You are supporting an amazing cause!
To schedule a pick-up or for more information, call us at (805) 964-1123.
Donation GuidelinesAlpha Thrift Stores are owned and operated by Alpha Resource Center of Santa Barbara. This means with every great purchase you become an admirable supporter of Alpha Resource Center and its mission to empower individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by support families, creating opportunity, and fostering belonging.
For more than 40 years Alpha Thrift Store has a been a fixture in the Santa Barbara community and an essential source of income as Alpha provides supports and services for the families and individuals in our community who are affected by an intellectual or developmental disability.
Regularly voted "Best Thrift Store" in the annual Santa Barbara Independent reader poll, Alpha Thrift Stores are clean, organized for easy shopping, and well-stocked with treasures and items to meet your everyday needs. Come visit us today and do a good thing for you and your community.
Additional Information
Accepted Payment Types
We accept cash, debit, and the following credit cards -- Visa, MasterCard, Discover.
We are unable to accept personal checks but do accept traveler’s checks.
Donation Guidelines
At Alpha Thrift Stores in Santa Barbara and Goleta, our goal is to always provide you, our customers, with exceptional customer service. We offer free pick up at your home or business for donations in resalable condition such as clothing, furniture, jewelry, bric-a-brac, toys, small appliances, flat screen TVs, shoes, collectibles and much much more.
DROP-OFF DONATIONS
Donations are accepted at all three store locations during normal operating hours.
(Holiday hours may vary.)
Dropping off items before stores open or after hours is prohibited. Donations must be clean, in working order, and salable, otherwise they will be denied. Acceptance is subject to staff discretion.
Due to customer demand, storage and recycling costs, and safety we are not able to accept all donated items. Please reference the lists below when preparing your donations.
We appreciate the following types of donations:
Clothes, DVD/Blue-Ray videos, rugs, tools, accessories, books, jewelry, albums, stereos, furniture, paintings, shoes, some electronics, seasonal Items, bric-a-brac, household items and other similar items. Large items such as armoires and china cabinets are subject to driver discretion and weight limits.
We DO NOT accept the following types of donations:
- Air Conditioners
- Air Hockey Tables
- Baby Furniture
- Bedding or Linens
- Building Materials
- Built in Appliances/Cabinets
- Car Batteries
- Car/Bike Racks
- Carpeting
- Cassette/VHS Tapes or Players
- Chemicals or Paint
- Copiers
- CRT Televisions/Big Screen TV’s or Computer Monitors
- Curtain/Drapery Rods
- DAMAGED OR SOILED ITEMS
- Desks
- Disassembled Furnishings
- Encyclopedias
- Entertainment Centers
- Exercise Equipment
- Freezers/Refrigerators
- Furniture needing cleaning or reupholstering
- Headboards/Footboards/Bed Frames
- Lateral File Cabinets
- Magazines or Newspapers, Mattresses/Box Springs
- Office Partitions
- Older Microwaves
- Outdoor Plastic Toys
- Pet Beds
- Pianos or Organs
- Ping Pong Tables
- Plastic Furniture
- Printers
- Skis or Ski Equipment
- Stereo Consoles
- Stoves
- Swing Sets
- Textbooks
- Unboxed Christmas Trees
- Unframed Mirrors
- UNSALABLE ITEMS
- Washer/Dryers
- Water Softening Systems.
Alpha does not purchase or do consignments.
Alpha Resource Center of Santa Barbara is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that provides services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. The corporation’s federal identification number is 95-1966996. A full disclosure is available at the administrative offices at 4501 Cathedral Oaks Road during regular business hours.
Store Policies
All items are sold AS IS. To help customers determine if an item works, we have a testing table and batteries available in the furniture area. Customers can also bring in any equipment necessary to determine if an item works.
There are no returns, exchanges or refunds. Please make sure that you are satisfied with the items you are purchasing; all sales are final.
All prices are fixed.
Items without a price tag or with price tags torn, removed or altered will not be sold. All such items must go through our store pricing procedure and will be put out on the sales floor after it is priced. Pricing cannot be done on request, except for furniture which a manager can price on the floor.
Furniture that has been paid for can be held overnight.
All furniture purchases must be picked up by store closing of the following day.