Buffalo Exchange - Cobble Hill - Skip The Trip!

So for those of you New Yorkers out there, you may be saying COBBLE HILL??? There is no Buffalo Exchange there! But there is! It opened for business Saturday March 31st and I was very excited to go there! It is a gorgeous store!!!

BUFFALO EXCHANGE

Boerum Hill

109 Boerum Place

Brooklyn, NY 11201

(718) 403-0490

Location: off Smith St and Atlantic Ave, Bergen St stop on the F and G trains

Now for those of you not familliar with Buffalo Exchange or Beacons Closet they are a consignment/thrift store hybrid. Bring in your former favorites for trade or cash on the spot! You take your clothing to a buyer in the corner of the store, they price it on the spot (if they want it!) and you get either 50% of the value as credit to shop the store, or you get 30% in cash. You dont have to decide right then. They put the credit in your account (make sure you bring photo id) and as you leave the store you check out. You can get some credit and some cash, all credit, all cash, or leave it in your account and decide at a later date. It doesn't expire.

Now I wanted to take pictures of the inside, but the employees were not going to have any of that. I went on Monday April 2nd, so just the third day it was opened. I had Matt & Nat bags, new with tags James Pearse,  and more. I was sure it would be a breeze to sell. NOPE! Think twice. I dont know WHAT this store is about, but it was not a pleasant experience. They did not want my Gucci, Prada or Juicy Couture sunglasses (all new) as they were unsure how well they would sell. The only thing they wanted of mine was the James Pearse skirt and they were going to price it at 14.00! Meaning I would get half of that in credit, or 30% cash. NO THANK YOU! Everything else was a no. They kept saying they didnt know how it would sell.

I took a look around the store and a few coach bags were over priced and they really had nothing else of any quality. It was a big disappointment. I went to the Williamsburg location on my way home and they took EVERYTHING minus one of the three Mat & Nat bags. They said it was hard to sell bags with shorter straps. But I left the store with ninety something dollars and if I wanted store credit would have had about 160.00.

It is quite possible that as the store gets comfortable and they gain experience they will adjust but I honestly found the buyer rude, snotty, and condescending. I try to hit all the stores when I am in NYC but I really have no urge to go back to this location ever again! But who knows. Maybe a second chance a year from now will be worthwhile!

The Goodwill OUTLET..... How To Make Thrift Even Thriftier.

Ok, so I could spend this post showing you how to get clothing for an uber cheap 1.69 per pound. But NOPE! Im going to take it one step FURTHER and show you how you how I do it! Hold on to your hats folks!

Ok, so I went recently to the Goodwill Outlet in Queens. Located at 47-47 Van Dam Street. Now this is not a thrift store for the faint of heart. This is for extreme thrifters only. I wanted to take a bunch of pictures but I got in trouble for taking just this one. Will teach me to accidentally leave the flash on. But this should give you a hint as to what its like.

The entire warehouse is just full like this. Blue bins. No logic, womens, mixed with mens, mixed with kids, mixed with plus sizes, petites, etc. Just dig in! And you are rewarded with 1.69 per pound no matter what you get. I spent about two hours there before being completely and utterly thrifted out. The highlight was actually bumping in to Kate Goldwater and Alexandra Sinderbrand who run the amazing thrift store AuH20. I seriously have been an avid follower of Alexandra's blog the Cheap Jap forever. So that was pretty cool!

Now, I will show you the haul I got, and then how I got 80% of my bill refunded! Not pictured is a gorgeous Michael Kors (NOT Michael for Michael Kors) trench coat that had a big stain on it. I tried all I could to get it clean but it was not salvageable. Oh well. Was worth the shot!!

A blazer that fits me perfectly!

A cornflower blue J Crew pencil skirt.

A Max Studio maxi skirt

  
The most soft and comfortable cashmere sweater I have ever felt.

An Ann Taylor Skirt Suit. Gorgeous, and brand new!!

A Tocca cardigan!!

A royal blue maxi dress that was way too  large for me, but when I belted it, it works.

Juicy Couture Sweats

 A Max Studio sweater dress

A Banana Republic cotton twill jacket

Now if you will look at the bill I paid 25.35. Not bad at all. BUT........ Thats not all I got in the haul!

I also got these items that I had no intention of ever wearing. A Kenneth Cole tank top, a brand new pair of Nanette Lepore dress pants, and a GORGEOUS pair of wool Fossil pants that were so amazing even in spring I KNEW they would be a wanted item

So I took the pants and top to Buffalo Exchange where I proceeded to get this dress, and 17.50 cash!!!!

25.35-17.50 = 7.85. So that means all items pictured above cost me a total of SEVEN DOLLARS AND EIGHTY FIVE CENTS!!!!!

Cosmetic Market - A Hidden Gem In NYC

It does not cease to amaze and shock me that so many people do not know that the Cosmetic Market exists! REALLY??? Picture a store with the concept of TJ Maxx, Winners or Marshalls but only for cosmetics! I was walking through Sephora Times Square right after shopping and was carrying a Cosmetic Market bag when two different employees from Sephora stopped me to ask me where the store was and what kind of store it was. 

Now lets get real. Just like at Marshalls or Winners, sometimes you find tons, sometimes not so much. I always find SOMETHING. But after years of going there, some trips are better than others. And the testers are not so cared for and sometimes kind of scary. A totally acceptable trade off for amazing deals! Essie polishes at 3.99! Stila shadows for 3.99!! YES PLEASE!!!

The slogan THE BEST FOR LESS along with word Cosmetic caught their attention. They rooted through my bag and got squealed the entire time! And it took all I had not to scream at them HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THIS STORE EXISTS!!!!!????? 

I had to take some photos for you all! 

Yes, all sorts of Korres eye shadows!! 3.99 for singles 14.99 I think for the quads!!

These Korres lip butters are fantastic (and 4.99)!!! And yes, that is Clarins and Orlane as well you are seeing!!

Stila anyone?

How about Calvin Klein, Vincent Longo or Bobbi Brown?

Molton Brown perhaps (at 9.99!)?

YSL lipsticks for 9.99?

I was very well behaved. I got a few things for myself.

Also, I got a few Intuition refill packs for 5.99 but took the photo of both of them to show you! Prices are fantastic!!!

Have YOU gone to the Cosmetic Market? If so what did YOU think?

I'm Alive!!!

WOW! I have been gone longer than planned. I really had intended on updating my blog while in NYC but it didn't happen. And then to make things worse the day before I came home I got a bad case of a cold/flu that knocked me right out! But I am back and have a ton to show you all!

I guess I should start by saying that shockingly, I did very little beauty shopping while in NYC. I KNOW!! Not at all like me. I got a Guerlain quad, some Korres shadows, a stilla blush and a few more odds and ends I will show you all, but for the most part it was rebuilding my wardrobe. As most of you know, I have recently changed sizes drastically (more so I have changed SHAPE drastically) and have had to start my wardrobe from scratch. I had a wishlist I went to New York with (a great trench, 4-5 day dresses, a chocolate brown pencil skirt, a grey pencil skirt, a black pencil skirt, 4 or 5 blouses, a black blazer, a grey blazer, a black suit, a grey suit, a casual long black skirt, a casual grey long skirt, a denim skirt or two (or three) and a bunch of tshirts. In some areas I scored BIG! In other areas..... not so much!

In the next few days though I will show you all. Keep in mind though that pretty much every piece of clothing I owned pre NYC trip has been featured on my blog already. So I really do NOT have a ton of clothing. Or didnt.