Thrift stores in Toronto: 34 shops and who the money helps

This note counts 34 thrift stores in Toronto, and 22 of them are Value Villages or Salvation Army shops. The Salvation Army shot its Secondhand September campaign inside just one of them, the East York store at 60 Overlea Blvd. Every outfit came 100% off that store's racks, soft girl and dark academia included.

So choose a thrift store here by its deal, not by the map. The deal is who the money helps, how the price gets set and what you can bring back.

Value Village's own pages say shopping there supports no nonprofit but donating does, since it pays nonprofits for what you drop off. At the Salvation Army, the money left after costs funds food banks, shelters and children's camps, with no tax on most items. Two chains, two different deals.

Quick facts

• Stores in this note: 34 under 8 names, from each shop's own pages on 29 September 2026.
• Value Village: 13 stores, every one open 7 days a week.
• The Salvation Army Thrift Store: 9 stores, all closed on Sunday.
• By the pound: $5.99 a pound at Shmata, 1959B Finch Ave W.
• Trading in: 50% of Common Sort's price in store credit, or 25% in cash.
• On within: 1,163 pre owned designer pieces from $50 to $21,000, read 29 September 2026.

For a cause at the till

William Booth started the Salvation Army in 1865, and to help people find jobs and afford everyday items he created the Household Salvage Brigade. Its men and women collected unwanted household things, and the 9 Salvation Army Thrift Stores here carry that on. Only Bloor, at 1219 Bloor St W, stays open until 9pm, Monday to Friday.

Prices follow set price points that weigh condition, season, brand and rarity. Featured Finds sit behind glass. They are final sale, and the stores do not verify authenticity.

The Yonge Street Mission opened Double Take at 310 Gerrard St E, in Regent Park, in 1999, to fund its community programs. Prices are tax free. Its Upcycling Studio takes shrunken wool sweaters and ripped jeans, and volunteers turn them into new pieces.

Double Take's about page tells of a son who brought in his late mother's designer purses. She had wanted them there.

For any day of the week

Value Village has 13 stores in the city. Every one opens on Sunday.

The Brunswick House store, 481 Bloor St W, sits in what its page calls the 140 year old Brunswick House. At 772 Dovercourt Rd, the store is in the old Canada Post sorting depot, and at 2549 Weston Rd, the old Knob Hill Farms building.

Red tags are new. Senior Tuesday takes 30% off for shoppers 60 and over, red tags excepted.

The nonprofit paid changes by store: the Kidney Foundation of Canada at 18 Edward St by Yonge-Dundas Square, Diabetes Canada at Wilson, Oasis Clothing Bank in Scarborough. Brunswick House and 639 Queen St W take no donations.

For trading in your own closet

Common Sort buys, sells and trades at 760 Queen St E, 1414 Queen St W and 527 Bloor St W. A buyer prices what the shop takes, and you choose 50% of that price in store credit or 25% in cash. For cash, bring ID.

It buys one season at a time. Right now it buys for fall. Up to 100 sellers bring up to 300 bags a day across its stores, and waits run 20 minutes to 3 hours.

Stylists build a themed window from the whole store, like Get in, Divas, We're Going to Woodstock, and nothing in it sells until the display changes. Staff will take your name for a piece.

Kind Exchange, a buy, sell and trade chain, closed its last three Toronto stores on 31 October 2018. (If your closet runs to designer labels, read where to sell designer clothes in Toronto first.)

For digging, by the pound or the piece

Shmata opened on 24 March 2022. At its bin store, a basement unit at 1959B Finch Ave W, everything goes by weight at $5.99 a pound. Its about page puts it plainly: "We don't do price tags, that's so 2021."

Scales sit around the floor and at the till, and the 100 bins it calls treasure chests run one per category. There are no fitting rooms. Wear a fitted top and leggings, and try knits on over them.

Prime Rewind, at 945 Wilson Ave, Unit 2, prices its $4 and $6 bins by the piece. Tees, Y2K and Lululemon go in the $4; jackets, knits and denim in the $6.

It sorts 150 to 200 lbs of vintage onto the racks each weekday. Doors open Monday to Friday, 8am to 3:30pm, and its page calls 8am to 9:30am the quietest stretch. Wilson station on Line 1 is the nearest subway.

Black Market began in the early 1980s in the hatchback of founder John Christmann's Honda Civic, parked on Queen West. Black Market Underground, 256 Queen St W, is the original basement store, with prices from $10 and vintage T-shirts at $15.99, buy 3 get 1 free. A barber works inside.

Pick the cause, then the rack. The tote fills either way.

Sunday against Monday

Sundays, all 9 Salvation Army stores are shut and all 13 Value Villages are open. Common Sort, Double Take, Shmata, Black Market and the 3 Habitat ReStores open too, while Prime Rewind keeps to weekdays. Mondays, the 3 ReStores close.

Before you pay

Keep the receipt. The Salvation Army exchanges clothing, footwear, bedding and linens within 30 days, receipt and price tag attached. Common Sort exchanges within 2 weeks with tag and receipt, and all sales are final at Double Take in store, Black Market and Shmata.

Measure rather than trust the label. Double Take's FAQ says a size tag on second hand clothes may not match the fit, and Shmata lends a tape measure at the till. Bring your own.

A drop off earns 20% off your next purchase at Value Village and the Salvation Army. Common Sort takes no donations, and Double Take's donation door is behind the store.

At the other end of second hand sit the 1,163 pre owned designer pieces on within in Toronto, from $50 to $21,000, all at Utopia in Yorkville. For designer labels from other people's closets, read consignment stores in Toronto.

The same test works in any city with a thrift store: who gets the money, who sets the price and what comes back.

Common questions

Where are the thrift stores in downtown Toronto?

Downtown, try Value Village at 18 Edward St and 639 Queen St W, Black Market at 256 and 347 Queen St W, and Double Take in Regent Park. In the Annex, add Value Village at 481 Bloor St W and Common Sort at 527 Bloor St W. For Kensington Market's vintage shops, follow the Toronto vintage shopping route.

Which thrift stores are on Queen Street in Toronto?

Queen Street has 8, from Value Village at 924 Queen St E west to the Salvation Army at 1447 Queen St W. In between: Common Sort at 760 Queen St E, Black Market at 256 and 347 Queen St W, Value Village at 639, Shmata at 1153, Common Sort at 1414.

Which thrift stores in Toronto sell furniture?

The 3 Habitat ReStores sell tables, sofas, chairs and beds, and Double Take sells small furniture in store. The ReStores are at 155 Bermondsey Rd, 700 Kipling Ave and 55 Orfus Rd, and all proceeds build Habitat for Humanity homes across the GTA.

Every business above is independent, was verified open as of August 2026, and nobody paid to be here. If one has closed or moved, tell us at hello@shopwithin.co and we will fix it.

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