Rude old lady behind the counter. Nice younger man with tats could tell she was in the wrong, but she dug her feet in and kept being an old grouch. I will never return! read more

The best little Thrift Store in Santa Cruz area! Always something new and interesting when I come. All net proceeds are given in grants to local non profit organizations In 2022 over $44,000 was donated. Come support the locals!! read more

I had a volunteer help me repair a strap on a dress that I had chosen. She was happy to go above and beyond for me! May God bless your steps read more

Nice little charity shop with good quality items. Fair prices and nice folks running it.

Great place, good quality items. Friendly staff, and very helpful. Very easy to get too, right off hwy 1.

This new location is a Tiny little store. Especially the back room where they have all the clothing, shoes and accessories. If your claustrophobic don't go in there. There's hardly any room to move. This place is pricy too. Most of the dishes are marked at antique store prices. Jewelry was pricy as well. They did have some clothing bargains outside on the rack. Parking on the street only and challenging to find a spot close by. read more

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We were visiting this area and stumbled upon this cute little thrift store. While it is a second hand store, it is for a good cause. In fact, it is for multiple good causes as this store gives all of its proceeds to support several other charities. The store is small, but well organized, with a little bit of everything. The front of the store has kitchenware, antique and vintage decor, and some other knick knacks. The second half of the store towards the back has clothing and shoes (mostly women's), a small collection of books and dvds, including for children and some toys. There's even an outdoor patio area with some clearance and gardening items, and odds and ends. Overall, the store is very clean, no strange smells, and is a pleasant place to find some gems. But the best part of the store are the volunteers who work there, as they're truly kind hearted and genuinely caring people who give their energy and time to give back to others by working at the store so that the proceeds generated can go towards the various charities. We hope to visit again, but even if we don't travel out that way again, I hope this review will encourage others to go shop and support the Helpful Shop. read more

This is a church based thrift store which supports various women, children and veterans charities. Parking on or near the capitola esplanade can be quite the challenge as a popular and quite lovely beach is less then a block away form this location. Street parking will almost certainly not be available. Fear not there is a city owned surface lot pretty much right across the street. This is a smaller store with a focus on higher quality gentle used items including clothing. some items-like the original register used when it first opened-are not for sale, however for the most part what you see is what you can buy. As new stuff comes in all the time, it's difficult to say for certain what will be in stock when you drop by, but the front -where the register is-has most of the home decor items, costume jewelry,children's items such as clothing, shoes toys, and stuff that is considered worthy of showing off in the window. The secondary back room has the changing rooms and both men's and women's clothing including nicer not worn out shoes. Bargains can be had here. If for some reason you need some beachwear, if it's in stock you can get and emergency set of swim trunks for four bucks or so. The staff are all volunteers. As such they can be on the chatty side, yet that is very helpful should you have questions on the items in stock or things in the general area. All in all it's quite a little charming, local shop to spend a few minutes poking around in. read more

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We really love this store! We always stop by to buy something here for fun The volunteer ladies are so nice and friendly The stuffs are in good condition with the good prices (not like Goodwill) Good location for tourist like me to walk around the beach and shop for something read more

This is a little store near Mariannes Ice Cream. The staff are friendly. The prices are low. I routinely buy lovely potted succulents for about $10 each. Today I found lavender sachets for a low price. Their proceeds benefit local charities. read more

St. John's Helpful Shop is open but has moved to a new location in Seacliff, Aptos, CA. Same great volunteers, same ministry and mission but a location with available parking. Yay!!! Clothes, housewares, Jewelry, seasonal nick-nacks sold with the goal of supporting community programs. read more

My husband & I walked in after visiting 3 thrift stores in search of some athletic shoes just for the day. We had been to goodwill and a few other shops only to find no shoes in his size that would be up to running. We walked in this small shop right to the shoe section where there were 2 pairs in very decent condition. We chose one pair and went to checkout. The lady at the counter greeted us so politely, and when we mentioned that we only needed the shoes for a day- she brought the $6 price tag down to $4. The gentleman working, (her husband I assume) made conversation with us and mentioned he had taken the pair home to clean them. We made the purchase finding just what we needed. If you're looking for something, this is a thrift store that cares about the customers. We thank you & look forward to coming back! read more

I had a car full if items from a home full of items that all were collected by someone very dear to our heart. Things not my style, I have to eliminate collections of too much stuff. The thrift store I have in mind and drove to that day was closed for a week, great! Do I return home and unload? I looked on yelp and ran across the next close phone number. I believe I spoke with Jeanie. What a sweetheart, treated so kindly, and helped me haul things in the store and told me the things were great! I felt this would be a perfect place to find homes for what I took in. Thanks for the great customer service, Vicki @Sunset Beach. read more

You can always find something interesting at the Helpful Shop. The Volunteer staff are friendly, courteous, and of course, always helpful.

Just bought some awesome shoes and wall hanging. Volunteer was super nice. Pretty good stuff at very good prices!