Helping Hand Thrift Shop

Really enjoyed my visit to Helping Hand. I hadn’t visited in years and was on a mission (December 23^rd) for my sister for Christmas. I like this shop for the neighborly feel. The shop keeper let me browse the store on my own and checked in a few times to see if I needed help with fragile items. I bought a box of vintage Christmas cards from Neiman Marcus. I found a sweet little bone colored frame for my Dad and antique strawberry patterned dishes for me. The pattern is one I remember from my childhood in the 1980s. I haggled for those! I also almost purchased several sets of tea cups and saucers (good price of 1 $ per piece). Shop keeper wrapped everything neatly and was very cordial and professional during the transaction. He treated each piece like it was worth a million bucks which made the difference for me. I plan to return in the New Year to look at jewelry. Thank you!

This is a haggling location, so the price tags (when tagged) can definitely scare you away. There are a ton of treasures here, but the lack of organization is too overwhelming.
Found some cool books, but didn’t get to buy them because I waited at the counter and nobody came to help me.
The woman who was walking around the place who I assume is the owner was really pleasant, which is why this is a three star instead of one.

I took a stroll in the Helping Hand Thrift Shop today. I felt like I was in a walk-​in closet! I saw lots of clothes, books, and jewelry. There were also some furniture pieces, lamps, and carpets. Some of the furniture looked like they could use a paint job. If you’re an antique collector or need some props for a movie set, I’d recommend you check this place out.
For the record: I didn’t notice the price of any items.
Note: I saw a cool white-​and-​gold rotary phone (a vintage french-​style one).

Moji and Ben are very sweet people! Very helpful! Bought a lamp and nightstand… Got a great deal for both! Everything inside definitely has a vintage feel to it and there are many treasures you will find like I did!

This is a great shop. If you want to buy something and have it painted, they will do it for you! The price point is great, staff if friendly and it has so many great finds.

Hidden gems abound! I could spend a whole day in here routing around. Got a great antique brass lamp and they will work with you on price if you haggle.

I have been here a couple times, and I never fail to find something that catches my eye. There is certainly some junk in there, but there are also a lot of really cool, unique pieces.
On my last trip I found a really beautiful, old Persian rug which I fell in love with and just had to have. Initially the owner priced it very high for its size and condition, but I think he could tell how much I wanted it, and stopped me just before I was about to leave and haggled with me so it was more affordable. Now that I have it in my apartment, and I see how lovely and unique it is, I feel that I was given a great deal.
The bottom line is that you can find some serious treasure here (but you might have to dig a little). I look forward to coming back to find the next thing that I know will add that special touch to my place.

Ben was great, I found a cool 70“s glass Grape cluster for my mid century home. There are a lot of little treasures there!

I loved this place. Saw a dresser I really was looking for while passing by on Fairfax. Left with a beautiful painting, dresser and a mirror. Prices are very reasonable. The person working or the owner was very nice. Gave me some good deal. which I love. There is so much stuff in this store that can satisfy anyone’s taste. They have a beautiful collection of jewelry as well. Definitely coming back to this place.

I love this place! I’ve been a few times and found some really nice pieces at very reasonable prices. And the owners are very nice! I’ll definitely be back!

This place has a lot of cool items but they are a bit pricy. I bought a really nice dresser in great condition that is perfect for my needs. It was a bit pricy $ 100 used (I’m cheap) but I was desperate, they delivered, and it was the color I wanted.
Pros:
Excellent customer service
They deliver
Negociable
Cool unique one of a kind items
Family owned
Cons:
Pricy
Tons of stuff to dig from
I would go back. They have a lot of cool-​funky items, but next time I will be prepared to negotiate.

Helping hands has a great collection of locally discarded yet interesting objects. We have been sourcing books, encyclopedias, globes and other items from the 50s for our restaurant projects. They are always very friendly and willing to discuss discounts based on volume. If anyone ever needed a large selection of Jewish memorabilia or religious texts this would be the place.

This is the best thrift shop in LA hands down! Ive found such unique and exclusive pieces. I couldn’t get everything I wanted in 1 stop! I will be back soon ps the owners are lovely.

Moji gave me a great deal on a gorgeous green office chair. Thanks!

I love this place! I bought a gorgeous floor-​wall industrial mirror for a quarter of the price it sells on the market. Moji and his wife spent about half an hour securing the mirror on top of my car they were so sweet and very serious about me being able to get home safely with my mirror in pristine condition. Totally going back for any other antiques i’m planning on investing in.

This place is a hidden gem. A dresser that was in front of the store caught my eye and I immediately ran in to see what other fabulous pieces they might have. You definitely need to dig around but there are some real treasures in this store. The staff was very helpful and accommodating and helped me pick a dresser to refurbish. The piece was delivered within 24 hours and I am in love with it. I will definitely be back!

Like no. just avoid this place. It’s ridiculous.
Okay, so here’s the thing about Helping Hand Thrift Shop: They actually have a lot of really neat stuff that I would definitely like to own but buuttttt the prices are insane. It’s true that everything is more expensive in LA (do not even– do not even get me started) but forty bucks for a framed print of some weird wizardy dog thing? NO THANX. fifteen bucks for a glass that is available at valley value for a dollar? LOLZ.
The store is a mess and dirty and it’s a shame it’s called a thrift store. If this is a thrift store I am going to start shopping in my great aunt’s closet.
pros: it’s employing someone, I didn’t get mugged and nobody yelled at me for bringing my coffee in the store (#yolo)
cons: it’s a thrift store, parking, prices, cleanliness

There are people who like to have things displayed nicely on shelves and if you are that person, this may not be the place for you. I’m not that person and I thought this place was awesome! There may be some junk in this place, but there is also hidden treasures! I’m the kind of person that loves to dig through stuff. I found 3 or 4 items here on my first visit for a good price.
The woman who rang me up was extremely nice. She let me place my items at the front while I continued to browse and I had a nice conversation with her while purchasing my items.
Overall, I think this is a fun place to browse. If you don’t find anything, you don’t find anything. No harm done! But if you don’t show up, you might miss a great find!

Junk.
Lots and lots of junk.
Mostly Jewish and African themed junk. Cheap crap. Mass-​produced garbage with retail pricing like new.
You’ll find no hidden treasure here.
Of all the junk stores I’ve shopped, this is by far the junkiest. If I could write a song about pure junk, I’d write it about this gunk and then hide it in a trunk. If I could pen an ode to junk, I’d pen it about this place, apace, then launch it to outer space.
Specific examples:
— a standard Broguiere’s milk bottle $ 8 (I have a couple «themed» ones if you want them, PM, haha)
— $ 23 for a lump of glass (they say it’s a paper weight)
— $ 35 for a cheap glass water pipe with missing pieces
— $ 5 for an old Robert Ludlam book («Open» in the LBC sells for $ 1)
— $ 23 for a fading, frayed 6″ hula dancer (Made in Japan)
— $ 8 for an old canteen cover ($ 8!!!)
If this stuff has value then my garage is Ft Knox.
(but the sign says they’re available for filming, haha. You know, just in case you want to do a movie there)

They’ve got gadgets and gizmos aplenty. They’ve got whosits and whatsits galore. And gewgaws. And knickknacks. Baubles. Lagniappes. Trinkets. Swag.
No joke kiddos. If you’re on the hunt for some unusual tchotchkes, check this out. Smackdab in the middle of that mysterious Little Ethiopia street, the store’s crammed with cases of funky jewelry, clothes, furniture, art, books, and random stuff like antique film equipment, typewriters, and old traffic signals. It’s too bad that I went 10 minutes before closing time, but the owner was very sweet and told me I could just take my time. About half the stuff is labeled with the price and half of it’s not, but regardless, bring your bargaining A-​game because you’ll usually be able to haggle it somewhat. I got a necklace for $ 10 (originally $ 15), and an old Polaroid camera for $ 20 (originally $ 30). They wouldn’t go much lower initially, but mentioning that I was a poor student seemed to do the trick. :)