St Austells Church Op Shop: a quiet Wednesday-and-Saturday stop in New Lynn

New Lynn has become one of west Auckland's busier op-shopping precincts, with a Savemart and several charity stores clustered around the town centre. St Austells Church Op Shop, tucked away on Margan Avenue, is a much smaller and quieter proposition — a church-run shop selling donated clothing, homeware and bric-a-brac to support the parish's community work.

There isn't much written online specifically about the op shop itself, but reviews of St Austells Church more broadly describe a welcoming congregation with a strong sense of community and a real family feel, which is generally a good sign for how a church-run shop treats its customers and volunteers.

The shop keeps short hours — Wednesday and Saturday mornings, 9am until midday — so it rewards a bit of planning rather than a spontaneous drop-in. Outside those windows the shop is closed, in keeping with its small, volunteer-run scale.

It's an easy addition to a New Lynn op-shop loop: pair a Wednesday or Saturday morning visit with the nearby Savemart and other secondhand stores in the town centre for a fuller trawl through the area's stock.