One of Haight Street's favorite hipster 2nd hand stores, Buffalo Exchsnge has men and women's casual as well as vintage clothing at decent prices. Upon entering, the shopgirl greets every customer with a smile, as she looks through clothes that people want to sell. Zap the QR code to register and queue. On the far left end is their cashier, everyone who works here has an unique style and look. read more

Whenever I visit San Francisco and the Haight, I visit this Buffalo Exchange. If you've never been, it's a new, but predominantly used clothing store. There's always people selling their clothes when I visit. Women's clothing is on the right hand side and men's clothing is on the left hand side. They also sell shoes, belts, accessories, and jewelry. The last time I visited, I purchased a new pair of shoes for under $20! The prices are not bad at all, throughout the store. Service: Friendly and efficient. Parking: Metered, street. Luckily, not as much double parking as there used to be. read more

Buffalo Exchange is this GREAT vintage clothing store that has been located in The Haight for a long-long time. It's one of those places that you never know what you're going to find. For that reason, if not for one million others, this is a fun place to shop. If you ever have been to any of the Buffalo Exchange stores, this location is very similar. They have their clothing broken up into the various sections: men, and women, as well as divided by sizes, and style of clothing: be that pants, shirts, women's tops, dresses, and all of the varying things in between. Plus, they always have a nice selection of shoes. That's one of the great things I find about this shop is that you can truly find a really unique pair of shoes. Last time I was in there, I found this great pair of vintage Pumas, in pristine condition. A pair, that I've been looking for forever. In terms of pricing, some people complain about that. I don't find it a problem. If you want something, you must pay the price for it. If you're looking for some discount prices, you can go shop all the thrift stores in the area, just hoping that you may be able to locate that one special item. The Buffalo Exchange, on the other hand, does all of that for you. They bring you the best of the best of vintage clothing. That's what they're known for. And, that's the greatest thing I find about them. Also, as you may know, if you ever shopped here, they do buy clothing from people. So, pretty much morning, noon, or night, you will see people walking in there with their bags of clothing, offering them for sale. I find this a really interesting process, being able to watch the transactional situations that are going on. People bring the clothing in, the store buyers except some of it, and maybe a week or so later, you're very probably going see it out there on the racks. One way or the other, this is a fun place to shop. read more

Oh God, I wanted to throw up when I entered the store. I should've taken this as a sign to not shop here. It was really crowded on a Sunday afternoon. The store was messy and every way I turned it was either a person in the way or a clothing rack in the way. Service was awful. The two workers I came across could not have looked more miserable. I don't remember the last time I went somewhere where the workers looked this lifeless or annoyed. I don't blame the workers at all. I think I would feel the same way if I worked in that environment: stuffy store, stagnant air, big crowd, illogical floor. And the worst of all: it smelled so bad in there. I've never felt so disgusted while thrifting. Buffalo exchange on Haight st, please take care of your workers. The conditions working in there would drive anyone crazy. read more

This is my favorite Buffalo to visit in San Francisco! Every time I sell, the workers are so kind to me. I went to Buffalo in San Diego and the workers there were talking about how the clothes customers brought in were not cute or passed on things that would absolutely been taken (ex. brand new, tags on american apparel tennis skirt). When I brought it to the Haight location, I felt seen finally. Last time I went, Casey was incredibly helpful while I was selling. They were so nice and went out of their way to make sure the sale went as smoothly as possible! In addition, every time I go, the workers also have great conversation with me while I sell and are kind about the clothes they don't take. read more

I recently went to this location to sell/trade 2 dress shirts. I was looking around for a bit before the trade and I stumbled upon a very nice jacket, perfect, just what i was looking for. I went over to the selling area and followed their trade/sell instructions, scan a code and enter your name to be called next, pretty straight forward. The time came and my name was called, the two brunette girls one with tattoos both inspected my clothes and decided to price them, and then gave me options, 25% cash or 50% credit. I took the credit and used it towards that jacket i really liked. Pretty good deal in my opinion, a win win for both parties. 4 stars for the value and detailed inspection of my clothes. I'd definitetly recommend going thrift shopping here, never know what you'll find. read more

I was advised to come here to sell what another store didn't buy. To get on the queue you must scan a QR code and there will be instructions to input your information. You will then get a text on how long the wait is & how many people are ahead of you. When it's almost your turn a text will alert you when to proceed to the counter. This store pays less than a vintage store but they will buy it and give you the option of getting cash (25%) or a trade in credit (50%). Be aware that this store isn't huge so they passed on half of my stuff (something's were new) because they didn't have room. Another note: Don't wear anything you wish to sell even if it's a jacket. I came in wearing a jacket I just washed & only put on because my hands were already full & I was told they couldn't buy it because I was wearing it ! read more

Buffalo Exchange - The process. - Women's Clothing Near Me - San Francisco, California

honestly a looot of good finds. i wasn't even looking too thoroughly but great brands and all of good quality and condition. super sweet employees and customers! fairly priced too. read more

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Great store concept, but the staff acts like unprofessional gatekeepers.I am writing this to warn other shoppers and sellers about the customer service representatives at this location. The store itself is fine, but the employees they are hiring have become way too comfortable. They act like they own the place and treat customers with clear bias.On my recent visit, I scanned in using the QR code system. The system explicitly told me my wait time would be 6 minutes. I waited patiently for my turn. When the employee came to the front desk, she completely ignored the system queue and called up someone else who arrived after me.This kind of gatekeeping and blatant favoritism ruins the entire experience. When employees get this comfortable, they hurt the business and drive loyal customers away. If you come here to sell, be prepared for unprofessional staff who do not follow their own store rules. Corporate has been notified, and I hope management retrains this crew immediately. read more

I hate coming here because usually the staff are super rude and I never find any clothes either. This time, I walked in and made eye contact with the cashier and said "hello" and she literally looked me in the eyes and said nothing back. It was the skinny girl with the bleached hair and the weird black makeup. But then I had a good experience with the buyer because she bought a lot. read more

If you're bringing your clothes in to exchange for money, I'd recommend finding a different place. The person looking through my clothing barely looked at my clothes. I did bring more summer clothing than winter as most thrift stores shop by season. Took 1 top out of my two bags. I had better luck at crossroads bringing my clothes in. Service was just okay, didn't get much of an explanation with the other rejected items. My 1 top from Athleta that they did take was $4 in cash for exchange. read more

Another horrible experience at Buffalo exchange. The workers are so rude. I asked to leave my stuff right next to the register for two seconds while I moved my car cause my stuff weighed like 30 pounds, it seemed to have pissed off the girl that I even asked so from that moment forward, she was super rude to me. I left to move my car, came back and all three of the workers behind the desk stared at me like I was the spawn of Satan. The girl who was rude to me, was talking loudly about how she will argue and fight with people in the store. I guess maybe trying to hint something to me not quite sure why that's something you would brag about. not sure what I did to deserve that treatment but OK. I have no clue why the workers here are consistently rude and nasty. It almost seems like they get off on tearing people down. It makes absolutely no sense. There needs to be something in the handbook about treating customers at least politely. read more

goodness gracious this location is amazing selection wise (due to it being in SF) but i had to come to say the service is AWFUL. Ive been coming here for years and recently their staff is actively offputting to the customers. I've never donated but I've heard them say some really harsh things about stuff people donate that relate to social class. The service in general is just the more awful i've ever experienced. I waited in a "line", standing in the middle of the checkout area, smiling at all the employees waiting to be helped with a lot of items and I couldn't checkout until I asked someone to checkout. i think it was 8 minutes when there were four whole registers. I heard two employees talking about a customer in a not nice way, that's all I need. Value is great, but expect the employees to be rude as a warning! read more

I went to return an item w the tag still on and original form of payment bc I found a stain on it when I got home and they refused and said I needed the receipt so came back the next day with the receipt then they said it's only a 5 day window to return items. Terrible customer experience! read more

This place is a joke. I had a large bundle of clothes to sell, with top quality items. I went to several BE location, at the advice of a friend because she said you'll get a wide spectrum of offers for the same items, at different BE's. She was right. I finally made it to the site in the Haight and I was so exhausted I just sold everything there, for the price of a very gently worn Calvin Klein leather Bomber Jacket I'd been offered $35 for, on top of everything else I was selling which had come tok $150 in Berkeley. There's absolutely no standard. Their prices were all over the place, and the person at doing the evaluation really had no professional knowledge about what you put before them. I got totally ripped off at the Haight St place. read more

Great place to shop. I took visitors from out of town and they loved it - found lots of good items at great prices. My daughter and her friend (14 yrs old) were in heaven. Staff at this location are wonderful. A big thank you to Raul who went out of the way to help us when my daughters friend needed some help. He was wonderful - patient and kind. read more

I was looking through a rack on the sales floor and an employee came up behind me and said the rack was for employee holds only. The rack was not marked and clearly displayed on the sales floor. I apologized and the employee continued to repeat himself even after I said I was sorry and walked away. read more

The buying part is always so slowwwwww. It looks like they always have someone in training, making things even slower . BE, please be pro active about that process please. Selection of clothing and shoes varies and I notice they take more funky items compared to Crossroads. read more

Been going here for years. Great selection and reasonable prices. Super friendly staff.

Ripped me off when I tried to sell there. I was trying to get rid of a lot of stuff so I just gave everything they didn't take to put in the donate pile. Came back a couple days later to see a pair of shoes that they didn't supposedly take and had put in the donate pile, for sale on the shelf. They were very distinct shoes, so I knew they were mine, and I should have gotten money for them. So, yea, be careful if you want to sell stuff here, you might get ripped off. read more

A small store with a lot to offer, Buffalo Exchange is a thrifter's paradise. This store has a wide selection of various styles of clothing for both men and women. From shirts to accessories, they have so much! Everything is organized well by styles and size. Additionally, their stock is quite large and you may find yourself browsing for a while. Browsing through the men's section, I did notice a lot of clothing of close to new quality from brands that I love like H&M. I didn't see any article of clothing that were too old and unusable. It seems that this store only displays good quality stuff! Parking out front may be tricky since it's a busy-ish area. I recommend using public transit since the Muni runs nearby. read more

Buffalo Exchange - Women's Clothing Near Me - San Francisco, California

I recommend looking your item over very carefully before purchase ....they will not give you a refund if item is damaged and not marked as so. Purchased something and while still at the register do I notice a huge rip in it , they wouldn't even refund me for it and stuck me with a gift card for the balance , super lame because I did not want to buy anything else there and now I have to go back because the money is already spent . Buffalo your super wack for that :/ read more

Came in to sell the other day & placed my stuff down in "line" (seats next to the selling table) went to browse around as I've done numerous times, to be told I needed to sit down/wait with my stuff with a less than desirable tone (I understand my property is my responsibility, you can convey that without telling me to sit like a child) Waited about 45 minutes that I could've been shopping their store to then be told it was fine if I left my bag of stuff they didn't take, if I wanted to go shop around before I checked out....cool so you wanted me to watch it till you went through it, then it didn't matter? Upon looking at prices/quality (I found a dress with broken strap to the desk next to the dressing room to let the staff know & was treated extremely oddly the worker literally said "okay?") They're wildly over pricing items, but when it comes to "buying" they lowball the value of the items they take (I'm sure if I came back to look at the pricing of my items I sold them they'd far exceed the estimates "value") Another dress I found with a mesh overlay was running with threads everywhere marked at $16 I asked if they'd be willing to discount & was told by the same young woman who I pointed the broken strap out to that "no they would not discount as they take into account quality when pricing". Usually I'll take some of my credit to grab some items but between the $18 used jeans, 46$ dirty boots It's really only worth selling if you were gonna donate the stuff anyway. read more

Omg so much stuff. Pretty sure I spent a solid hour and a half in Buffalo Exchange. Really, once you get into your groove, you start finding things you "must have." Clothes are sorted and in racks by style and size. The most fun/interesting rack was for Burning Man so you can imagine the types of clothes hanging up there. Because it can be overwhelming, I suggest having a shopping list/idea of what you're looking for beforehand. It's really too easy to rack up the bill even though everything is pretty affordable or on clearance/sale. It can be a bit overwhelming during busy hours. I went on a Thursday afternoon and it was a LOT. Packed with people, you're constantly squeezing past and excusing yourself while trying to browse and crane your neck to look at everything. Store is packed to the top shelves, so don't miss out! During those times, it's best to know what you want so you can dash and go. Cashiers are cool and super nice--very fashion with brightly colored hair and unique outfits. Also, at check out you can either buy a huge tote or get a 5 cent chip to donate to one of three charities. read more

Buffalo Exchange - Women's Clothing Near Me - San Francisco, California

Buffalo Exchange is located in the Haight-Ashbury, a neighborhood crowded with thrift and consignment store options. However, Buffalo Exchange stands out as the best, middle/ cheaper price tier spot to buy or sell fashionable clothes. I don't know if its because I've become more fashionable with age, or if its because this Buffalo Exchange has a liberal buying policy, but I seem to always have good luck selling my clothes here (as opposed to the $0 I would get at Crossroads growing up in San Jose). I think also the high traffic/ churn of this store helps too. This buying pattern keeps my coming back with a bag of clothes about 1x a season. For whatever they do choose to buy, you can choose to receive 30% cash of the selling price or 50% in-store credit. The rest they don't choose to buy, I recommend bringing to Goodwill to donate across the street. Beyond selling, I have purchased a few great pieces from here too. I recently got a faux fur coat for ~$20. I am always excited to look through their curated festival section as well. Overall I would say, come here for selling your clothes, stay for the shopping. read more

Buffalo Exchange - Entrance - Women's Clothing Near Me - San Francisco, California

Hit or a miss shopping experience here. Store very well setup and organized. Also located in a cute neighborhood with lots of thrift stores and shopping spots nearby. The BE staff select clothes from reputed brands, good quality, and that are or were trendy. They have many trial rooms and have never had to wait even in a crowded store. The staff is quite friendly and helpful too! I would avoid going here over the weekend due to it being quite crowded. Regardless, I would love to go thrifting again at Buffalo Exchange! read more

Extremely rude woman working here. The door was open, so I could not see what time it opens at (apparently written on door). She was taking out the trash cans and I asked if they are open and she yelled "No". She then proceeded to walk inside and cussed about me. "Stupid bitch fucking read the sign" (The sign was not visible and that's why I politely asked when do you open). If you're going to have a customer service job, perhaps brush up on your people skills. Cussing at someone for asking about the time you open.. not cool. I'm sure you won't keep your job long. Lucky for you there are plenty of other remedial jobs out there. read more

I've come here many times over the past four years and the quality of the finds is definitely declining. It used to be full of good stuff...I couldn't leave without getting two or three things. I went today and I was surprised at some of the things they had for sale. Lots of crumpled, cheap looking clothes. Lots of stuff from Forever 21 and H&M. I found a shirt with a giant ink stain (pic below) and couldn't believe it was $15 (although, it was on sale). It looks like the ink released from a security tag! My friend did find a really nice trucker jacket for like $30 so there is hope of finding cool things still. read more

Buffalo Exchange - Ink stain - Women's Clothing Near Me - San Francisco, California

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In another lifetime I was a struggling wannabe artist that wanted to be the next Van Gogh, sans the ear butchering incident. Yet, like all starving artists I needed to eat, but still wanted to look cool. Buffalo Exchange to the rescue! The Buffalo Exchange on Haight has been there what seems like forever. I remember during my college days bringing up what I could to try to earn a few bucks. Sometimes I completely struck out and once in awhile I'd hit payday. My biggest sell was a denim jacket with a Cowboys & Indians battle scene - go figure lol. What's interesting is that although this is a 2nd hand clothing store the highest purchases are still top designer. So ironically those making the most moolah are usually those already with moolah haha! Life can be so cruel. So if you do attempt to sell avoid the junk, but funk might be good. These guys know the latest trends and labels. Of course, if something cool walks in, i.e. my Cowboys & Indians denim than cha-ching! Another thing I have noticed is Buffalo Exchange (like most for-profit thrift stores) will avoid larger sizes, mainly pants. I guess it could be considered discriminatory, but hey all those pixies don't want to browse size 46" inch Z. Cavaricci pants even in the latest colors, right? If you do have something they want they give you the two options of cash or credit. The credit gives you more value, but it's only store credit. Most take the cash and buy zucchinis. Today, Buffalo Exchange still offers that struggling student a chance to make a few albeit a tad snobbish on the intake. Even Bob Dylan & other celebrities will come up to the Haight and thrift for fashion. I recall Bob once purchased a vintage suede jacket with fringe all over. I had to think twice if that was something that escaped my wardrobe... then I realized my fringe was safe & sound, bottom drawer, left side, under all my leopard print... read more

Buffalo Exchange - Think before selling or buying, like this vintage Giorgio Armani jacket... GQ-ish tho sized for André the Giant, buttercup - Women's Clothing Near Me - San Francisco, California

Very disappointed with the crew. I had found six tees I wanted to try on and still wanted to continue looking at bottoms. I had asked the staff to hold my items until I was ready for the fitting room. When I was ready to try on, staff informed me that my tops had been brought back onto the floor. They didn't offer to help me or compensate me in anyway. Wasn't able to find my selections again. Huge waste of time. Try the other Buffalo exchange-- maybe their crew actually deserves your money. read more

So I mean its a Buffalo exchange- so it's not especially surprising how mid it is; over stocked racks that are hard to search through, crowded and disorganized store layout, way too little space for customers to move throughout the store. And tbh that's kinda standard for the chain- but I will say, this place has some bangers to be found amid all the literal garbage they stock. 'Apc' denim for like $34, 'Naked and famous' denim for even cheaper, and a lot of the stock is in pretty good quality, which is a lot more than you can say about the other shops in the area. Also - their store credit only refund policy is a joke - in this day and age if ima return something, I want my money back, I'm not down for these games, either no refund or full refund-pick one. Overall - definitely worth checking out if you're in the area, but just know if you want a good find you'll need to deal a lot of digging through crowded and messy racks. read more

Mari M's manager working the 3:30pm shift on 9/4/23 was extremely rude and dismissive. I had unknowingly purchased a pair of defective pants with a loose cuff that was held up by the store's sensor tag. Once the tag was removed, the cuff came undone. When brought to the manager's attention, she refused to issue a refund, stating that store policy is such that only "unwearable" items were granted refunds. I explained that I would not be able to wear pants that had 2 different leg lengths - to which her response was that she had went to fashion school, and this was an easy fix. I told her that I did not go to fashion school and had no idea how to fix this. She then deflected and told me that they did not know the item was damaged. It's apparent the person who deliberately folded the cuff up to put the tag through was aware it was defective. Again, she deflected by saying "we are a resale store and we sell items as is." This interaction has showed me this resale store deliberately misrepresents their products, refuses to take accountability, and fails to treat their customers with respect. She proceeded to tell me that I was holding up the line. When I asked for her name, I responded with a smirk "I don't have to tell you my name." read more

Wack total lack of customer service. When in to sell some clothes today and was seen by Heather. Totally rude, they give thier opinions on you belongs and a simple yes or no is all that's needed. Really just a over priced thift store. Smells terrible totally disorganized and some of the worse customer service ever. read more

Nice place to go if you want to get something out of your old clothes. They're very picky with what they chose to buy from you, so don't expect much cash/store credit in return. This makes sense given they take in so many items per day so that's fine. They're pricier than goodwill but definitely have more interesting or in-trend peices all around the store. I like visiting here, each time however, the staff have never been pleasant nor approachable. Often my friends and I will have to wait for them to finish personal conversations with eachother before we can be helped. Other than the poor attitude and slow service, I recommend coming here if you have clothes of value to trade in. read more

Don't waste your time!! This place has gone downhill. This location used to be close to my house and a great spot to drop clothes/find new gems... Here's the issues: First issue, they have no official "line" or "waiting to sell" system. You just sit in chairs according to the order you came in. Everytime someone leaves, everyone has to move chairs, and Lugg all their items to the next chair. Second issue, there's no way to look at the store if you have items to sell. You can't leave the room with the line of chairs while waiting. You're just trapped and at the mercy of whenever the sellers get to you. Finally, my latest experience was rough, I waited for 1+ hour and they didn't take any items! Zero. Items from reformation, everlane, Ganni, Stella McCartney and vintage pieces. I took my items to both crossroads and wasteland afterwards and they took almost everything, so I know they're good quality/condition. read more

Is it like illegal for them to have more than one staff member work on buys? It either takes 5 staff members to crowd one but while the other register just remains empty. The 5 staff members just stand and gossip while the line is damn near out the door for buys. The Berkeley location has historically had Om more than one buyer counter open I don't understand why these employees can't do that too. I get ppl need training but I have never seen this place in an orderly fashion. read more

Wasteland let me down for costumes... so to Buffalo I went. I was shocked they had so many costumes, especially new, or once worn. I ended up getting a cute little number for about 24 bucks when new it probably would have been about 70. I may really hate their Berkeley store, but I'm pretty happy with this one. read more

This was a fun thrift store with competitive prices. Great quality. A little more than goodwill but reflected in the quality. Staff was helpful. Allowed to try on which was cool. read more

This place has gone to absolute sh!t over the past year and a half. The single biggest problem is with having buyers who know NOTHING about clothing. They used to have a group of people who were there for years and were great. Since Covid hit, its been all downhill! And im bummed! I use to love coming here. Selling here is now a gamble on what mood the buyers in, and whether or not they personally like your stuff. WHICH IS NOT the way you successfully run a business like Buffalo Exchange... The place is in serious need of direction and management. read more

This review is for selling clothes only. Writing this review as I still wait for them to look at my clothes. Got here on a Friday a few minutes before 11 AM (when they open) and was 4th in line. Took about 20-25 minutes for them to start going through pieces with the first person in line. They have no one assisting when they see that the line goes behind 5 people. Buyer keeps having to go back and forth between the register to help and buying clothes. The system is really inefficient and you just have to wait your turn. It's been 2 hours and I've barely started to receive assistance with buying my clothes.... read more