Beyond Canberra: Amazing Goulburn Op Shops

A girlfriend and I decided to drive to Goulburn for a day of giant concrete ewe spotting:

Note the gathering of locals on bikes!

Cruising the quaint streets with lovely old buildings:

And of course, OP SHOPPING! 

Firstly, because I am a super helpful person (and super modest ;) here is a list of the Goulburn op shops that I visited, and some reviews:

Australian Red Cross Clothing Shop

146 Auburn Street. Goulburn

Don’t bother with this place. They try to be “upmarket” and have prices to match, but not the goods. I saw several ‘Expression’ (Kmart brand) products with prices ranging from $15-$20. They were probably cheaper new! I didn’t see anything worthwhile, nothing retro/vintage, and the prices are sorely inflated. For example, $13 for a used straw beach hat (no brand name). In a town with so much competition, I’m not sure how this place survives. The only shop where neither of us bought a thing!

Big Heart (Mission Australia) Op Shop

Shop 2, 148-158 Sloane Street. Goulburn

This was my favourite oppy – so cheap and such amazing retro crockery. They charge by the kilo for clothing ($5 per kilo)- my friend found an amazing vintage skirt and it cost her... wait for it.... 70 cents! Crockery was priced between 50c and $5, and books are 5 for $2.

Salvation Army — Red Shield Family Store

123 Auburn Street, Goulburn

This place is reasonably priced with sale racks up the front (vintage blouses for $1 when I was there). They have a large range of crockery and bric a brac, which unfortunately is mostly unpriced. You are at the mercy of the staff member who makes up a price on the spot, which I find a bit frustrating. Definitely worth a look see and on the whole the prices are good.

Smith Family Store

Ellesmere Street, Goulburn

This place had the best retro/vintage stock of everywhere we visited. I picked up my stunning 80s dress for a vintage ball there for $12, marked down from $25. They have a really large range of clothing, with less bric a brac. Clothing prices range from $2 - $10, with vintage items up to $25.

St Vincent De Paul — Vinnie’s Centre

Central Arcade (opp. Post Office), Auburn St, Goulburn

Friendly staff and standard prices, mostly ranging from $3-$10 for clothing. They didn’t have much crockery or bric a brac in stock on my visit, it was mostly clothes. 

Trish’s Trash & Treasure

1 Fenwick Cres, Goulburn (entry from Bradley St)

From the outside, we expected this place to house mostly furniture but inside we were surprised and amazed at the treasures it holds. Plenty of crockery, a lot of it dusty and dirty and you need to sort through it all to find the gems... but find the gems we did! The prices are very reasonable – my tea set (tea/coffee pot, 4 mugs, sugar) was $5. The prices varied though- I was surprised to see that a vintage Willow tray in very poor condition was $20. My friend picked up some hand painted pie dishes for $2 apiece.

And now (drumroll please....) for the day's finds:

Handpainted baking dishes, $2 each. Lemon water jug, $1. Tea set + potholder, $5.

Coffee set (pots, mugs & sugar holder) $5, Tasmanian pottery teabag holder $2.

Mushroom jar $2, strange pottery piece 50c.

Pyrex 50c! Arcopal France bowl, 50c.

Vintage bag $3, Johnson Australia Pottery bowl 50c.

 Hens party / wedding gag g-strings, 50c each.

Yellow stripe water jug $1, Op shopping bag {>>

Lambada leather tote, $10

 Unusual felt & knitted framed picture, $3

 Vintage orange skirt, 70c!

The most spectacular find of the day is yet to be posted, it's an amazing 80's dress that I'll be wearing to a vintage ball very soon... I will post photos after the event!


Linking up to Sophie's Flea-market Finds and Apron Thrift Girl.