About Us

In the Fall of 2019, a few months after Shmuel was laid off due to budget cuts, Karen was helping a client of hers to get organized so she could be ready to move out of the house that she was selling and into a smaller apartment, the client asked Karen if she sold furniture and appliances. She responded that she did not, but, after discussion with Shmuel, he decided to help her to sell her things. That began the start of what became Shmuel's consignment business for moving and estate sales.

The consignment business was doing very well and beginning to attract clients from not only in Beit Shemesh, Israel but also from other cities and towns in the vicinity as well as in Jerusalem and the Gush Etzion region. There were several moving and estate sales lined up and in progress in March of 2020 when Corona came along and business came to a complete halt.

Fast forward to August of 2022. Karen was in the process of rebuilding her organizing business after Corona. Her reputation for her skills put her in high demand especially after Corona when many people were forced into the position of having to deal with clearing out homes of loved ones that had passed away and needed someone to assist in the task of deciding what to keep, what to donate, and what to trash. A local Real Estate Agent that was aware of her reputation contacted her to inquire if she did moving sales. He was working with a client that was selling his parent's home because they had recently moved into an assisted living facility. After discussing it, Karen and Shmuel decided to run the estate sale together.

That sale was very successful, and it started what has developed into a significant portion of their business. By the end of April of 2023, they no longer had room in their home to store excess merchandise. Fortunately, a relative that would be moving to Israel in the summer of 2023 had an empty apartment that they offered them to use for the storage of merchandise.

Shmuel came up with the idea of running pop-up sales from the apartment in the beginning of May of 2023. Over the next four months, They ran a pop-up sale on an average of once per week. These sales were helping to liquidate their growing inventory of merchandise. At the same time, they continued to run moving sales, garage sales, and estate sales for clients primarily in Beit Shemesh but also located all over the center of Israel. In the end of August of 2023, they needed to vacate the apartment that they were using, so the search began for a suitable and affordable location. 

They found a storage space that could be converted and used for a small retail store. That space is located in the central shopping area. It is in a parking garage where other similar spaces have been converted and are being utilized for retail stores under a popular and busy supermarket. 

Secondhand Israel was born! Shmuel has more than 20 years of experience working in retail stores and in retail management, so running a retaill thrift store is right up his alley. They had their soft opening in mid-September a week before the Rosh Hashanah holiday. They had intended to have a grand opening in mid-October. In November, they set and had regular business hours. 

They have seen an increase in inventory, as the retail store is now becoming a destination for people to bring their pre-owned household goods (not clothing) that are in a condition that meet their high standards of what is sellable. They have so much inventory currently in stock that they do not have the space to display it all. They were able to rent the storage space next to the retail outlet, and they use that for storage of overflow merchandise to be able to rotate what merchandise they display on the shelves. 

 Secondhand Israel has very quickly become a destination store for people seeking to buy pre-owned household goods. It is THE thrift store in Beit Shemesh. In fact, while there are many secondhand clothing stores, it is unique in that it is the only secondhand store exclusively selling household goods.