Village Discount Outlet

I have been shopping at this store for over 20 years! The reason, the prices!
Now, you’ve gone ahead and raised your prices SO HIGH, that there is NO DISCOUNT!
Your clothes and merchandise are USED! Some items in such bad shape, they shouldn’t even be for sale.
The prices at your location are now comparable to a Kmart, Wal-​Mart and Target.
Difference is, those stores stock NEW clothing and NEW items.
Whoever decided to raise the prices that high should truly be ashamed of themselves.

I had one of the most annoying experiences at VDO last night that I had to write this review. After searching for a halloween outfit (black skirt, grey top) I bring my two items to check out. The skirt, which I had to spend plenty of time to find in the right size and look, did not have a tag on it. The check-​out clerk told me she couldn’t sell merchandise without a tag… while smiling at me! I asked her if she was joking, since the smile was a bit confusing, and she continued to say no she could not sell it without a tag. I was then told I had to put it on hold and pick it up tomorrow. After asking why it couldn’t just be priced right now… at least three times with no clear response… a ‘manager’ walks over and says only the morning management prices merchandise. Why in the world would only a morning manager have the ability to write a number on a piece of paper is beyond me!
So after fuming over the fact that two store workers were unable to put a damn price on the skirt and let me leave with it I decide, fine… I will put it on hold. But wait! When I say I will just hold the shirt and skirt together to pick up both tomorrow. she smiles at me and says they do not hold tagged merchandise! So now I can not purchase one item because it does not have a tag. their fault not mine… and I can not hold the other one because it DOES have a tag!
After my experience I would say don’t waste your time searching for items in this store only to finally find them and be put through the crap I was for no good reason.

Like other people have said, if you have time and patience, you can find some real treasures here. I like to come early in the morning on a holiday weekend because EVERYTHING is half off. I’ve seen bar mirrors, some high end cookware, and some very nice clothing here. I was able to outfit myself with maternity clothes the whole time I was pregnant from this location for about $ 50, whereas just a new maternity business skirt would have cost about that much.
I took off a star because most of the staff is honestly not so great. There are a few nice folks working here, but a lot of them are just «point and grunt» types. This really isn’t surprising; I’m sure they’re getting paid very well.

Probably one of my favorite thrift stores to go to in Chicago! I always get great deals and their prices are amazing, especially when they have one of their 50% off everything weekends, which is pretty frequent. This is my favorite thrift store for clothing, because they have a huge amount! Not a lot of furniture.
Only con is that they don’t have dressing rooms, so you just kind of have to guess on clothing.

This is my favorite Village Discount location. I’ve had better luck here finding good quality work clothes in my size (I’m not exactly small) than I have at other locations (I mostly end up at the Milwaukee location since I’m in the area more often, but I prefer coming here). One weekend not long ago I managed to catch a half-​off sale and I think I walked out with 10 clothing items for less than $ 15. The basement section is my favorite though and I never leave that area empty-​handed.
Yeah, the place definitely has that thrift store smell as others here have mentioned, certainly not any worse than anywhere else I’ve been to, but I’ve been thrifting for well over 15 years so I barely even notice anymore. YMMV.
One thing I must say about this location though, is the employees here are always SO MUCH NICER than other locations, and my trip there tonight is what prompted me to finally write a review. I bought a few delicate & glass items from the basement area, and the woman who was at the register carefully wrapped and bagged them all for me so they wouldn’t be damaged in-​transit. Everyone has always been pleasant if I’ve asked for help. Definitely one of my top places to shop.

This place had tons of things. Easy to get lost in there. Many things are placed in the wrong sections, so if you go make sure you have plenty of time to look around. Lots of name brand items.

Village Discount Outlet had the Super Bowl weekend sale on Saturday (01/​31/​2015) and Sunday (02/​01/​2015). All merchandize was half off the price tag. Hey, I’m in! As many of you know, thrift shopping on an extra discount day can be adventurous and requires lots of patience. Thanks to my mommy who gave me a great temperament so that I can survive in thrift shopping.
This location is the first one that I encountered has the «guard» on both entrance and exit, meaning that an entrance is really the entrance; an exit is really the exit. Those doors aren’t interchangeable. Their private parking lot is strictly for patrons-​only; don’t follow the rule, should your vehicle be booted and towed immediately.
This location gets lots of young blood since the Lakeview neighborhood is adjacent to the Roscoe Village neighborhood. It was cool to see some young men and young ladies came out to enjoy themselves with experiencing fashion in different eras.
Shopping at any Village Discount Outlet requires a keen eye. How keen? I would say freakin’ keen because they organize their apparel by colors. However, the color-​coordinating organizations tend be destroyed quickly by careless customers who didn’t put back their unwanted merchandize back to where it belongs. I don’t literally go through «every» piece of apparel myself, but I can spot some possibilities within seconds after seeing them. I’m professional, so what can I say?
As I have mentioned before on my other reviews on other Village a Discount Outlet locations, their selections on blazers are pretty decent. However, this location really has one of the worst smells, especially on their basement where shoes, housewares, and electronic gadgets are. I went downstairs and didn’t really stay too long. I might need to bring my own oxygen mask to shop downstairs, seriously.
I didn’t see much $ 0.10 merchandize left. We came in late afternoon, so the majority should have been bought during the day.
Other than the smell, this locations seems to get a lot of traffic and aisles are narrow. I still scored a Cubs beanie for $ 2 and hubby snatched a cable for his video game monitor for $ 0.49!
It’s a passable location, as long as you’re ok with the smell.

I love thrift stores, but this place was just plain gross. It smelled bad. There was stuff thrown everywhere. I honestly don’t know why people give this place such good reviews.

(This review is based on a comparison with the Milwaukee location) I saw the reviews for this VDO location and thought «People are just being picky/​uppity.» I really hate giving mediocre/​bad reviews. However, there is a huge disparity between this VDO location and the Milwaukee location. I was excited to find this one near my house because I needed to get some affordable dresses for work. The store had a total of 10 wearable dresses, and they were mostly 80s/​90s prom dresses or saris. There is seemingly no coherent organization at times. They do have a solid jacket/​coat selection for women. That’s about it.
I am used to thrifting and the idea of wearing used clothes (and the stains and smells that come with them). HOWEVER, THE BASEMENT SMELLS DANK AS HELL. It reminds me of if a pipe burst in an old woman’s closet with dirty socks on the floor.
I hope they get a better selection and better smell.

A little stinky and employees were cranky, but I’ve found some real gems here (regardless of how bizarre the item I’m looking for may be).

You can’t beat the treasures, variety or prices of this place.
One of the fastest stocked thrift stores in Chicago. It also has great finds, and usually has some kind of sale. I always walk out with good stuff and a heavy bag for under $ 10 of stuff.
My go-​to thrift store.

This can be a great thrift store, HOWEVER, BEWARE OF THEIR PRIVATE PARKING LOT. I know parking can be hard to come by in Roscoe Village… but if you can, try to avoid parking in their parking lot. If you do, be warned: there appears to be some sort of scam operation going on there. Recently, on two seperate occasions, with two seperate cars, my fiancé and I had our cars messed with while parked in this lot. In his case: his hubcabs were stolen from one side of his vehicle. In the middle of the day! In my case: I had a small pouch, that I used for organizing coupons, etc., stolen from front seat. I assume whoever broke into my car thought this pouch was actually a wallet. My car was definitely locked, and this also occured in the middle of the day. I tried contacting the police, to file a complaint, but since this is private property, there is nothing they can do.
What upsets me most is that the theives targeting this parking lot are stealing from people who obviously don’t have a lot of extra money to spare-​which is why they’re shopping at a THRIFT STORE!
Thrift store iteslf: 4 stars. Sometimes I find really cute, interesting stuff here.
Private parking lot experiences: 0 stars.

This place is what a thrift store should be– cheap and filled with inventory. They have just enough staff to keep someone at the register while everyone else sorts inventory, which keeps prices low. They have a parking lot, which is a treat in Chicago. They lose one star for having narrow aisles AND shopping carts, but the crowding is all part of maximizing the amount of inventory available. It was clean enough for a thrift store.
Do check out the basement. All sorts of treasures await!

I haven’t written a review on thrift stores yet… so this will be my first, here goes!
There are lots of great things about this Village Discount Outlet. I’ve been thrifting for a long, long time so I feel quite at home browsing through racks upon racks of clothes until my arms get tired. That being said, this is one of the nicer Village Discounts I’ve been to.
AMBIANCE:
Normally I go to the one on 3301 Lawrence, but this one is «up a notch» in terms of cleanliness, an additional basement level, quantity of clothing and music (they had great variety of music on the speakers… which makes a difference!)
Perhaps the feel of this thrift store reflects more of the persona of Roscoe Village/​Lakeview. I’m no local expert on Chicago neighborhoods, but this Village Discount felt more «posh» and would be a place where I’d be completely comfortable taking a friend who needs an introduction to the world of thrifting, without being totally overwhelmed.
THE BROWSING EXPERIENCE:
To start off, it smelled like Febreeze as I browsed through the aisles. Woot! A little air freshener made a huge difference, and the (very normal) grimy feeling I get after touching all the clothes felt… less grimy. Tis the life of a thrifter. No biggie.
The clothes were neatly hung, grouped in an orderly fashion and they had a large selection of women’s blouses and business professional clothing. I came here specfically looking for work attire, and I did not leave disappointed. Their selection of collared women’s blouses is very large. (As is their children’s clothing section, and their shoe selection which is in the basement)
It was difficult to find my size, but I left with a work outfit for less than $ 4.00! I browsed through most of the women’s selection in about an hour. Again, very clean, very «well-​presented»… like a thrift shop on its best behavior.
PARKING:
There is a private lot just for shoppers West of the building on Roscoe. On the speakerphones they will routinely announce that you MUST return STRAIGHT to your car after leaving the store or your tires will be booted. They really do not want people to abuse their parking privileges… but to make it seem less stern, their message is dispersed throughout a playlist of Beyonce, a song in Spanish, a hit from the 80s and a 90s alternative.
THE POINT BEING…
This place is well kept, clean, has a great selection and a vibe that leans towards that of a department store. I’m glad I found another thrift shop in Chicagoland and hopefully it will be one of my regular spots.

This place is a hot mess. We walked in just to check it out, and claustrophobia set in immediately. Probably some stuff to be found here, but I certainly don’t have the fortitude to navigate the cramped pathways and many other customers to find it.

It’s no coincidence that «VDO» sounds like a disease.
All this store needs is:
— staff who can speak English, any at all
— either wider aisles or no shopping carts (the current combo is disastrous)
— fewer items shoved onto racks to prevent the wretched spillage
— worthy goods that are not stained, broken, or torn
Thrift stores are typically great for making gently-​used goods available to lower-​income folks, but VDO is a flat-​out insult to humanity. Their items aren’t worth the construction paper «price tags» stapled onto them.
I am now taking bets on how much longer this grungy business will occupy so much prime real estate before being flipped to something more suitably bougie for Roscoe retail row.

This shop is disorganized and ultra crowded in the clothing department.
However, it has a lot of good buys if you have the patience to sort through the stuff.
Have furniture too, and you can find good buys. Though I only gave it 3 stars, I think the crowdedness is not a problem to some shoppers.

I’ve lived in this neighborhood for years, and somehow never came to Village Discount. I love shopping but hate spending money, so after brunch last weekend my friend (an expert thrifter) convinced me to go in and shop around.
I’m gonna pop some taaaaaags, only got twenty dollars in my pocket… And for that $ 20, I got two sweater dresses ($ 8 each) and a cardigan ($ 3). What a deal! I’m wearing a sweater dress today and already got compliments on it.
This place is kind of a hot mess though. It’s pretty disorganized, signage looks like it hasn’t changed in 15 years, confusing nomenclature (cardigans called «open sweaters,» dress section seemingly not containing dresses?) Tons of stuff is hideous, I mean hilariously hideous. You could have a ball here just scanning the racks for oh-my-god-i-can’t-believe-somebody-bought-that sweaters. Very generally speaking, within a section items are color coded, though this isn’t super well-​maintained. I mean obviously the shoppers just toss stuff wherever but I’m not sure if anybody is picking up after them.
You can find some amazing deals here. Nothing high-​end (not a consignment store, duh), but some really nice like-​new clothes for dirt cheap. I’m seriously starting to wonder why I’d shop anywhere else, ever. I mean, the aisles are crowded, and there’s the heartbreak of finding something adorable and it doesn’t fit. But oh my gosh, if you get a good deal, it will be a GOOD deal.
I only looked in women’s clothing, noticed they had bras and swimsuits — so I don’t know how I feel about that. I saw lots of kids jammies and bedspreads too. For a low-​income family or just somebody trying to save cash who needs to get some new clothes for their kids, this would be great. And this would be a great place to get «ironic» t shirts from somebody else’s high school!
I did see stuff from Aeropostale, Abercrombie, and New York and Co. Nothing more high end than that. But I’m already planning my return! What a great place to revamp your wardrobe for pennies.

Shopping every six months for your kid because he has grown another size can be daunting and rough on the budget. This is where the Village Discount steps in and saves the day. I was able to purchase 24 items for a measly $ 50.00 flat. Not bad, not bad at all. Spring/​Summer here we come…
Enjoy Suckas’!!!

I like this place.
Sure, the aisles are teeny and it’s hard to squish by other people, it may smell a bit, and the clothes are organized by color, but you can get some great stuff here.
The only time I’ve ventured into the clothing section was to pick out chunky cable knit sweaters I was cutting up to make pillow slipcovers. Total cost: less than $ 10 for 6 slipcovers. Take that Pottery Barn!
Usually, I only visit a few sections — the vase/​plate section, the book section, and the housewares section.
Some recent scores:
1. Williams-​Sonoma alphabet cookie cutters still sealed in their original tin: $ 2
2. Original pyrex mini-​bowl: $ 0.40 (for some strange reason, vintage pyrex bowls cost a fortune on ebay and in antique shops)
3. 4 new paperback books: .$.80 (includes NY Times Best Sellers from a couple months ago)
4. Vintage stocking (the knitted kind): $ 0.45
I look in the back at the blankets too. Sure there are some old, gross looking comforters, but sometimes, you’ll find absolutely gorgeous handmade afghans for less than $ 8.
Check out the plates. They are all from our grandparents’ time and some of the stuff is gorgeous. I’m pretty convinced I’ve seen real silver pieces there too. I have a thing for vintage pyrex bowls, and I’ve seen quite a few pieces here.
I love browsing here once a month or so to find new treasures. I always leave with a stack of books. It’s a cheap way to keep my reading habit going.
Oh, and my husband was able to put together a Prince William costume last Halloween from stuff purchased here for only $ 8. Red coat and all!
If you hate digging, you’ll hate this place. But, if you have some time to kill or want to indulge your book-​collecting habit, this is where you should go.