Project Purr

What a find! I dropped off some treasures and bought some more! Such a high quality and lovely store. The two ladies were wonderful and nice to chat with. This store is not the typical thrift store… it is filled with beautiful antiques, clothes, jewelry, a huge variety of items. Something for everyone! I can’t wait to return. Just moved to the area and this is where I will go to buy gifts and more treasures for ME. Also, this store supports the feral cats… which I LOVE. A pleasure to do business with Project Purr.

I loved the idea of this store so we swung in for a visit. I don’t know if the person who worked here just wanted to close up early or we just don’t get the structure of the store but everything we asked about wasn’t for sale.
How much for the chairs? They are not for sale. Is that picture for sale? Nope. Can we look at that other picture? Nope, and you’ll have to ask the owner. And by the way, we are closed for the long weekend starting tomorrow through Tuesday.
Great idea for a shop. But the execution? Just a suggestion… In a charity/​thrift shop, if you are going to have items that aren’t for sale, maybe make a dedicated section where they serve an obvious purpose and don’t mix it in with or make them look like merchandise? We went in with the assumption that everything was for sale to support a good cause. We guessed wrong.

Like all thrift stores, what you find depends on what’s been donated, but Project Purr consistently has high quality stuff, old and new. I’ve bought quite a few things here. Their prices are reasonable for the quality you get, and it’s a very good cause. I stop here every time I’m in Santa Cruz. There’s a small parking lot and usually on-​street parking which makes it easy.

Wonderful items for a marvelous cause. This is not your bargain basement thrift store. They have beautiful things at good prices; items you’d want in your home and/​or to buy as gifts. A Santa Cruz MUST.

This isn’t really a thrift store. This is a vintage resale non profit to support a cat specific animal rescue/​support organization called project purr. If you are a cat lover ask about the non profit this store supports. If you aren’t really into cats or god forbid you don’t like cats its best to pretend that you have no idea they exist for the duration of your shopping.
Due to a constant ebb and flow of stock there are new items all the time. This place focuses on higher end collectibles/​fashion. When I was here there was a small selection of Hummel figurines, a first edition Beatrice Potter book, and some 1940′ era balsa kits amongst a wide array of other items.
Don’t think it’s all semi rare collectibles however, they also had a rack of suit coats, costume jewlery and the usual collection of dvd’s/cd’s common to stores of this type everywhere.
What is different here is that the volunteer staff are unusually dedicated/​knowledgeable. They really are careful about what is selected as stock and how it is displayed. All the items are in really good condition, which is not always the case at other super thrift stores.
Prices can be negotiable. Last fall they had a 17^th century italian desk (with provenance no less) which according to the interwebs should have sold for 3 – 4 thousand dollars (they priced it at 2500). After it’d been there for a few weeks a guy made an offer for 400 or so. After some back and forth they let it go for a little over 500. So if something has a stupid price ask/​make an offer.
Note that when you go there it may not be overflowing with ridiculous deals like that, but it’s an example of the kind of thing that can happen here which is the best reason to drop by when you can because you never know what’ll be in stock. Except for the Hummel figurines. Those for sure will still be there.
Personally I shop there when I need a small gift, or for some household decoration, But I know of at least one person who drops in just to check to see if they have any furniture.

This is a higher end thrift store. The store is very cute. The volunteer staff is very friendly. Unique finds here. Worth a stop just to see how cute and well displayed the merchandise is. I bought a pair of keen waterproof sandals for $ 15. They were new. Looked online. They are $ 100 – 110. So, you have to know your brands and quality. Good bargains to be had.

I love Rescued Treasures !!! it is like going to 50 stores all at once ! Whenever I need a unique gift or something special for me or my home … this is where I go ! This isn’t a *thrift store* … it is a shop full of beautiful items and all the proceeds to go Project Purr (:

This thrift shop is overpriced although they appear to have nice stuff. I even asked today if they are having any sales and the clerks seemed shocked that I would ask that. It is a fair question as most thrift shops do. Anyhow, I was just in the store for about 10 minutes when I decided to leave and go to the Salvation Army which is nearby. The Salvation Army always has good deals and sales in comparison.
Pros:
–Nice selection of quality merchandise
Cons:
–No weekly sales or discounts
–pricey for a thrift shop