Hallo! I came across this website while googling thrift shops in Oahu.... we are travelling there in 6 weeks' time and I wanted to get the lowdown on where the good ones are on the island.
Over here in Australia (and NZ) we call these shops "Op Shops" as in Opportunity Shops and it is a big interest over here, too. The majority are charity run, mainly by churches eg St Vincent de Paul Op Shop (called Vinnies) is run by the Catholic Church, LifeLine is run by the Uniting Church, The Salvation Army (called The Sallies) is by the Salvation Army - of course!, Anglicare is run by the Anglican Church, then there are smaller ones run by the Baptist church, etc. We also have Red Cross Op Shops, and a variety of other charity run 'Ops', for example, The Cat Protection Society Op Shop, the Samaritans Op Shops (mostly in Tasmania), The Country Women's Association (CWA) Op Shops, and so on.... there are lots.
In 2006 we travelled around Australia in a caravan and had a great time checking out Ops all around our huge country! Last year we travelled to New Zealand and again enjoyed stopping in at various towns and visiting their Ops. The New Zealanders have a great website listing many of their Ops, but unfortunately there is not such a thing for Australia - it would be a huge undertaking.
So if any of you are thinking of coming down to Sydney in particular for a holiday, let me know and I will give you the lowdown on some great places to Op Shop.
And to my original Q: any recommendations for Oahu Op Shops and also, are the factory outlet shopping malls worth a visit??
Thank you and hope to make new friends on this site!
