■ 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.