I figured it was time I gave you a review of one of my new little local op shops. I’ve actually got two to choose from you see, Good Sammy’s and Salvos, so whenever I need to go get ‘bread and milk’ (hehe) I can take myself for a 2 minute drive or a 5 minute walk and include a little op shopping whilst I'm at it! And of course, now that the Sam’s are open on Sundays…well…it’s all a bit glorious I have to say!
So we’ll start with the Good Sammy’s and work our way over to the Salvos at a later date.
For a local, this Good Sammy’s is pretty huge! And it’s chockers with stuff! It’s almost a bit of a ‘where do I start?’ situation when you first walk in but you know, you soon adjust haha.
Immediately to your left is the kids stuff, racks are full of your tweens and teens clothing, all wonderfully colour coded, while the baby clothes are hanging up on the far left wall. I’ve found some great dress & t-shirt numbers for my tween niece and quite a few items for the bubbies in my life. In fact, there is so much baby stuff, you can spend almost 15-20 mins going through it all.
I’ve purchased some fabulous labeled numbers (ie Pumpkin Patch, Gap, Peter Rabbit) and with most bubby clothes only $2 you can really stock up and cement yourself as the best 'aunty' ever!
Following along from that you’ll come to the men’s section including men’s shoes. I think I’ve mentioned a few times that every now and then I investigate this section for hubby, and at this oppie I have managed to pull him out a couple of t-shirts (he was fairly impressed with the Dockers one I found!) along with his $6 Zu slip ons.
There is quite a bit for the men here (including work gear) although I think as far as the shoes goes, it’s a little hit and miss. Around this section too there’s a heap of cushions to be fossicked through and a few needlepoint numbers have caught my eye but I fear I’ll never be allowed to pop them out on display if Nath has anything to do with it. I’m already pushing the decorating boundaries with my “Home is Where the Heart Is” number I found at the Daughters of Charity in Mt Hawthorn a few months ago!!
There’s a small furniture section to be had here, which I’ve found has mainly featured desks, side tables and the odd dresser – but all reasonably priced. Around this area is a bag section featuring overnight & backpack numbers and these face immediately onto the electricals. Yep, this is one oppie you can lay your hands on a kettle or hair straightener if you need.
The bric-a-brac section is pretty good – there’s plenty of Tupperware items (I spotted some cool hipster guys buying up big for some upcoming party they were having) as well as glassware which they seem to have an abundance of. I’ve picked up my bits of Pyrex from this store – it seems whenever I buy one, there is one new piece back on the shelf when I return!! I’ve only ever paid up $4 so it’s great pricing.
There’s a few odds and ends as far as the bric-a-brac goes like mismatched plates & cups (I’ve found my 50c Johnson numbers from here) as well as decoration-type things like photo albums and candleholders. There is another section here which I reckon is the bomb, and it complements the kids section nicely – and that’s toys. They’re everywhere! Ranging from 50c up, it’s a kids paradise. You got your cars, trains, books, stuffed animals, games, Barbies etc etc...
So, I better bring in the next op shop rule here and it’s courtesy of my lovely friend Janice:
Op Shop Rule 23: Cash The Kids Up!
I’ve talked about keeping the hubby amused and that goes for the kids too. The rule here is simple -when taking your kids op shopping point them in the direction of the toys because *generally* kids are allowed to have a fossick of their own in this section. And to add to this, my girlfriend Janice recently advised me that during a recent op shopping trip with Master 3 & Miss 5, it was with great foresight that she gave them a little pocket money to spend on whatever they like from this section.
In my eyes this has a possible threefold effect: 1. Kids are occupied so you can op shop with a little 'me' time 2. Keeps the kids happy 3. Helps educate kids in spending & saving skills as well as a little maths hit. Brilliant! I know Janice tends to give Miss 5 up to $2 and obviously what you give your littlies is entirely up to you, but it’s truly a great idea.
So while the kids are busy choosing their goodies, you can turn to the gals stuff. Again these are colour coded, item coded and spread out over ¾ of the store! I’ve seen all sorts of labels here – Country Road, Witchery, Saba and of course Millers, Tempt & Expression. There’s a range for all.
This Good Sammy’s also has it’s Gold Seal Collection where you’ll find quite a few dresses actually, along with a small higher end shoe collection. Otherwise, if you need shoes, just hit up the massive collection a little past the haberdashery & next to the change rooms.
Now there is a lot to go through, and possibly my only gripe with this place is that everything is really wedged onto the racks, so sometimes you gotta use a bit of elbow grease to move things along for viewing. There’s an abundance of shoes, skirts, pants, maternity, dresses, sleep wear, 16+ etc etc. You’ll spend a bit of time here I can guarantee.
Over towards the counter you’ll find belts, magazines, cotton tails (yep you read right) and scarves, as well as a few little collectable trinkets in the glass cabinets on the counter itself.
I'll share with you a funny story from the last time I was at the counter. On one of my earlier trips I seemed to run into the same two elderly ladies (whose Vanderbilt made me gag a little ) fossicking over cook books and blouses. By the time I got to the counter, they were directly behind me going through the summer t-shirts, tutting over prices and elbowing me in the process. So whilst I’m being served they turn around, ignore the line and push in front of the lady waiting behind me .
Oh and that was accompanied with a very meek old lady statement of “we’re only asking a question dear”…to which the lady behind me took pity and let them in.
Yes, they did ask a question about pricing however when they got their answer all of a sudden a deluge of items from their bags, coats and underarms were slapped on the counter with a booming statement (where had that meek sweet voice gone?) of “right we’ll take all of these”. Hahahaha, the look on the lady’s face, who had let them in, was priceless. I wanted to tell her she had really been duped with the “poor little old lady” routine but didn’t really want to rub salt into the wound.
Ahhh oldies, what would we do without them?
Kx
Go For: Kids Kids Kids!
Try Another Sammy's: Men's shoes & more furniture options
Good Sammy’s Op Shop
Lakes Shopping Centre
Cnr North Lake & Omeo Roads
South Lake WA 6164
Open: Mon-Fri 9-5.30pm / Sat 9-5pm / Sun 11-4pm
http://www.goodsamaritan.com.au/
GOOD SAMMY’S FREE PICK UP SERVICE
Did you know the Good Sammy’s will actually come and pick up larger items you wish to donate…for free? There are a few conditions to this which include donating quality stuff that the op shops will be able to onsell (ie no broken or damaged stuff).
They have a list of things they will and won’t take over at their website www.goodsamaritan.com.au or you can call them on 1300 855 130 to arrange pick up from your home or business. Very cool.