Austin is home to dozens of resale, consignment and thrift stores, but North Austin business owner Sharon Munroe was surprised to find the city didn't have an online directory to make it easier for shoppers to find new places.

Munroe, who owns children's consignment store Little Green Beans at US 183 and Burnet Road, teamed up with Melinda Taylor of website development agency Weborization to create the Austin Resale Directory.

"It really makes businesses accessible to shoppers," Munroe said.

The online directory, www.austinresaledirectory.com, had a soft launch in July, and Munroe said she and Taylor wanted the website ready to go before the tax-free weekend Aug. 9–11 and back-to-school shopping started.

So far, she and Taylor have mapped and gotten information on 115 businesses, and the list keeps growing. The duo and an intern used publicly available information to find the businesses as well as by driving around Burnet Road and the North Loop area, which hosts a plethora of resale businesses.

"It was quite the process," Munroe said. " Burnet Road is just a hub for all these resale stores."

Businesses are categorized by the type of merchandise they sell, such as vintage, women's or children's clothing and items for the home. The directory includes both for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations.

"If shoppers like resale stores, they have a passion for finding special items, whether it's for a collection or finding a great deal," Munroe said. "It's the thrill of the hunt."

For any business not included in the directory, Munroe said a business owner or shopper may submit a store or any changes to an existing listing. For more information, visit www.austinresaledirectory.com/submit-a-store.

Last December, the city of Austin's Small Business Development Program launched an online small-business directory called Locally Austin to aid residents in finding locally owned stores.