Ostensibly, the Second Chance Thrift Store sells overstock, factory seconds, closeouts, damaged goods, items bought from estate auctions, and so on; usually, they purchase goods (with no questions as to the legitimacy of their origin) at 10 to 20% of their value, and resell them at about a third to half value. The store is open from 6 AM to 6 PM every day except Sunday. Burglars, deliverymen, and wholesalers arrive or phone in to sell their goods first thing in the morning, while casual shoplifters and petty criminals tend to arrive in the afternoon.

The Second Chance is staffed by various apparently-low-wage employees who stock shelves and man the front registers. However, 'Second Chance' also refers to the fact that their protective aprons are actually quite capable of withstanding a bullet, beam, or knife if necessary, and all of them are at least passable marksmen and are well-paid for their services and loyalty. (Rumor has it that it is actually a training ground for organized crime where pickpockets and sleight-of-hand cons learn their art; watch your wallet carefully when near the shelf-stockers, and count your change carefully.)

The purchasing department consists of the manager, Zeke, and his two purchasing assistants, Lydia and Jake. Zeke handles most day-to-day transactions within the store; Lydia negotiates with factory buyouts and similar discounted goods; Jake works estate and police auctions. All of them have concealed-carry permits, due to the large amount of on-hand cash they carry to conduct business; Zeke has a double-barreled custom electrolaser/shotgun called 'The Shocker' as his personal tool of choice.

The Second Chance does sell projectile and beam weapons, and, separately, also sells ammunition. However, they do advise matter-of-factly that weapons on display require a criminal background check per Colorado state law before being sold. (With the unsaid suggestion that weapons -not- on display may therefore be available for the individual not interested in being checked as per the Individual Dealer Act.)

Several warehouses, garages, and storage facilities around town are rented out to store Second Chance merchandise that needs to be processed (whether legitimate or otherwise), as well as to provide a suitable drop site for clients who need to fence merchandise. Each warehouse is kept for six months and then cleared; usually these are staggered so that one 'clears' per month, and as such, there is usually a sale at the end of the month of merchandise that needs to move.

Jake occasionally offers courses in loss prevention for local stores and insurance adjusters, with the cooperation of the police department. It might seem mildly paradoxical, given that roughly 20% of their stock is of dubious origins, but it does have a positive effect in the community.

People can also request that the Second Chance keep an eye out for a particular type of item for them - some customers collect certain types of goods or resell them on the open market, while others may just want their missing lawn gnome back.