DOES VANCOUVER HAVE THRIFT TYPE SHOPS FOR BUDGET CLOTHING SUITABLE FOR ALASKA?

[willsaway]

Flying in from Australia mid September, to spend a week in Vancouver (4 night Coach tour) followed by a 7 nighter inside passage cruise. We then jump ship to do the transpacific via Hawaii back to Oz.  Given airline weight restrictions, and given the limited time need for beanies, gloves, scarves, puffer jackets, sweaters and so on, I was considering buying second hand (pre-loved) clothing from an op shop - called in Canada Thrift shops? - and then redonating the goods on our return to Canada Place before boarding for the t.p.   Can any of the lovely locals who contribute to this thread advise if a) you actually have this type of store and/or b) a low cost Department Store.  Not looking for glamourous or trendy, just warm, waterproof and affordable.  We will have two full free days to do Vancouver sight seeing and shopping. Cheers.

[9tee2Sea]

10 hours ago, willsaway said:

Flying in from Australia mid September, to spend a week in Vancouver (4 night Coach tour) followed by a 7 nighter inside passage cruise. We then jump ship to do the transpacific via Hawaii back to Oz.  Given airline weight restrictions, and given the limited time need for beanies, gloves, scarves, puffer jackets, sweaters and so on, I was considering buying second hand (pre-loved) clothing from an op shop - called in Canada Thrift shops? - and then redonating the goods on our return to Canada Place before boarding for the t.p.   Can any of the lovely locals who contribute to this thread advise if a) you actually have this type of store and/or b) a low cost Department Store.  Not looking for glamourous or trendy, just warm, waterproof and affordable.  We will have two full free days to do Vancouver sight seeing and shopping. Cheers.

if I remember correctly, I had purchased a few things from Goodwill ( but I can't remember where it was).  On my last cruise, I just left some clothes behind on the closet that I no longer wanted ( they were still in very good condition).  I figured either the crew might want them, or they will take them to lost and found, or there may be a donation area on the ship for items left behind ( that might be a good marketing ploy....leave your clothes behind for donation, and get a % off certificate for your next cruise).  In Juneau, there is a great souvenir shop, right across from the port, has great deal on sweatshirts, rain jackets, and hats.  It's a huge store, bright red signage.  good quality sweatshirts for about $20.00  

[Meander Ingwa]

you can check Google Maps and look at the area near your hotel. There are not a lot of them downtown,  since rents are so high

 

Usually,  thrift / second hand stores will be out in the neighborhoods

Value Village is the largest.  You might find all your needs in one spot. There is a cluster of stores at the intersection of the 1A and East Broadway.  If you can find Eddie Bauer items check carefully  Some of them are designed to be packable,  They  usually have a tag that says.  They fold away into their own pockets.  I love them!  Worth paying a little more

[martincath]

I'd actually recommend an alternative, given that the odds of finding the right stuff in the right sizes in the entirely-random stocks of thrift stores are, well, impossible to calculate!

 

Costco - any chance you are members? If so, then you can shop in the downtown Vancouver branch which should have the best priced rain suits around! That would sort out your top layers and enable in-person shopping. While the stock of warm things like fleeces is usually long gone by summer, we do have year-round rain so brollies and uninsulated jackets etc. tend to be year-round items. Often there are various thicknesses of shirts even in summer - improvising a layer with a one-size-too-big mens shirt over your base layers may not be as toasty as a fleece, but it all helps.

 

Next-best, as there's always the issue of 'what size will an XL item actually be when it arrives?'  is to leverage the many Amazon lockers around town - order online, try to err on the side of Too Big, have your packages delivered to one of the lockers near your hotel, go collect when you arrive. You may get lucky with a free Prime offer, I almost always do whenever I first shop in a Different Country Amazon for the first time in a while, so you can narrow the delivery window to within a day - but if not, paying for a single month of Prime in Canada is worthwhile in these sorts of circumstances to ensure that your package arrives in time, but not so early that the shop refuses to hold it until you get there!

 

The 'one size fits none' items like baseball caps, beanies, gloves, scarves you will almost certainly get cheap from Amazon, easy to add on to jackets etc., but Dollar Stores are good in-person options for these, you might even get some colour choices if anyone in the family balks at dressing uncoordinated!!!

 

Worst-case, Walmart and Real Canadian Superstores both have very cheap, may not last long but hey that's not an issue for you, clothing ranges - a bit of a schlep by bus or a ~$20 cab ride to the nearest of either - but definitely less than buying tourist-priced clothing in ports!

 

As to thrift stores/charity shops, downtown I can only think of one that might fit the bill - but I haven't visited since it was taken over so I suspect it's gone down the 'vintage clothing at not actually cheap prices' model just like most others downtown: Wildlife Thrift, Granville & Davie. All the others around Gastown are definitely 'I'm a hipster who insists on wearing 1920s/50s/70s etc. era clothing, where oh where can I buy them?' rather than 'cheap clothes for folks who cannot afford new ones' - if you get up Main Street, or along Broadway, you can find some actual charity-run places like Salvation Army stores which are much more affordable and pretty quick to access by transit from a downtown core hotel.

 

 

[em-sk]

On 5/23/2023 at 9:46 PM, willsaway said:

Flying in from Australia mid September, to spend a week in Vancouver (4 night Coach tour) followed by a 7 nighter inside passage cruise. We then jump ship to do the transpacific via Hawaii back to Oz.  Given airline weight restrictions, and given the limited time need for beanies, gloves, scarves, puffer jackets, sweaters and so on, I was considering buying second hand (pre-loved) clothing from an op shop - called in Canada Thrift shops? - and then redonating the goods on our return to Canada Place before boarding for the t.p.   Can any of the lovely locals who contribute to this thread advise if a) you actually have this type of store and/or b) a low cost Department Store.  Not looking for glamourous or trendy, just warm, waterproof and affordable.  We will have two full free days to do Vancouver sight seeing and shopping. Cheers.

 

If your staying downtown and want to buy low cost new I would suggest taking skytrain out to Metrotown Station.   It is a large mostly higher end shopping center, however they have a Walmart and Real Canada Super Store.  Both those stores will have lower cost (and lower quality goods non-brand name) product.  

 

[dawnvip]

If you happen to have all the warmer items at home , then another option is to use Luggage Forward . You could fly to Vancouver with carry-on (coach-tour's worth of clothing) only, and pack a suitcase with all clothes needed for both trips and have it shipped to your Vancouver hotel (or to the cruise ship!) Since you are sailing back to Oz, the shipped luggage will sail all the way home with you. 

 

Assuming you have the warmer clothes already, the shipping cost will likely be much less than buying new/thrift store items

Edited May 25, 2023 by dawnvip
typo

[julia]

In actuality, you do NOT need a lot of gear to enjoy Alaska, and it doesn't need to be bulky (eewww, puffer coat!).  With a thermal underlayer and a hooded rain jacket, you'll be fine. A scarf & gloves take very little room.

[Meander Ingwa]

I agree with Julia, for September you really are not going to hit cold weather.  It is, however somewhat relative to what you are use to. 

 

I have friends from Arizona and Florida who have their polar fleece jackets on at 65 and I am there in short sleeves.  Down, for me, comes out when it is below 0C.  50s and 60s is mild and a simple long sleeve sweatshirt or a short sleeve top when in 60s

 

You can check the weather charts yourself and decide, but down is probably overkill. 

 

A rain proof shell would be a better investment 

[willsaway]

Thank you all for your insights and comments, it is very much appreciated.  I hate packing at the best of times and to cover all our stops is a bit daunting.  Happy to return the favour for info coming down under.  @martincath you never disappoint - we are all booked in at the Y, so thank you for those comments way back in 2019.

[Wasasalad]

Is there a store near the port to purchase a suitcase? I’m only taking a carry on and backpack but may need to buy a suitcase to check in at the airport. 

[dawnvip]

A few blocks from the cruise port, up Howe street, is Pacific Centre Mall - probably the largest mall in Vancouver proper.  There are several stores of varying price ranges to buy a suitcase, incluing Holt Renfrew, the Bay, and Tumi. 

 

Along Water street is Herschel, also very easy walking distance from the cruise port.