After my post in September in which I shared about great used clothing bargains I found, I was asked by a number of people for the details on where I went. I don’t track my readers, and though I know there are people reading my blog in a number of different countries, it’s been an eye opener that so many people in Israel were reading this well before I moved here!
There are clothing exchanges (gemachim) all over the country, but I don’t know about most of them yet, and probably won’t, since I’m not going to travel all over to get used clothing! Here’s the details on where I went in Ramat Beit Shemesh, which is about a forty five minute drive from Jerusalem.
1) 23/2 Reviim – this is where I started, and where I recommend anyone going starts out. Their prices are the least expensive and there’s a very large selection. The woman running it is an incredibly special person who a good friend of mine has told me about for years who I had long wanted to meet – I was just sorry to learn what her last name was later that evening, after I was long gone! The prices are 2 shekels for a pair of shoes, 2 shekels per item for kids ages 12 and under, 3 shekels an item for over age 12.
Dd11 is tall for her age, so the clothes I bought her were size 16 – 18 (girls), but I was told that since I was buying them for someone below the age of 12, to pay the children’s price. That was very nice, don’t you think?!
They also have backpacks, purses, some linens, and tzitzis. I think the backpacks were a shekel each, I don’t remember now for sure, but the tzitzis were definitely a shekel a pair. That was an amazing price since I needed a few pairs, which would have cost me about 30 shekels each. The woman who runs this is an English speaker.
2) The second place I went wasn’t a clothing exchange, but was a person who every couple of weeks does a used clothing sale. I’m going to include her information here, since she does it regularly enough for it to be a good resource to be aware of. Her address is 3/16 Nachal Zohar, the third floor. You can call her beforehand to find out when she has a sale – 050-678-9422. She is a native French speaker, so you’ll need to speak to her in Hebrew unless you speak French.
The used items were 5 shekels each, and she had a bargain box of things that were damaged or for whatever reason not selling (eg kids clothing with words on it) – anything in the box was 3 items for a shekel. She also has brand new things – I bought brand new womens’ skirts with the tags still on for 10 shekels.
3) 40 Sorek – this is the most expensive of the places I went, and I think it’s good to go to the most expensive places last – if you can find what you want more cheaply, than why not? The entrance to this isn’t in a building, but down a huge flight of stairs outside – maybe three flights down? This is also run by a lovely woman who is an English speaker.
I believe the prices were 5 – 20 shekels per item; 5 – 10 for children’s clothing, depending on what it was, and the ladies clothing was 10 – 20 per item. There were some very nice things there and you can really find something lovely for Shabbos or the holidays.
For my Israeli readers: have you ever gone to any of these places? Are there other gemachim that you’d recommend and can share the address of? For my non-Israeli readers: where have you found great bargains on clothing?
Avivah
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