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I think we found this place by accident. We didn't have much time our first trip, so we made a point of going back the next day. The first day I walked up to the counter with some odds and ends with no prices on them and some photos and he said $5 for the whole pile, which seemed like a steal. The second day I think evened out the deal since he charged my husband $5 for a tiny glass zipper puller thing...maybe he marked us as tourists.
The photo file cabinets could occupy me for days. Although they need a better system for the larger photos--rolled up and shoved in the drawer, not the best or easiest.
Tons to look at, seems like good people.
I ran into a friend from college country here. We had one of those catch-up in 10 minutes conversations that are both noteworthy and totally hilarious simultaneously, in that the likelihood of conveying exactly what's been happening to you for x number of months/years is about as probable as being able to successfully purchase Tommy the store cat. So, for the benefit of the Yelp community, I've prepared a stock conversation to be used for quick catch-up. Note, you can only use the below material at Really Good Stuff. It may be adapted to other businesses and settings, but I can't guarantee the flow.
You: Hey ___ (insert longtime absent friend's name)!
Friend: Hey, you! What's up?
You: Oh, just checking out ___ (insert name of random furniture or novelty item).
Friend: Cool. What've you been up to?
You: Lots, really. What are you up to?
Friend: We're looking at these ___ (insert name of oddball musical instrument or spiritual sheet music).
You: Cool. You know what you really need? One of those ___ (gesture towards random ferret pelt/pachinko machine/crinkled black and white photo of someone's beloved Great Aunt Helga). It'll set you apart from the rest.
Friend: For sure. Take care.
You: You, too!
Who says that keeping in touch is hard?
Really Good Stuff is pretty amazing. I find it's a great place for small gifts and for arts and crafts projects. Occasionally you'll find a stellar piece of musical equipment too, but then it's usually too expensive. That's my main peeve about this place. Too expensive. The owner is a cool guy in my opinion. Maybe not a warm and inviting guy, but interesting and fun to talk to.
It's really fun to go off searching through the piles of junk for treasure. Usually I spend a long time trying to find something cool but usually succeed. The cat and dog that are usually there are both adorable. The cat seems to prefer to rest on top of the vinyl collection. Definitely worth checking out once a month to see what new oddities have arrived.
This place does, in fact, have really good stuff.
Besides the really good stuff, they also have a fantastically cluttered and dusty atmosphere which makes finding things quite the adventure. They have the obligatory cute cat that wants you to play with it, and the proprietor spent quite a bit of time with us explaining how the old timey mechanical gambling games work. They are addictive.
Go, dig, and find a reasonably priced treasure.
This is a great "junk" store with a lot of treasures buried in the dusty clutter. And for once, the sign that says, "Satisfaction Guaranteed," isn't just an empty promise. They actually mean it. I bought a piano for 600 bucks (including delivery) that myself and the proprietor thought was in decent condition. It turned out to need expensive repairs. After some deliberation, I got to keep my money and the piano, which I am free to either repair or give away to someone who'd like to repair it.
However, I would still caution against buying a used musical instrument (okay, a piano) from these folks unless you have extensive knowledge of that instrument and are confident that it's in good shape. Or bring someone who does have the proper expertise to check it out first.
All that aside, the people who own this shop are helpful and fair in their dealings with customers, and I plan to return again.
I LOVE this place... I love those guys.. and Molly the Dog & Tommy the Cat-dog.. RGS is a GENUINE ANTIQUE JUNK STORE! The real deal.. Authentic to the core.! Treasures to be unearthed and antique dealers that leave alone and let you LOOK through everything.. As long as your respectful about your enthusiasm. Scarce rare and just plain GOOD musical instruments & equipment, too. LEAVE THE CHILDREN AT HOME..! Bicycles, old advertising, rugs, furniture, glassware, pottery and cases loaded with bottom of the drawers DELIGHTS! I hang out there as often as possible!
What a great place to dig through. Both time's I've been here I got sucked into the file cabinets of old photos and slides and purchased some at a very reasonable price. The people behind the counter have always been nice and helpful, and the cat is a nice addition. I could easily spend an entire afternoon exploring.
Instant Relatives, Costumes, and Cat-themed restroom!
So we were in Portland visiting some relatives for a week. After exhausting downtown, we hopped on the 15 bus to get back to SE, and through the bus window I saw Really Good Stuff on SE Hawthorne. They had some cool stuff outside, so we yanked the stop chain and disembarked from the bus.
Whoa, treasures galore! My sister went straight for the Instant Relatives section, which has multiple file cabinets full of old photos, separated by "Uncles," "Grandmas," "Sisters," etc.
There was so much cool stuff in there, but the store owner wants to hang on to most of it, you can tell, because the shite isn't priced to move. Old film reels for a DOLLAR a MINUTE?!? So you want 80 BUCKS for this random partial film that we can't even see first? Whatever.
So in the end, we dug through a lot, but walked away with very little. I picked out a couple of postcards cause they said 10c on them, but I guess that was the old price (what they were at the estate sale), cause the guy at the counter charged me 50c a piece. Sadface bumtown.
This place is great for entertainment and killing time, but not so great for actual collectors. Think of it as a museum, or an old attic belonging to your friend's grandfather.
Five stars for funness, minus one star for pricing.
Really Good Stuff is a cavernous pile of junk that is tempting to paw through. There are plenty of diamonds in the rough here and their specialties are old musical instruments, oddities, old family photos, and old cameras. I'll always regret that I didn't buy that 3-D camera I saw here a few months ago. Don't be afraid to wander into the back--they store larger furniture and pianos back here. A least a few cats live in here somewhere, so don't be surprised if your purchases are garnished with cat hair or if you find a kitten sleeping on one of the sofas for sale. It only adds to the feeling that you're in someone's cluttered house digging through theirs and their dead ancestors belongings. Always worth a look.
I almost bought an accordion from here, but I realized that involves paying for it. However, this place is fun to browse around in. Drawers of old snapshots of people who are probably all dead! Funny hats! Old gambling machines! Animals! (Well, they aren't for sale.)
A bunch of old organs? Check. Some weird 16mm films? Check. A surly cat? Check. Really Good Stuff is the type of place that will never have exactly what you're looking for but will have dozens of other fascinating replacements for your heart's desire. Like a cross between a vintage music store, an awesome thrift store and your grandparent's basement, RGS can suck you in for hours if you're not careful. But if you're like me, that's a good thing.
Great place for oddball stuff. They have carcasses of old electric pianos, hammonds and leslie rotating speaker parts. Many collectables and cool art prints. Cool little place that makes portland unique.
What don't they have here? It's all jumbled and a mess, so don't go in looking for Crate and Barrel organization. You have to take your time, peruse the goods, pet the cat, pet the dog, touch a few things, remember that you used to have that exact same toy, and your grandmother had that horrific oil painting too! It's just that kind of place. The guy working there was nice and helpful. It doesn't get five stars because parts of it are difficult to navigate and it certainly isn't accessible to people with any kind of locomotion issues. I could have spent all day there just looking at stuff. I didn't want any of it, because my husband is firmly anti-stuff and I would get yelled at if I brought anything home that didn't have a concrete purpose in the bigger scheme of household goods, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy looking at all the fabulous treasures and wondering who owned them before.
Neighborhood: Central Eastside
Category: Hardware Stores
Neighborhood: Northeast Portland
Category: Used, Vintage & Consignment
Neighborhood: Northwest
Category: Jewelry
Portland, OR
Category: Antiques
Neighborhood: Ladd's Addition
Category: Furniture Stores
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