The stereotypical college student is always short on cash. This makes thrift shopping a must, but looking through an entire store to find the right clothes can be time consuming.
The creators of the Buffalo Exchange, a new-and used-clothing store, were frustrated with spending their time in thrift stores and sometimes not even finding decent clothes. The Exchange was founded in 1974 in Tucson, Ariz., by Kerstin and Spencer Block with the mission to provide people quality and stylish used clothes. Since then, the Exchange has added 20 other locations throughout eight states.
Mary Kolego, manager of the Eugene store at 131 E. 5th Ave., actually worked at the first store. She said the Buffalo Exchange was the first store to give people cash from their clothes the moment they are traded in. The Eugene store will give people 35 percent of what they will sell an item for in cash, or 50 percent in trade. For example, if an item was sold for $10, the original seller would get $3.50 in cash or $5 for trade.
Every employee of the Buffalo Exchange is authorized to buy clothes from customers. Associate Manager Jacob Buerk said the individual choice gives each store a different flavor.
“Since Eugene is such a diverse town, we try and buy for a diverse clientele,” Buerk said.
But the Buffalo Exchange won’t buy everything. It is strict about clothes being clean, in good condition, in season and in style.
“It’s a step up from Goodwill and St. Vincent DePaul because we do all the weeding through for the customers,” Beurk said.
Customer Michelle Holman knows this about the Buffalo Exchange, which helps her avoid buying new clothes. But her choice to avoid consumerism doesn’t mean she has infinite patience.

“I don’t go to Goodwill because I don’t have the commitment to go through each item,” she said.
Although this makes the Buffalo Exchange a reliable source of quality, customers wishing to sell clothes may not get rid of everything. But the store allows people to leave anything that isn’t bought to be picked up by St. Vincent DePaul or First Place Family shelter.
This isn’t the only act of charity that the Buffalo Exchange does. If customers choose not to take a bag with their purchases, they will receive a token that represents 5 cents to one of three local charities chosen by the store. The charities rotate, but Kolego has her own philosophy.
“We try and have a human-related one, an animal-related one and an environmentally related one,” she said.
Kolego said that the owners of the company are much more socially minded than most businesses, perhaps one of the reasons that the Buffalo Exchange isn’t a name as big as some other stores.
Buerk said the store doesn’t spend much money on advertising, relying more on word of mouth. And after a little rough start just a year and a half ago in Eugene, he believes the Buffalo Exchange is really starting to come into its own.