way anyone can afford to shop here. If you want my advice, stick to Salvation Army. This place will be long gone within a few years. Taking this store off my thrift route and never,...