Benton Habitat for Humanity ReStore

The store is like any other habitat for humanity store but boy does it have steep prices. My wife and I were looking for a washer and dryer to purchase. Not being on the top of the economic chain, we thought we’d check out the Restore for an economical alternative to purchasing new. When we say the price they had for their washers and dryers our mouths dropped. About and hour before we were at Home Depot and the prices were somewhat comparable… for NEW! And many of the machines at the Restore looked like they were 30 years old. Management must have a particular attachment to all this stuff.
Take my advice. Wait for a sale at a local hardware company and you’ll be getting cheaper prices for new stuff. Don’t come here and please donate your stuff to a better place that actually gives good deals to the less fortune. We don’t need crappy middle men in the mix taking everything out of the donation.

Firstly, I loved the Habitat store when it was in Corvallis next to the Goodwill, five stars all the way. Unfortunately they’ve moved to 4840 SW Philomath Blvd.
We entered the new store expecting the same great deals and courteous service Habitat has always offered. Understandably the folks just set up here, but I think they probably should have made sure the stock was ready for sale, and they had volunteers who were able to handle confused customers with tact and respect.
Neither of those things were taken care of :(
Sure, the showroom looked great, brand new-​ish furniture in a pretty display, kind of like a furniture store, except, I don’t go to Habitat for new furniture, I go to fix the crap I have at home because I can’t afford new.
We’ve been to this rodeo before. We’ve always checked Habitat before going to Home Depot or Lowes. We enjoy contributing to a charitable organization rather than giving our money to big business. So we strolled in and picked out some general hardware (which was very well organized), some scrap lumber, and a sheet of plywood. Normally there would be space available to put these things down while you continued to shop. After all, am I really expected to haul around a sheet of plywood while I look for nails? The woman behind the counter seemed upset when we put our items down. We were told to move them. ‘No, not there.”, she said, we moved it, «Nuh uh, I don’t want it there.» another awkward shuffle, «Not up against that thing.» By this time we just asked, «Well where can we put it?». A place was found but she could have just told us where she wanted it before playing the «pointing her finger in vague directions from behind the counter while we scramble around» game.
So, ok, that was kind of a hassle but we shrugged it off with a smile. The next HUGE problem is their back yard, which is where us bargain hunters usually find what we’re looking for. This was a nightmare. Apparently we had walked past some caution tape into an area that wasn’t meant for sale yet. Honestly I saw the tape, and I used caution, but I didn’t see a single sign saying to keep out or that customers were prohibited. When we flagged someone down for help with one or two items we were interested in, we got a free 5 minute lecture about going past the tape and the fact that a portion of that area was fenced off. Nothing in that 60’x40’ area was for sale. OK, WE GOT IT, please stop now.
Still needing supplies we recoiled out of the forbidden zone after being treated like children and attempted to find what we needed in the various piles. You remember the piles from the store on 9^th right? Scrap wood here, bricks there, metal over that way. We found two busted side rails from an Ikea project gone horribly wrong, still with the old hardware attached in bags with little Habitat-​Style price stickers on them. Eureka! An old plastic pan polished off our salvage list.
I’ll be darned if as SOON as we hauled the stuff inside the counter woman wasn’t already pointing to us and calling across the store. «Where did you get that from?”(Um, the salvage piles outside?) She scanned our stuff, all the while saying «no, no, no, no, where did you go? No, no, not for sale, no.»
WHAT?!?
With frustration we pointed out that the items had price tags on them, so we figured they were fair game, but now came some kind of insinuation that «We would have never put a price that low on these.» (broken pieces of Ikea scrap shelving) like we had somehow brought pricing guns with us and did it ourselves in an attempt to rip off Habit for Humanity. Really? Really??? After I just donated like $ 150.00 worth of vintage light fixtures and a brand new bathroom exhaust fan that didn’t fit in our place before entering the store?
At this point I just shrugged and we looked at each other, put all the stuff down, and went to the Habitat in Albany,
where the people, prices and selection are always super awesome.
I won’t go back to Benton, even though it’s way closer.
Also, if you need inexpensive/​salvage building supplies you can also try;
Albany Habitat ReStore
Bring Recycling in Glenwood (Eugene)
Burcham’s Metals (Abany)
Lumber Liquidators (Eugene)
Restorations (Philomath, across from Nut Cakes)

This non-​profit organization is a great place to shop for gently used and often new discount building supplies, hardware and home items such as appliances, cabinets, sinks, toilets and furniture. I have even found artwork and a pair of crutches there. Proceeds help build habitat for Humanity homes in Benton County.