Had some time off last week, so I went and did a ReStore run. I'm noticing that they will only take and resell resi-grade lighting stuff. No HID, fluorescent, or anything that contains Hg. In the end, I found nothing worth buying...guess it's time to hang it up when it comes to them. It was that way at all locations except one (visited six locations)...this seems to be coordinated.
Anyone else noticed this in their area?

Mine still seems to take most types of lighting…they still have incandescent and CFL bulbs. I’ve found some nice vintage MV lamps in the past.

Haven’t had any luck with finding actual HID fixtures there though.

I do hear in general restores are getting stricter, I’ve heard lots of complaints that some won’t take used ceiling fans or any furniture or appliances that are over 10 years old. Of course I don’t know how they’d know the difference.

I think some of the Restores are trying to be like boutiques.

I’ve generally stopped trying to go to other restores than my local one. I’ve tried about 3-4 others and it was a waste of time and gas, I thought since they’re in denser areas and near the coast that I’d have better finds… but I came up empty handed every time.

The ones here still sell fluorescent and HID if they get them in the donations but for the most part, most of the items donated are residential grade stuff or LEDs with the odd fluorescent or HID.

Don't really see stuff like ballasts now either.

Value Village/Savers seems to take and sell anything they get their hands on. I've seen stuff like LPS, CMH lamps, ballasts there before.

If it's like on this side of pond I think it's quite common nowadays that second hand stores and such considers used light fixtures as junk that they don't want. Only exception seems to be more expensive design fixture. I kinda understand why they do it because there really doesn't seem to be almost any demand for used fixtures or "old" lighting stuff that is not considered antique.

There have been two metal halide spotlights at my local thriftshop for months now, for 15 euro a piece. Some of the old stuff is hard to sell. I'm not particularly fond of metal halide lamps so i'm not buying them either.

Can imagine that some shops are more selective in what they want to sell.
All of them still sell all types of residential lamps though.

 My ReStores told me a while ago that they aren't supposed to accept anything with Hg as it's too difficult and costly to dispose of if it doesn't sell . They also went on to tell me that they can't really control what comes in through large commercial donations .

 I do still stumble onto some interesting stuff from time to time .

I went to 3 ReStores yesterday (Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Bellflower) and they were all pretty much like what you described. Modern residential lamps and fixtures from large donations, and mostly LED bulbs. Some incs but modern ones from just before the ban. Bought nothing. Total bust. Last score was a few weeks ago at another ReStore in Oxnard and got a bunch of NOS Luxor incandescent bulbs. Scored a few new fluorescent and HID lamps at others.

Went to two Restores on Sunday, they didn't have much in terms of HID and the fluorescent stuff that was there was some PL lamps and some modern Philips F30T12/SW lamps. Had a bunch of newish incandescents, LEDs and a lot of residential grade fixtures, including some cheap two lamp F25T8 strips.

I went to 3 ReStores yesterday (Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Bellflower) and they were all pretty much like what you described. Modern residential lamps and fixtures from large donations, and mostly LED bulbs. Some incs but modern ones from just before the ban. Bought nothing. Total bust. Last score was a few weeks ago at another ReStore in Oxnard and got a bunch of NOS Luxor incandescent bulbs. Scored a few new fluorescent and HID lamps at others.

This has been my experience with a lot of Restores now too. The two in my city have been like this since ~2019 or so. A lot of the lamps (mostly LED) they're trying to sell aren't any less expensive than they would be to buy new. As of now, I've found that Restores in smaller towns and cities usually tend to have more interesting stuff.

I have avoided the restores in my area. One focuses on furniture, and no mercury or non-specalty incandescent lamps at any locations. I did find some interesting things at the restore up north in McHenry, but selection is not great. My biggest gripe with resore are their prices in general are at or just below retail price. There is a massive independent thrift store by me that I like to frequent and they sell anything you could imagine.

 All I'll say regarding ReStore is that like any other store , they are there to make money , not cater to collectors . Plus , you also need to factor what they pay to rent the space they're in . The building we moved into in 2005 cost us $3.76 per square foot per month back then !!  Then add in insurance , employee saleries and it adds up quickly . They need to stock popular stuff that'll sell quickly , not niche stuff that'll sit for awhile and take up valuable floor space . Also , if they accept cases of fluorescent tubes for example (hazardous waste) the cost to disposes of them if no one buys them just destroys any profit margins !

 All in all , I don't go into ReStore expecting to find rare items but it DOES occasionally happen and I do occasionally find some really good deals and cool items !

 Maybe someday I'll find that case of caution yellow Lifeguards !!  (HIGHLY DOUBT IT !!) 

Yeah, I've been buying more lamps I plan to use than lamps I plan to collect at the Restores now. Some of the Restores here have branched out into selling other goods too. One now has a clothing section and almost all of them have furniture too. Another tried making a separate section of more collectible stuff such as antiques.

Restores here are exempt from collecting sales taxes here and typically price things to around 50-75% of retail so if you have a use for it, the ones here are still a good deal.

Independent thrift stores are pretty nice too, they tend to price things cheaper than SA, GW, or VV and sometime have neat stuff there. 

Maybe someday I'll find that case of caution yellow Lifeguards !!  (HIGHLY DOUBT IT !!) 

Yeah, I have that fantasy too!

My ReStore has clothes, books (formerly, but "too many thieves" they claim), tools, electronics, CDs (formerly also), light bulbs, appliances, renovation materials, etc.

In regards to pricing, the store is definitely hit or miss. It all depends on the person stamping the price stickers and their current mood. I've seen cases of fluorescent lamps (6pk) at $6, or $1/each lamp, but I've also seen cases split up and lamps (attempted to be sold at) $5 each. THEY'RE F32T8s FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. Additionally, my store has ZERO issue with mercury or any of the Hg stuff. Anything that comes in is sold. Just got some metal halide lamps from there last weekend.

Though most fixtures they sell are resi-grade stuff, I've caught older shoplights and whatnot before, and usually for not too much.

Don't even get me started on the prices of LEDs.............. you can get a pack of four incandescent lamps for $1 or a pack of three LEDs for $8. And they're not even name-brand; only Up and Up garbage.

Though I guess luckily for me the employees tend to give me discounts on unpriced or even overpriced items. There's definitely an occasional 25 or 50c buying spree to be had......


Though honestly in regards to lighting, one of my other local ReStore has A TON of it! Fixtures everywhere. Industrial shoplights (NOS and used, mainly Simkar), Cree LED HID retrofits, instant fit T8s, bulk packs of GE LED PARs for like $2 each, etc. It's just that it's never stuff that I want or need.....

The ReStores around me seem to sell whatever they can get their hands on. Last time I went, I got an ElectroPak 35w HPS wallpack of 1980s vintage. Every time I've gone, they seem to have something interesting, and they don't have a problem with selling fluorescent or HID lamps/fixtures. However, they don't have particularly high prices, and the items are usually on sale.

The two Goodwills near my house don't seem to care about mercury content in the products they sell. Both of them use traditional means to light the stores - MH in the parking lot, F32T8 or PL fluorescent indoors. Only one LED in sight - a small strip lighting a convenience cabinet. You can usually tell which thrift stores care about mercury content by the lighting they use - if it's converted to LED, it's unlikely you will find anything. This does not always hold true, as the Value Village down the way doesn't seem to care either, and it's converted fully to LED (except in the parking lot, where it's MH.)

I've found that thrift stores that are run by churches tend to have very good prices. There's a place called PACS Thrift in East Portland that sells things at bargain-basement prices. They usually have some very interesting things in regards to lighting. It was there that I found a 275W SBMV reflector lamp. Now THAT was quite a find!