Valley Thrift- 7/10
This thrift store was very interesting. It was both our first times here, although we’d heard about it a lot. The store is spacious and offers a diverse selection of items. It had some good shirts but not many great pants—a trend with many of these stores. There were, strangely, a whole bunch of baseball pants. This was one of the few places we actually found items we would be willing to wear on a regular basis.
The back was full of random things like toys and furniture with a whole section of kitchen appliances. Most of the toys were hung up in plastic wrap, almost like carnival prizes. Overall, the thrift store is worth a visit.
Goodwill Bins – 5/10
We went into this Sharonville Goodwill Bins with low expectations but didn’t leave empty-handed. As soon as we walked in, we saw lots of middle-aged women rifling through the bins and one very locked-in man chucking items to the side, trying to find a potential piece for profit.
We did pick up an Ohio State hoodie, albeit the printing was very cracked.
We didn’t stay long enough to see a fresh bin, but our experience would have probably been better if we had.
Goodwill- 10/10
This Oakley Goodwill was quite hidden, as we had to maneuver around quite a bit to get there, but once we did, it proved to be a hidden gem. We got 6 shirts combined, an absolute haul compared to our other finds. Despite the location and the quaint size of the store, the t-shirt racks seemed endless and the quality of the shirts matched the impressive variety of goods.
This store had tons of things, from Fortnite nerf guns to shoes and was definitely a great spot to stop on our trip. In fact, this Goodwill is so good we are unofficially crowning it “Cincinnati’s greatest thrift store,” at least out of the ones we visited.
Casablanca Vintage-2/10
Casablanca offered a lively and welcoming atmosphere—but that was about it. It definitely is a vintage store; it houses a lot of interesting pieces, including a couple of racing suits and some jackets. But the clothing selection was largely impractical for everyday wear; there were a lot of weird outdated styles that were overpriced. It would have been a very cool store for stuff in the 80s, but not today.
The pant selection is decent with a lot of old Levi’s jeans and corduroys for a comparatively decent price. There is a small hat bin with some neat options, but that is really the only appealing clothing option there.