“A revolving door of treasures”: Sunnyvale thrift shop gives back to community

The inside of the Nearly New thrift shop in Sunnyvale is a site to behold.

Every square footage of the faded green carpeted floors sags under the weight of numerous household objects: clunky kitchen appliances, trays of antique jewelry, rows of books, boxes of shoes, racks of clothing in every size and shade.

But when smiling shop volunteers zigzag their way through the maze of stuff — greeting customers by name and directing them to the latest donated items — there’s a cozy sense of order and camaraderie.

“We’ve been here for quite a long time,” said shop president Marcia Kearns. “Our neighbors know us and drop in regularly. There really is a revolving door of treasures to look at.”

It’s an inviting thrift store atmosphere that can only be acquired from being in the same location for decades and devoting itself to three intentions: collecting donated items from community members, selling them at an affordable cost and using the proceeds to help local students.

Nearly New has been operating out of its East Maude Avenue storefront in northern Sunnyvale since 1990. From Tuesday to Saturday between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., locals can drop by and browse through hundreds of second hand treasures — all of which cost roughly a third of what shoppers can find on eBay, according to store manager Teresa London.

The products varies from puzzles and small silverware, to bed linen and wooly yarn, to Papyrus greeting cards and small gift bags.

“I never have to buy a greeting card or gift bag (from a retail store),” London said with a laugh on a recent Friday morning inside the store.

Thrift stores are bountiful in the Bay Area, with dozens scattered across major cities like San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland. The number of Americans flowing through thrift store check-out lines are also on the rise, spurred on by a mix of economical concerns and sustainable considerations. In 2024, 35% of shoppers tried resale for the first time — an 8% increase in new shoppers compared to 2023, according to a report from OfferUp, an online marketplace.

Nearly New is seeing those growing demands too, according to London. Items usually flying off the counter and shelves, and volunteers can collect anywhere from five to 15 bags of donations a day.

There’s a designated space at the very back of the store where local residents can drop off their goods. Everyday the Nearly New team carefully checks the quality of each item — from the strength of the binding on a book to the sturdiness of a pair of heels — before setting them aside to be priced.

Whatever doesn’t pass the inspection are donated by to other second-hand organizations or directly to people in need. “Everything we get, we make use of,” Kearns said

The store is a brainchild of local San Mateo and Santa Clara County County chapters of PEO, an international women’s organization. Nearly New was originally opened to support a PEO-operated senior living community in Los Angeles. When the home closed in 2006, staff began using proceeds to fund scholarships for local high school and college students in San Mateo and Santa Clara County.

For the 2025-26 school year, the store raised $189,660 for scholarships. The money will help seven high schoolers and 24 undergraduate and graduate students. It’s a number that Nearly New volunteer proudly displays on a colorful poster by the entrance of the store, serving as a reminder that the profits are going back into the community.

“We feel really fortune to be able to help women achieve their goals and pay for things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to pay for,” Kearns said.

While locals and community groups say Nearly New is a meaningful service, volunteers like Linda Arbaugh appreciate the sense of purpose the work gives them.

On a recent Friday, Arbaugh clutches small purses in her hands while rummaging through book donations in the back rooms of the store. The 76-year-old is in charge of quality checking and organizing those two types of donations. The books always take a little longer to sort through; stacks of paper and hard backs line the tall floating shelves in the back area of the shop, and new ones are constantly being added.

Arbaugh said she doesn’t mind the tasks — after all she is a former librarian —  and finds the work fulfilling.

“So many awful things happen in the world,” she said. “It feels really good to be able to do something good for someone else.”