Value Village

I am not sure if I should be embarrassed or proud that my husband and I go to this store on our date nights. We appreciate a good bargain. Our first Christmas together was furnished exclusively by this store. We have an eye for luxury items, but can rarely afford them, but we don’t mind purchasing used items so thrift stores are our best friends.
I enjoy how often the inventory changes, each visit hold the possibility of discovering something truly awesome. My favorite time to visit is during their holiday sales. You need to be prepared for large crowds, and long changing room lines, but the savings are worth it. I have purchased $ 300 dresses for less than$ 20 bucks, and scored deals on VS, BCBG, and Bombay brands. I think our most amazing find was an Ethan Allen bookcase for $ 20 that we re-​purposed as a wardrobe for our nursery. That piece of furniture, even used, can go for upwards of $ 1,000.00.
Thrifting takes its due diligence but we don’t mind being patient at this location, it always pays off.
Drop off is also very simple. The staff that minds this part of the store are very helpful and kind. We get lots of help when we have large items to unload.

I like a good thrift-​store treasure hunt. Yesterday while in the midst of my treasure hunt I was greeted by a young dark-​haired staff member. I turned to reciprocate the greeting and realized that I must have been perceived as a suspicious character: «That backpack is it yours or a purchase?» she asked.
«It’s mine,» I said.
«Could I get you to put it behind register 1 over there?» she said, pointing to the front of the store.
I felt no need to describe that I value my own belongings, but I inquired, «What about my wallet, and credit cards and all that?»
«Oh, there’s cameras over there behind the register…»
I’d sooner walk out with no purchases, than agree to leave belongings under the guard of an unknown party. I’ve shopped this & other Value Village stores many times but this request, was only ever made during my last visit to the one near Bellis Fair (150 E Bellis Fair Pkwy, Bellingham WA), around 410PM on 08/​24/​2015.
For all I know, leaving knapsacks behind the register could be a brand new rule which now exists just at this store. Or it could have been invented at 4:10PM especially for me, by a special someone who didn’t like my look. Who would know? Elsewhere in this store were other customers, some with purses and some with knapsacks like mine, but I certainly wouldn’t wish the same suspicious treatment upon them.
Anyway, I nodded at the person standing before me; I trust that Value Village staff simply does as store management has trained them to do, however inconsistently that might be. Other staff at this store have been pleasant enough. This one finished our conversation off with «Yeah, if you could do that.» Then I made my way past register 1, and all the way out the door — cutting this visit short, making no purchases.
I’ve since been asked why I didn’t choose to give the staff «a piece of my mind». The answer is that some things are well worth fighting over and others are simply not worth a bit of my energy, especially in my spare time. It had already been a long day of driving up the I-​5. Normally, a stop at the thrift store is a truly relaxing activity AND, there are very many other thrift stores in the area with great customer service.
I myself, continued with my family (still wearing my knapsack LOL…) onto the Goodwill store on East Sunset Drive, where we completed our usual fun thrift store experience and even enjoyed conversation with the staff. All Goodwill red tag items were selling for $ 1.79 that day regardless of the original price. So, to be snubbed away from Value Village earlier, turned out a great day for us nevertheless!
Now from the comfort of my desk I’m leisurely penning my daily journal entry (entry-​turned-​Yelp-​review) and advice that if you should happen to walk into the Bellis Fair Value Village store, on a day when you’ve chosen to use a knapsack for your belongings (instead of say, a purse), then you may — or may not! — be approached by staff asking you to part with your knapsack, halfway through your shopping experience. If you don’t like those odds, then I would recommend to give this particular store a miss and visit any number of the many other thrift stores in Bellingham. Unilocal has a list of these here
– There are a lot of great choices for a thrift-​store treasure hunt.
Will I attempt future visits to the Bellis Fair Parkway location of Value Village. Hmmm… maybe? Depends on my mood and of course my proximity. But I almost always prefer the hands-​free freedom that a knapsack (as opposed to a purse) affords. So if my knapsack and family & I do happen to visit as we have many times previously, I’ll update to let you know what the welcome is at that time :) Until then… happy thrifting!

The prices at this location are hit and miss in terms of value– some items are a great deal– some are almost full retail. I wonder if part of this is because of the color coded sticker discounts (knowing it will eventually go to a color that is 50% off– the value then changes fast).
The store is clean, has a good variety and does a great job at organizing and displaying clothing items. Pants are hung on side hang rail bars at an angel making them easy to see. This might result in less being on display but makes the presentation very impressive and easy to shop.
All in all though this store is well run and can find unique finds.

Great collection of reasonably priced books but the prices of the men’s shirts are ridiculous. How can a unknown brand, long sleeve shirt be worth $ 20? And, many others are $ 12. Come on! It’s a thrift store… define thrift for me, please… maybe the economy is really strong in the Pacific NW?

I’ve been going here for years and nearly always come away with a bargain or two. You do have to hunt, but it’s usually worth it! Their housewares section is great and they have tons of clothes. As far as thrift stores go I haven’t found a better one.
Spacious and bright, and fairly clean considering.

Mixed review… stuff is WAAAAY over priced. Once in a while, you find a deal, but not often. Clothing is very overpriced. A nice skirt might cost $ 10 – 25 at Value Village, while the same skirt might cost $ 15 at Macy’s clearance rack, or JCP. Shoes are priced pretty good, and they have nice books, they sell too many fake designer purses, which is illegal. Most of the employees are nice.

I didn’t care for this thrift store. Overpriced on most items. If you know what things are new and comparable at other thrift stores you’d agree. It’s descent though meaning fairly clean, staff is nice. Just didn’t feel had many good items.

As a big fan of thrift store shopping I’ve always loved the selection at Value Village, but lately I’ve noticed (at all of their stores) that prices are creeping up into the range you’d expect to find at a consignment store, not a gigantic thrift store like this is. They do have a decent selection of just about everything, but the quality of 95% of their items is not nearly high enough to justify their prices. I’ve seen some goods priced for more than you would pay to get them brand new — that’s just ridiculous. Their book prices are also over-​the-​top. Isn’t the point to get merchandise out the door? I see a lot of it just sitting, so hopefully they’ll get the message and lower their prices a bit, and soon.

Maybe I’m biased since I go to college with many of the kids that work here (you know you are getting old when you think of college aged adults as «kids»), but this VV is pretty terrific. Decent enough prices, usually has an interesting selection, friendly staff.
Note to Disabled: Reasonably accessible, has its own parking lot. Can be pretty crowded at times.

Excellent selection of books at very low prices.

I always try to buy second hand when I can, and so it was about time that I made it to Value Village. I can’t even count how many times I’ve asked people where they got this or that, and they’ve said that they got it here. The things that I appreciated about this store is that it is well-​organized and clean for a thrift store. As other people have noted, the prices are a bit high, but i did find what I was looking for. Their selection isn’t as big as you would think, but again, shopping there was a pleasant experience because of how accessible everything was. It may not be my favorite thrift store, but I will be back.

Yes it smells weird and yes a lot of items are overpriced. Sometimes you can find some treasures here but I guess that could be said for any thrift store. Now that they put in the new WinnCo the parking lot is way too busy for my taste.

I debated on giving this 2 or 3 stars and I’ve settled on 2. I use to love going here when I was younger before it moved locations and I’d go here all the time. They have a great selection of used clothes, knick-​knacks, music, movies, electronics and well as a few other things. This business has really gone down hill though. They use to have tag sales all the time and they even use to give things away and have little events for the kids way back in the day, which is why I use to love going here. They don’t have any of this anymore. They hardly have items on sale anymore which sucks because they’ve really raised their prices. They get all of their items by donation so I really don’t know why they are charging so much. I use to get shirts here for a dollar now the cheapest I can find is in the 3 – 5 dollar range. Still cheap but a huge difference. A lot of the times they don’t dust or clean any of their items so the place can get pretty dirty. Over the years the employees care less and less about the customers and are getting less talkative and friendly. Overall I would not recommend this thrift store — its okay to look around but you’re better off just spending a few extra bucks and buying whatever you need new.

This place is too overpriced. I once saw a used Pyrex baking dish for $ 9.99; I found the exact same one — new — at Ross for $ 6. I’ve bought a few dishes here and there and got a good deal on a cute shirt when it was on sale, but overall I think they ask way too much $ for things that are used.

Way too overpriced, yes I have seen some nice things at this VV but all I have to do is wait for a sale or go to an outlet store to get the same thing for the same price that has not been previously used. VV started out as something good, but they got greedy and no longer have my business

All the reviews currently on here are for the old location. The new location is AWESOME! It is enormous and the selection can’t be beat. Some prices seem high but most are very reasonable. Sign up for there member card and get special offers and look for fab sales on holidays (like President’s Day). Also take advantage of thier 30% off punch card (earn punches with donations and purchases). This thrift store should not be missed. They restock 7 days a week; so every day is a new store. You wont find a better selection on clothes, promise. Also they dont pull the best stock to sell online (like Goodwill) so you have the opportunity to find really amazing things! They have furniture, books, toys, housewares too. But clothing is where it’s at.

This is a clothing oriented thrift store. I can pretty much always find the article of clothing I want if I go here. Sure, you have to look through a ton of stuff and wash your hands with gasoline in the parking lot when you leave but isn’t that just part of shopping at thrift stores? Electronics are fair, kitchenware and books are a little better. Check the «valuable» cases at the front of the store by the checkouts to see what weird things they deem valuable enough to lock up. Prices are a little high, keep an eye out for the daily half price tag color. Also, they usually have 50% off clothing sales on major and semi-​major holidays. e.g. Veterans Day.

Smellier than a regular value village.

Dear Value Village,
Please change your name. You aren’t considered a ‘value’ when you charge the same price for a used garment as a department store charges for that same item when it’s NEW. Or if you aren’t going to change your name, at least try to reign in the greedy maniac with the price gun.

Like many thrift stores, this Value Village is a bit overpriced for their selection but you can usually be guaranteed to find at least one thing that you like. Over the years I have found some very cool vintage shirts and some classic staples (like a nautical striped shirt). I just don’t find very much at one time (usually 3 pieces of clothing), so be prepared to wade through a lot of crap before finding a treasure.
Overall: Definitely worth the effort, but be prepared for potential disappointment (or at least a small reward)