Thrift Stores in Edinburgh, Scotland

“Went in to donate today, but who could resist a go on the tombola! Brilliant variety of items on sale, from hich end crockery displayed in the window, to vinyl, CDs, clothes and not forgetting the 'bric-a-brac' Training learning difference youngsters, brilliant shop!”

“I've been volunteering for the BHF on Portobello High Street for a number of years now. It's a great place to work for all kinds of reasons! There's a great team of management and volunteers, so we all feel well looked after and appreciated. It's also fascinating to see how the shop runs, both on the shop floor and behind the scenes.I help stock the book shelves, and I just love being surrounded by such an interesting and diverse range of writing, from the latest bestsellers to collectibles from my childhood! And it's great getting to help customers choose their next read.All in all, I would really recommend volunteering here. It helped me get through a tough time in my life so I can honestly say that it has done my heart good!”

“I had the pleasure of dropping in to this lovely Oxfam shop this past week when I was on a flying return visit to Edinburgh.I needed to find a place where I could donate many boxes of much loved books and DVDs that I had collected over my 25 years in Edinburgh and the staff here were so welcoming, friendly and helpful.I am particularly grateful to them for their kind assistance during what proved to be a very hard week of shifting so many heavy boxes, wanting my belongings to go to good homes and benefit Oxfam. They are lovely people there doing good, and the shop is charming, with a great selection of lovely things to own or buy as gifts. I can recommend them wholeheartedly.”

“Very cheap second-hand books, and well organized by subject. Perhaps the cheapest I have seen in Edinburgh and I have entered at least 5 bookstores. Only English, I haven't seen anything in other languages.”

“I have to congratulate Daniel from the Gorgie Road branch of Salvation Army . He is a massive asset to the shop with his bright , energetic , very helpful , super well mannered and hard working attitude . He treats every customer he deals with as a priority and knows his sales business extremely well . Nothing is too much trouble for Daniel and he will do whatever it takes to help customers . As I said this young man is a great asset to the business and his cheery personality brings people back time and again . So well done Daniel !!!”

“I handed in some old cds and got 2 excellent ones by Eddie Harris and a classic Terry Reid one too. Always lots of cds, vinyl, music mags, sheet music, instruments, turntables, amplifiers and speakers.”

“I can't believe this place doesn't have more reviews. It is unlike any charity shop I've ever seen, as it is more like a vintage boutique. I purchased an exquisite designer blouse for only £10, plus some unique items for jewellery for bargain prices. Most definitely one of the highlights of Stockbridge!”

“Really good shop, I never walk out of this place without finding something to buy. The prices are really reasonable, and there's a lot of space given over to each department. It feels spacious and easy to shop and move around in. Lovely staff, too!”

“Wish I could keep up with this shop, so many good items appear regularly. Need to take things when they are there. Well worth a look friendly staff in a good Old Town location”

“I had a lovely time here today buying my wedding dress! The staff were so lovely and helpful, and really know their stuff when it comes to wedding dresses! I managed to find a beautiful dress that I absolutely loved, as well as a veil and shoes for a very good price here. I cannot recommend their bridal suite enough.”

“I can tell you ,this bhf wester hailes has the best customer service and attendant in all the bhf I have visited, miss NINA has and is the most amazing soul in the shop, down to earth, always willing to help with a smile on her face I can't but give her a 5star. Blessed.”

“My local charity shop, I never walk out of here empty handed. They have better stock than some of the charity shops in Stockbridge and the likes and better prices too. Staff are lovely and friendly. Saw someone leave a negative review (who leaves a negative review about a charity shop??) about not being offered help but he failed to mention that this wee shop is staffed mainly by older women. Always have new stock as well. Fab.”

“As well as being a charity shop this also houses a fantastic food reuse scheme where you can help yourself for free to all sorts of bread, cakes, veg and even tinned stuff now. Wish I had one of these near me when I was a student!”

“It's a fairly good charity. But I bet few people care. Truth is, this cluster of charity shops is just great, you can visit half a dozen in a short walk from south bridge to south clerk street. They all have similar things and Marie Curie's shop at south bridge does not generally have anything special, but it's always worth visiting.”

“This is personally the best charity shop in Edinburgh! Why? Because they always have cute things and its all colour coded, I take the bus in everyday and i always want to sit on the left just so that i can look out the window at the well put together mannikins!”

“Oxfam is a wonderful Charity! They do great relief work and bring social justice into the political forefront. Their charity shops are half like a normal charity shop with the regal clothes and nick backs. But then they have a section with fair-trade items that support projects they work with. I pop in their shops here and there to get small gifts, fair-trade cards and they always have a great selection of divine chocolate! They also have great record shops!”

“I volunteered at Shelter for almost 1.5 years and it was a great experience. I started for 3 months for DofE, but liked it so much I kept going. Everyone was always very friendly and helpful, and I always felt very welcome and included. Managing the shop could be very stressful, but all the managers handled things really well, and were always understanding about when I couldn't come in, etc. I got to develop lots of skills and my anxiety improved a lot after volunteering.”

“I love you in here. But my only “moan” is they don’t have baskets (am aware they are a charity) but even something to put things in till I finish.. I saw lots I wanted but really just got what I could carry around shop to till.. I had 4 very very delicate glasses and had no were to put them so left the shop with less than I wanted to buy”

“My mum and sister have had cats from here and honestly they care deeply about the cats in their care I have 2 cats both rescues and they are my world I’d highly recommend adopting a cat or cats from LCR as they are very caring and the staff are amazing people who give 100% of there time to the cats”

“From the moment I entered the store to the moment I left the store , I felt welcome and had time to browse without being hassled and any help I needed staff were on hand immediately to help me. Some great items in store which I archived my shopping list of what I needed. I will return when I require items again thank you”

“The oldest charity shop in Scotland apparently. It's a great place for clothes and accessories at very reasonable prices.If your looking for homewares and books, check out it's second shop a short walk away.There are a few charity shops in the area but Birthlink is a genuine 'thrift' shop with sensible prices.Support it!”

“I found the place to have a good variety of items, and staff to be kind enough. I was lucky to find what I was looking for at a good price. Worth popping in if you’re looking for something specific at a good price!”

“I just popped into buy a nice pair of shoes and a lovely pair of cord like material jeans great value. I was sat in the corner trying on the shoes when two men walked in who were clearly there to steal and the way the manger dealt with them and kept her cool but stern voice was what really impressed me and as I walked out a young Asian lady said goodbye with a lovely smile and kinda made me feel embarrassed ? by these Scottish people's behaviour as she was clearly there to begin volunteering and would just like to apologise on these young people's behaviour. What's going in today's society they feel it acceptable to go steal from a charity shop the three lady's really impressed me on how they handled the situation. Thank you, 10 out 10 the customer service.”