Monk Thrift Shop

Cute sunglasses. Definitely check out the $ 1 rack by the door.

I walked passed Monk in it’s new location earlier today. I was attracted to the large selection of cameras, so my friend and I decided to take a gander in.
I asked the woman behind the counter «Could I take a look at that camera» pointing to one in the window. Suddenly a loud middle eastern man claiming to be the manager came over and demanded that I pay him five dollars to look at the cameras.
«I’m tired of People click click clicking and not buying. If you buy I will give you back five, if you don’t I keep».
My friend and I pointed out that before he wasn’t doing anything, that there was no guarantee that any of the cameras worked or what the price would be. We also pointed out that he was essentially asking us to pay him to do his job, but he said if we didn’t like it we could leave. We told him to sit and spin and left.
I don’t get mad that often, but this was outright insane. I do photography and videography for a living, and I’ve never had such foul treatment come out of nowhere from a retailer. Avoid this place. Avoid the loud egyptian guy. If you meet the owner, tell him to sack that guy. Avoid, avoid, a thousand times avoid.
Edit: I called the Monk Thrift store in Williamsburg to see if I could get the number of the owner of the franchise, and they mentioned that they have no relation to this business. Don’t let my review deter you from going those places; They’ve treated me nicely every time and given me a fair price.

This is one of my favorite thrift stores and it’s too bad they don’t have any locations in NJ. It’s a small store, but they are able to fit mounds of stuff. It’s a little hippy-​trippy place that smells of incense and the staff is quite friendly. When you first walk in, the entrance is pretty narrow but on the left hand side will be $ 1 racks where I was able to find a couple nice shirts. They have a great selection of bags and shoes. Towards the very back are some coats. I was able to score a nice winter coat and haggled for $ 15 less than the price. They have 3 other locations aside from this one which I need to visit ASAP.

They have a lot of books for such a tiny store. Books were supposed to be something like $ 1 for paperback, $ 2 hardcover, but you can bargain. I ended up getting 14 books for 11.96 ($ 11 + tax), which is very close to the owner’s counteroffer of $ 12. Hm… I gotta get better at bargaining.

Too crowded! The clothes were not that great, the shoes were shitty, and it was pricier than most other thrift stores.

on the inside huge slection of clothing and accessories great place to go and buy stuff very happy with the selection they had and all the design on the inside cathes your eyes

I love the good prices, the grungy feel, and the taste of whoever picks out these clothes. :)

Just stopped in today as I heard of this place from a friend. There is quite a bit of good stuff here but I did not have time to browse. However. their jewelry is fantastic though a bit pricey and i did managed to get a size 6 ring for $ 18. Good place if you have the time to browse and love to find good deals.

Well, they did have some good finds, and some stuff was cheap, but a lot of it looked like shit. Just because they are kitschy does not mean you can try to sell me Pumas for $ 20 when they have gross stains all over them and smell like a corpse’s feet. If you’re willing to dig, you’ll find some good stuff, I suppose, but I don’t like feeling swindled when it’s clear the stuff wasn’t well-​maintained. You definitely leave feeling like you were at a thrift store, which is to say, feeling like you want a hot shower.
They do have a good selection of shoes and boots, and a decent amount of men’s clothing, too, to placate the bored boyfriends.
Jewelry and accessories seemed both awesome and reasonably priced, so it’s worth a second look, but make sure you check the things you buy for holes and weird stains that may or may not be needed as evidence in a court of law.

I love this place. The prices are great, and if you are willing to look (and look, and look), you can find hidden gems in this tiny thrift store. It can get quite crowded, but it’s one of my fave thrifts in the city.

Now THIS is what i’m talkin about. I grew up in California, home of the most awesome, warehouse sized thrift stores west of the Mississippi, and i have not been able to find a place in Manhattan that actually has thrifty prices. The place is small and dimly lit, but don’t be scared girls and boys, chances are you’ll probably find something. This one is cheaper than the one on 8^th, which is more vintage inspired (read: not thrift.)

Yay for Monk.
I do love myself a cheap store filled with goodies.
Feels like there’s still more to find even after you tore up the whole store.
My arms were tired from looking through everything. But Hey. Shopping is the only workout I get.

I get my haircut down the street from here, so I’ve often visited Monk when I had some time to kill. As the other reviews pointed out, Monk is «thriftier» than some of the expensive thrift shops so common to the E. Village, but you will have to dig. I bought a great bugle-​beaded flapper dress here in a pretty navy blue silk for about $ 15 and a black pencil-​skirted strapless tube dress with a sweetheart neckline for about the same. One time I went and there was a rad 80’s era one-​piece, mid-​thigh shorts, diagonal neckline crossover with huge shoulders and big pointy lapels. It was $ 30, still an excellent price for such an iconic piece of fashion (which, btw, has yet to be reinterpreted for today’s style so any designers reading this, I’ll accept royalties in the way of cool points and invites to your shows).
Shoes, accessories, hats, bags, and jewelry are all available. Racks are pretty packed, but if you’re in a digging mood, you should be able to find something.

it’s cheap, but the store is dirty, and everything looks kind of shady. but the prices are good! my friend left a skirt from trash & vaudeville in there, so maybe i’m a little jaded, because they refused to give it back to her.

finally! a thrift shop in nyc with thrift shop friggin prices! and a fairly decent selection at that.
a diamond in the rough.

Down south in Virginia, where unfortunately I grew up, thrift stores were plentiful. They were everywhere and as a little kid I thought people that shopped there were poor trash.
Then I hit middle school and realized that thrift stores had a mass of wealth in terms of untapped resources to add to my punk/​skater appearance. The weirder the better and what better place to find old weird clothes then a thrift store. I became obsessed. I hit up thrift stores everywhere. I single-​handedly went to everyone within a 40 mile radius of my house.
Then I moved up to New York.
Thrift stores here… oh I’m sorry, Vintage Clothing stores here are a joke. WAY too over priced. You might as well buy new. So I accepted the fact that I’d just have to save my thrifting jaunts for when I went back home to visit. I have however found a couple of thrift stores that are decent, buy no means are they anywhere near as cheap as the ones back home, but they are still pretty good. Monks is definitely one of those places. Plus, it’s right across the street from my apartment. The one on A is alright as well.

This was probably one of the best thrift shops that I’ve been to in the city. Besides a varied collection of clothing, the thing I loved most is the unbeatable prices. I was able to get a beautiful sweater that could have easily cost me over 40 dollars elsewhere, for only ten dollars. The owner is also very nice. Unlike other thrifts stores where the salespeople are breathing down your back, waiting for you to buy something, you’ll find no pressure to buy anything in here.
Definitely check out this place.

Okay, so this shop is a surprising find. I chatted with the guy who was working there (I think his name is Badu) and all of a sudden I was getting discounts on a leather skirt and board games.
It’s really nice to have found this place amidst all the expensive «thrift» stores (*ahem* Tokyo 7) in my neighborhood.

Finally. A thrift shop that sells things with price tags you’d expect from a thrift shop. Look around, don’t grow impatient, you’ll def. find several things that you’ll want to buy… and CAN because it won’t cause you your entire week’s savings.