A welcome change

Avalon Exchange

115 Atwood St.

Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 8… Avalon Exchange

115 Atwood St.

Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Sunday Noon to 6 p.m.

I had been in Avalon before. It was usually after I had amassed a large amount of cash and wanted to update my wardrobe with one well-selected piece of fashion-forward merchandise. In this world of work-study, retail, food service and my absolute favorite, unpaid internships, aka “We tried getting monkeys to work for a while but they kept throwing poop at each other,” that was all I could afford.

This time it was different. I was in the store for 10 minutes and realized I had found heaven right here in South Oakland. What was once plain old “Avalon” is now “Avalon Exchange.” You may have noticed the inconspicuous letters on the windows that say “buy, sell, trade.” Now stop for a minute and think about this. You can bring in clothes you don’t wear and come out with either cash, or clothes that you actually like.

Store owner Stuart McLean said, “This is great for two reasons: Students always need money, and once this concept is realized we’ll have between five and six thousand pieces of merchandise averaging at $10 a piece.”

Now for those of you who get defensive at mention of the word consignment, don’t worry, this isn’t it. “We are still retail,” McLean said. “We won’t take anything that’s dirty, stained or holey.” Here’s how it works: Bring in something that’s in style, in good condition, and preferably in season. It can be clothes, shoes or accessories. Come out with either 30 percent of Avalon’s retail price – what they think they can sell your item for – in cash, or get 45 percent of that price in store credit.

In the name of journalistic integrity, I had to try this out. Obsessive about clothing, I usually have a hard time giving anything up. But with the promise of cash or the thrill of the hunt, it’s not so hard. I walked in with a small bag of stuff: five shirts, a skirt and a vest. Each piece was examined and tagged. One was rejected because of a questionable bleach stain on the shoulder. But all in all, with no pain inflicted either emotionally or physically, I had my choice of $14 cash, or $21 to spend on my heart’s desires. Awesome.

And that’s exactly what customer Anjali Sachdeva said: “I always liked Avalon, but thought it was a little overpriced. Now the prices are decent, and the fashions are awesome. You don’t even really have to dig.” I agreed completely as I looked through rack after rack of nice clothes. Name brands are numerous, and nothing is ragged or damaged.

Shortly after drooling over a $12 Banana Republic jacket and $4 basic Gap T-shirt, I decided to check out the guy’s selection. Corey Mizell was shopping on his break from work and it was his first time in the store. While searching through a full rack of pants he laughed and said, “I can’t believe these prices: $12 for a pair of jeans.”

To quell one last possible worry – that maybe Avalon Exchange won’t be as edgy as Avalon – they still have new retail that is being liquidated. Translation: Great brand names such as Puma and Adidas are still there, but the prices are constantly dropping. And in the future, they will supplement their in-store buying with new samples from the latest brand names. Manager Crystal Wyllison explained what this means. There will be a small selection of new brand names, at cheaper prices than we’re used to. The store will also be undergoing a whole lot of renovation, so an even cooler environment is soon to come.

In case you were wondering, this writer made it out of there with a brand new pair of baby blue sneakers by Simple, for a grand total of 40 cents. So if you need money, or an outfit, even if it has to be formal (they have formal dresses), rethink your next trip to Novum and just look through your closet.