NEWPORT BEACH : Thrift Store Offers More Than Bargains

Discovery Shop is more than just an ordinary thrift store. It is also, according to its operators, a place in which “while you discover great buys, you’re helping to discover a cure for cancer.”

Run by the Orange County Chapter of the American Cancer Society, the small shop tucked behind a diner at Acacia Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway recently passed $1 million in sales, thanks to its eclectic collection of used goods.

The “fabulously enchanting” feat, said shop manager Sheila Farmer, is “a big deal to us because everything is donated.”

The 1,600-square-foot store is operated under the society’s fund-raising arm to generate money for cancer education. Although it is a secondhand store in the sense that items have been used, Farmer attributes its success to dispelling a “thrift shop” image by using unique arrangements of merchandise and insisting on quality.

For example, the store in September will offer clothes that actress Diane Keaton wore in “Godfather III” and “Baby Boom,” thanks to the efforts of Keaton’s mother, Dorothy Hall, a staff member who grew up in the area and frequently donates such unusual items to the store.

Tom McPherson, the Cancer Society’s director of marketing communications, agreed that the caliber of the merchandise is what sets the shop apart.

“Look at who they’re competing against here in Orange County, not only the resale outlets, but also the big chain outlets,” McPherson said.

Farmer is the only paid employee at the shop, where 63 volunteers do everything from sorting donations to ringing up sales.

After careful inspection, accepted items usually are marked down from 50% to 75% from their estimated original value. Rejected items go to other charitable organizations.