Family Thrift Store

I hate this thrift store. It’s just bad. Shitty items, overpriced… I’ve been here once and never will again, not when there is a much much better store just down the way. Nope!

Pleasantly surprised by this location! I shop baby clothing and the section was well organized. Prices are on par with other thrifts (with a few overpriced exceptions), and quality is pretty good. My only complaint is that the aisles are tight which can make it tricky to shop if I bring said baby with me. Compared to Village Discount down the street, Family Thrift wins on cleanliness and organization.

I’m so on the fence. I prefer organization and this place was cluttered and clothes were strewn up over the racks, in piles, and on the floor, obscuring the shoes which were mismatched — which made me doubly sad, as I found a great shoe I really wanted to purchase, but couldn’t find the matching one :(
In all fairness, it was a 50% off weekend, and they were super crowded, but still, I had to really search the racks to find key wardrobe pieces I was searching for. Nothing was labeled, nothing was clear. XXL was mixed in with XS… sweaters were mixed in with tank tops. I made it through about 2 racks before I gave up. Maybe it’s not always like that, maybe it was an off day… I still managed to find 10 good pieces to add to my work clothes collection… for $ 21.53
Pro-​Tip — they charge 10 cents for a bag, so bring your own canvas and save the planet! :D

I buy clothes for my step daughter here, but not my real daughter.

ALOT of stuff I can never finish because I get tired of looking and looking at all those selections ! hit or miss there bee times I leave with a bag full of clothes and others nothing, I mostly like women’s shorts selections

I am a professional thrifter, so there are certain things you learn to accept with thrifting. Terrible and rude staff are not on that list. This place is dirty and the people behind the counter don’t speak English and are beyond rude. In addition, many items throughout the store are over $ 15. For those prices I’ll go to tj Maxx and Ross.
I won’t be going here anymore. I’ve been there 5 xs and never purchased anything. It’s a waste of time.

I realized that it’s difficult to give an objective rating to each thrift store. My rating is much based on inventory varieties, organizations, ease of shopping, and other miscellaneous factors that may contribute to the overall rating.
This store didn’t seem to have much appliances. Their «gadget sections» were scattered and appeared to be a formation of dumpster dive. I don’t know if those sections were meant to be this way, or the mass was caused by shoppers’ impatience and clumsiness. Either way, I didn’t see anything worth to dig in further.
Nevertheless, the apparel alone was worth four (4) stars, in my opinion. There was so much to look at! They organized it by colors, so it took me awhile to go through all possibilities. The prices for basics, blouses, and blazers were pretty fair and compatible to other thrift store chains, but the heavy coats and winter jackets were a bit expensive. I wouldn’t buy any of the latter categories if there wasn’t a sale going on.
I’ve mentioned on other thrift store reviews that I personally don’t buy shoes at a thrift store, unless I’m desperate or for costume-​purposes. The shoes here didn’t look too beat up. I also saw some real cowboy boots, yet I didn’t see the prices. Perhaps there will still be there during the half-​off sale? We shall see.
They have separate doors for entry and exit. I was wondering why jewelry was displayed at the entry. Are you guys not afraid of shoplifters? Well, it proved that my worries were redundant; the exit was on the opposite side so no one will have a chance to commit a crime.
They played some cool 90’s old-​school R&B. Even though it’s a thrift store, having a good taste of music doesn’t hurt!
The transportation is convenient enough, even if you’re on a CTA train or bus. The CTA California Blue line station is located in proximity (north to the store… please note that Milwaukee Ave. in the city runs diagonally in a north/​south fashion). There’s also a CTA 56 (Milwaukee) bus if that’s your preferred mode of transportation.

Huge selection and really low prices. If only I lived closer!

If I could give this place less than one star I would. The female workers are the most ignorant, disrespect people I have ever encountered. The merchandise they have is trash, I suppose it’s okay if you like Gap, Old Navy or Liz Claiborne. And the prices they have on this trash… What a joke! Also they never have new merchandise, just the same old crap that they pull off the racks, take in the back and then re-​price!!! Save yourself the hassle, really ghetto thrift store.

This place is the best. Probably 80% of my wardrobe is from Family Thrift.
Haters don’t hate. Of course the dressing rooms are janky and it smells weird. Its a THRIFT store.

Dressing room! Good for ladies tops. I’m willing to pay more (ten bucks for a pair of ed hardy jeans and a sweater) since i’m able to try it and it isn’t packed on friday nights and everyone is pretty polite.

Seriously the best thrift store I’ve been to. I’m a pretty avid thrifter and I will definitely take the 20 minute bus ride here. It’s clean, organized, and doesn’t smell as other people have said. Two little dressing rooms with a three item limit. Prices are fair, with two color tag sales. I don’t know if they always do this, but the lady gave me a 20% off note on my receipt for Sunday this week. Selections are great – name brand clothing and those unique granny clothes hipsters love!

PUT A MIRROR IN YOUR DRESSING ROOM. why have mirrors out on the floor but not one in the fitting room. makes no sense. i have no idea how things FIT. fix this asap please!!! :-(

I live close enough to this place that I frequent more than I should. It’s mostly overpriced but they have sales every day. As far as cleanliness, it’s a step above Village and a step below Goodwill. I will say they play the absolute WORST music I’ve ever heard in any thrift store. It’s inexplicably bad.

If you think of Salvation/​Village/​Goodwill when you think of thrift stores, wipe that for this place. It is way more organized, BRIGHT everywhere, and it doesnt smell like urine! That is a huge plus!
But, one of the best things is the parking lot. Sure, it fills up quick, sure, I’ll use a fake parking spot and possibly block someone in. But you are in the city, what are you gonna do about it?
As a thrift store it is a little pricey but I also think the Village down the street is expensive as far as thrift stores go. Probably all the city thrift stores are expensive.

i live not to far away from the family thrift. i dont come here often… to be its a more expensive thrift store… but when i do go, i normally always find a few things for myself. the kids section is good. i can normally find some good clothes for my daughter…
the staff is semi-nice/helpful…if they wanna be.
i like that the store doesnt smell weird. the clothes dont have that weird thrift store/​attic/​old lady smell.
it has fitting rooms! theres only 2, one in the womens area and one in the mens. you can use either.
theres a parking lot. its small and gets packed easy/fast…what i DONT like is that people will park right behind you and you wont know till you try to get out!
if you walk in with a stroller there is double doors, be prepared to try and hold 2 doors open at the same time, cause a worker WILL walk by and NOT help you!!(i’ve had this happen to me many many times!!)
like i said. i dont go to this thrift store that often.

I like this thrift store. Here’s why:
–No funny smell
–Good selection of clothing without funny smells, stains, or holes.
Have found some nice-​to-​okay tops there. The pants are hit or miss for me, since I’m shorter, but the selection is good for anyone 5’4 and up.
–Dressing room
–Well organized
–Open until 9pm on weekdays
–Accepts credit cards (believe there is a $ 5 minimum)
–Good selection of mid-​level purses. By that I mean not cheap, canvas or fabric purses that won’t last. However, you won’t find any Kate Spade, Coach, etc. At least I haven’t. I’ve bought several from there, in excellent-​to-​good condition. Most have been Nine West.
–Good place to shop for children’s clothing and toys. They have a big selection.
What you won’t find/wouldn’t want to buy there:
–Housewares are hit-​or-​miss. Some decent plates, cups, etc., but no pots and pans in usable quality.
–Furniture selection is almost non-​existent. At most, I’ve seen a few tables or dressers here and there, but they’ve been old, ugly and in bad condition.
Other info:
–Reiterate what other posters have said about staff. They speak little English, so you won’t have questions answered, unless you speak Spanish well enough to get your point across.
–They have discount days. The best is 50% off day, the last Saturday of the month.
–Go during the week before 2pm. It’s less crowded then. The weekends are really busy, and they only have one dressing room for women.

this place is densely packed but i’m not sure about the selection here. there just isn’t much that i was inspired by, and dumbest stuff can sometimes inspire me. there is a really big selection but something about it doesn’t make me want to dig. the prices are a little high, though i may just be anchored by the thrift store down the street.
there aren’t any fitting rooms and not too many mirrors either. not terrible but probably not somewhere i’d come back to get my shopping fix.

They have a small parking lot, but is usually full. Street parking is easy though if you go early.
The store is also a bit small (much smaller than Village Discount). The staff here is pretty nice but all the other reviews are right, no one really speaks english.
Come here for clothes, shoes, and some books, that’s about it. Good selection of modern clothes, decently organized. I happened to stumble in on a random 50% off day (not advertised on the website) and walked out with 5 pairs of nice pants for work (gap, banana, ann taylor) each for $ 2 or under! My bf likes games, and they didn’t have ANY games unfortunately, at least, not any worthwhile buying. They also have a great selection of books and are decently priced.
They also have 2 single stall dressing rooms. One is on the right side of the stor, and the other is oddly placed along the front wall after the registers. So you have to go past the registers to try on clothes???

I go to Family Thrift because it is in my neighborhood and easy to get to. I much rather The Village Discount because there is a lot more to choose from there in the sense of non-​clothing items. The customer service here isn’t great… the cashiers speak little to no English, which is usually understandable — except when you need to know about certain policies such as a minimum on credit or debit card purchases.
Family Thrift is mostly clothes with a crappy section of old non-​working electronics and kids toys. However, I do give this place 2 stars because I am a filmmaker and did most of my costume shopping for a 1950’s time piece here for under $ 40 (under $ 10 a person).
They do a lot of random 50% off sales too, which are always fun to go to. People go crazy for those discounts, though!