Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 2000)
■ Buffalo Exchage offers students on a budget decent clothes at decent prices By Mason West Oregon Daily Emerald The stereotypical college stu dent is always short on cash. This makes thrift shopping a must, but looking through an entire store to find the right clothes can be time consuming. The creators of the Buffalo Ex change, a new-and used-clothing store, were frustrated with spend ing their time in thrift stores and sometimes not even finding decent clothes. The Exchange was found ed in 1974 in Tucson, Ariz., by Kerstin and Spencer Block with the mission to provide people quality and stylish used clothes. Since then, the Exchange has added 20 other locations through out eight states. Mary Kolego, manager of the Eu gene store at 131 E. 5th Ave., actu ally worked at the first store. She said the Buffalo Exchange was the first store to give people cash from their clothes the moment they are trad ed in. The Eugene store will give people 35 percent of what they will sell an item for in cash, or 50 percent in trade. For example, if an item was sold for $10, the original seller would get $3.50 in cash or $5 for trade. Every employee of the Buffalo Exchange is authorized to buy clothes from customers. Associate Manager Jacob Buerk said the indi vidual choice gives each store a different flavor. “Since Eugene is such a diverse town, we try and buy for a diverse clientele,” Buerk said. But the Buffalo Exchange won’t buy everything. It is strict about clothes being clean, in good condi tion, in season and in style. “It’s a step up from Goodwill and St. Vincent DePaul because we do all the weeding through for the customers,” Beurk said. Customer Michelle Holman knows this about the Buffalo Exchange, which helps her avoid buying new clothes. But her choice to avoid consumerism doesn’t mean she has infinite pa tience. “I don’t go to Goodwill because I don’t have the commitment to go through each item,” she said. Although this makes the Buffalo Exchange a reliable source of qual ity, customers wishing to sell clothes may not get rid of every thing. But the store allows people to leave anything that isn’t bought to be picked up by St. Vincent De Paul or First Place Family shelter. This isn’t the only act of charity that the Buffalo Exchange does. If customers choose not to take a bag with their purchases, they will re ceive a token that represents 5 cents to one of three local charities chosen by the store. The charities rotate, but Kolego has her own philosophy. “We try and have a human-relat ed one, an animal-related one and an environmentally related one,” she said. Kolego said that the owners of the company are much more so cially minded than most business es, perhaps one of the reasons that the Buffalo Exchange isn’t a name as big as some other stores. Buerk said the store doesn’t spend much money on advertis ing, relying more on word of mouth. And after a little rough start just a year and a half ago in Eugene, he believes the Buf falo Exchange is really starting to come into its own. Ik More thrifty options Thrift shopping in Eugene is not limited to Buffalo Exchange. Second-hand clothing can be purchased at the following charities: Goodwill Industries is a non-profit organization that strives to provide opportunities for people with disabilities or other disadvantages to become a part of the workforce. The retail stores serve both places where such people can be employed and as centers to raise funds for other programs. Local stores are at: 1S Coburg Rd.; 1015 River Rd.; 855 Seneca Rd.; 1590 Willamette St.; and 30th and Main streets, Springfield. St Vincent DePaui is geared toward helping the needy. It uses revenues from store sales to help fund other programs such as employment training and low income housing options. Local stores are located at: 2345 W. B roadway; 1880 W. 11 th Ave.; 110 E. 11th Ave.; and 501 Main St., Springfield. The Salvation Army is a non-profit Christian international movement. It provides food, clothing, financial support and other miscellaneous assistance to individuals in need. The Eugene store is located at 2265 W. 7th Ave. Other local thrift stores include, but are not limited to: Puttin’ on the Ritz (vintage clothing), 350 E. 11th Ave. Rags to Riches, 360 E. 11 th Ave. Junior League of Eugene, 2839 Willamette St. Out of Storage, 2290 Main St., Springfield Value Village, 555 W. Centennial Blvd., Springfield Bridget Herbers, a buyer for Buffalo Exchange, accepts just about everything with style and in good condition.
