Betty Griffin House Thrift Shoppe
The Betty Griffin House Thrift Shoppe is located on Anastasia Island. It is run on behalf of Betty Griffin House, which in itself is shelter for abused women and their minor children. The thrift store is run independent of the shelter, with proceeds going to the abused.
It is the largest thrift shop in town, being housed in what was once a Winn Dixie. The store has merchandise of all kinds. A lot of it is donated by people who can’t use it anymore, by families of deceased, stores going out of business. You honestly never know what you’re going to find.
The North wall is lined with books and even more books. And then a few more books. The hardbacks are $1 each, and the paperbacks are 2/$1. Every now and again, they make the deal even better, with buy-one get-one free specials. I’m a little bit of a book freak, so having such an unbelievable selection for such an amazing price just thrills me to death. I have walked out of there with brand new books still on the Best Seller list, and I’ve walked out with books from the early 1900’s. They seem to re-stock the book cases daily, so check frequently if you can’t find what you want.
Furniture takes up a large bit of the store. I’ve had some funny experiences with their furniture myself. I bought a couch there once for $25. Used it for a few months until I got settled into my new place. Then I donated the couch back to them. Next day, it was on the floor for $75. And the day after it was gone. Or how about the lady who tried to steal my chair? Yea. I had paid for a chair, a nice big overstuffed chair. Left it there to go pick up a truck. When I got back, my chair was gone…almost. We found it in the back of the store, being loaded into a different vehicle. Seems a lady had seen it, decided she needed it more than the person who had paid for it, and convinced the warehouse people she was the one who had bought it. I had the receipt though, and the lady was asked to leave the store.
The electronics department is kind of a mess. They are drastically overpriced on somethings, and under priced on others. A computer I would not pay more than $20 for tends to go for $80-100. They do move them though. I bought a monitor there in an emergency recently, and I don’t think I’ll do that again. They tend to put the price tag on the screen itself, and it is next to impossible to get off. I ended up scratching the screen, and will have to replace this monitor yet again. Still, you can find some amazing deals there too. In the past 2 months, I have bought 2 complete video game systems - A Sega Genesis for $12, and a Nintendo Gamecube for $10.
The biggest part of the store is clothes. Not my kind of thing to shop for, so I know very little about the clothing department. I do know there are 2 different sections - one is the thrift shop, the second a boutique. The Boutique is priced differently than the stuff in the thrift racks, and is not included on ‘bag day’.
Bag Day happens once or twice a month. All the clothes you can fit in a bag for $5. Does a pretty good job of filling the store with people and emptying the racks. Shoes, belts, hats, and other such accessories are included in the bags.
The back of the store has a lot of miscellaneous stuff. Kitchen utensils, small appliances, knick-knacks, holiday decor, picture frames, and other such items that don’t go with anything else. There are also sections for art, toys, beds, bikes, exercise equipment, and more.
Not only can you shop at Betty Griffin house, you can donate all your unwanted stuff (send more books, please). They won’t take any automotive donations, and anything you do donate should be in at least working condition. Don’t bring old worn out clothes either. It just wastes the time of the staff, who I should add are all volunteers. Everything has to be looked at and tested before it hits the floor, so help them out a bit and do it yourself before you drop it off. You can even arrange a pick-up for larger furniture items. And if you’ve got some time to spare, I’m sure they can find something for you to do. A little volunteer work never hurt anyone.
The Betty Griffin House Thrift Shoppe is located in the Anastasia Square Shopping Center, at the corner of SR 312 and A1A in St. Augustine. Shoppe hours are: Monday - Saturday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, and Sunday noon - 5:00 pm. Find it on Google Maps.
There is also a second Betty Griffin thrift store located in Switzerland (Green Cove area, for you islanders). It’s a good little drive from town, but can be worth your time. Very much a smaller store, they seem to have the exact same amount of stuff squeezed in. And even better pricing. That location is 616 S.R. 13 North (1/2 mile south of Racetrack Road). And again, find it at Google Maps.
August 30th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
A worthwhile enterprise…with reasonable prices for those with a budget that a GNAT couldn’t survive on. Of course, a lot of Betty Griffith’s customers are Flea Market or EBAY members and don’t need the things they buy except to turn a profit….This is the only time I’m enjoying the gas hike..those who drive around all day looking for ‘merchandise to flip’ aren’t making quite the killing, anymore. Tickles the CRAP outta me..
My house is a mish mash (eclectic) of useful things purchased at Betty Griffin House.. I NEED AND USE EVERYTHING I BUY THERE. It is a wonderful place and their cause is noteworthy.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:19 am
You are right about those ebayers. I had a woman in front of me one day in the book section and I couldn’t even look at books cuz of her snatching up books right in front of me. You could tell she was buying to resell because she would snatch the book, look in the cover and run a scanner over the little tab and then reject it or throw it her ever growing pile.