Goodwill

I have been shopping in this store for years, and most times I swear I’m not coming back. But I do, they get some good stuff. But yesterday, I wanted to purchase a watch. No price. Salesgirl left me to ask manager and came back and said $ 4. I said OK. Went to check out, register girl says «no price, have to ask manager». I said that the girl next to her already did. So anyway asks manager again and she says $ 15! What? You already said $ 4, then changed your mind? The girl who told me $ 4 confirmed right to the manager that this in fact was true, I did not make it up. Manager, (young woman with attitude, named Clarice), smirks and laughs at me and says «I’m the manager, and that’s the price». So done with this overpriced, and unfriendly place. Done!!!

I grew up shopping in thrift stores, and while I didn’t love it as a kid (what kid didn’t want spankin’ new things?), I quickly understood the worth of Goodwill once I started shopping for clothes on my own on a modest budget. I also realized why Goodwill meant so much to my parents, who (somehow) managed to raise and send 5 kids to college with their savings over the years (love you Mom and Dad)!
That being said, not all thrift stores are created equal, and despite years of practice in Minnesota, learning to shop the Connecticut thrift store scene wasn’t easy.
But it paid off in the end.
I’m talking learning to strategically use your Goodwill loyalty card and color tag sales to your advantage, knowing which stores to frequent, where in the store to look first. Doing so meant (and continuous to mean) I can always find something to buy at the price point I want. This past Sunday it was an Eastern Mountain Sports sweatshirt for $ 6. The week before it was two, seemingly brand new, slim fit button-​downs for $ 2.50 a piece. I also share a «shopper’s high» with Unilocaler Christi G., who appears to have also scored a cashmere sweater for under $ 7. Not even Minnesota thrift stores can match that!
What’s more, given how close this Goodwill is to my church — and Big Y – it’s very convenient to do a Sunday afternoon clothing and grocery trip without moving my car. That’s a win in my book!
As with any thrift stores, your mileage may vary and the more you frequent a store, the more likely you’ll find that diamond in the rough. But save for any better thrift store I can find in the Hartford area in the near future, I have no reason to complain.

Please stop screaming «welcome to goodwill» at me when I walk in the door.
It is totally unnerving, catches me off guard every time and when I look to see which employee yelled it, no one is there waiting for my reply… its really really annoying!

OMG. Scored a RL cashmere sweater for $ 5 and True Religion jeans for $ 13. What else can I say?

Goodwill is my least favorite thrift store in the area. It’s not necessarily a bad place… just doesn’t work for me. Their target audience is clearly much older than me. Brands/​trends/​styles are totally off for what I like. Ooh– if I did like anything, though, they have great prices. I have to give that to them.

As others have mentioned, this Goodwill location has one of the most efficient drive-​through donation drop-​off service! There’s always a helpful attendant to assist you with unloading.
Compared to other Goodwill, Salvation Army, or thrift store setups– this particular one in Manchester is cleaner than most and well organized. Easy to navigate, it’s well-​maintained and never smelly or overly dusty.
I often visit this location in hopes of finding some type of thrift-​store treasure. But on numerous occasions I find myself leaving empty-​handed. Just once I’d like to walk away with a sport coat I can have custom tailored, or maybe a pair of vintage watches to take home! I have been able to score some really RUSTIC looking furniture, and random home-​goods and housewares though!

went to this goodwill last week. I was impressed with the name brand racks at the front of the store, but not with those prices. They were somewhere between consignment store and goodwill prices, but not good enough for me! They did have a large clothes section, and a great belt/​handbag section. I also found a great pair of knee high boots! In bins near the check out, they had just received brand new women’s tights from target, and I scored 2 pairs @ 50 cents each!!!
Good location in a shopping plaza, not sketchy like some goodwill/​SA locations!

How have I not written a review for this place yet?
I go there probably once to twice a month.
I always find something decent here.
Of late, I’ve been most impressed with the book selection, the kids toys, and the homegood section. I’ve found some great Xmas cards, wrap, and gift bags for super cheap. They even have cheap Hanukkah items.
I enjoy their Boutique section and I usually am impressed with the shoes. I really enjoy this store and have scored some great finds for myself and friends.
The staff are very friendly, I’ve donated and the donation drop off staff are exceptional. They will take the things out of your car for you.
As with any Goodwill, you will need to search through the racks and shelves but when you score a real treasure, you’ll feel like Indiana Jones finding the Lost Arc.
Large store, great staff, good name brands for cheap, I’m in LURVE.

Walked into GW to find a pair of kakhi pants for a friend of mine (homeless shelter) and unfortunately this was difficult because the tags were not prominently shown with the sizes, unless you looked inside the pants. So it took a little longer than usual.
As I walked into the store, I noticed they upgraded the entrance and felt & sounded nice with some cool music playing.
The store had many more customers in it than the previous year I was here. So, that show’s me people are hurting financially and at GW you can really find some 2^nd hand good deals on products.
Tip**I also know for a fact that they receive deliveries on Wed & Fri mornings from Target, mostly men’s pants!!! New stuff!!! Never worn)
Nice store and staff!
Thank you:_)

I don’t really know what it is about this Goodwill! It’s not the biggest store in the world, but for me, they have great stuff. It’s all interesting and unique to the location and they have tons of different brands. It’s well organized (by size and color). It’s also really nice because they have a great selection of smalls (which is sometimes hard to find)!
The workers are so nice and the place is super organized! Love it! :)

Cleaner, more organized, and better customer service than many other Goodwill stores — but still, not too great terms of selection.
I used to live in Manchester and must say — this store has the most EFFICIENT drive through donation drop-​off service. I literally still drive here to make clothing donations instead of heading to the Hartford location closer to my apartment.
I LOVE thrift stores but don’t really find much in terms of clothing here. Nearby Platos Closet and Uptown Consignment are lightyears ahead of Goodwill for clothing brands/​trends/​quality.
The housewares collection isn’t bad though, by any means. I tend to go through phases for DIY and art projects and have come across some great finds here! Glassware, ceramics, you name it. Worth diggin’ around!

This Goodwill is incredibly clean, organized and the customer service far exceeded my expectations. The front cashier welcomed everyone as they walked in. Its the small things sometimes!
All of the clothes are organized by type, color, size and easy to view. Even the aisles appear wider then most department stores! I saw so many name brands and the clothes were all in very good condition. The only thing that completely skeeved me out were all the bathing suits. A bathing suit is not something you buy used!

I’ve been to a lot of thrift stores, and this is one of the best ones I’ve seen! I am a big bargain shopper when it comes to clothes, and I almost always find something here. There even have a clothing section in the front of the store with higher-​end/​brand name items. They also have tons of shoes!

I am a very big fan of this Goodwill location. I have been to the Salvation Army in Manchester as well and really don’t like it. It is dirty and seems unorganized.
The Goodwill though is very clean. Its pretty huge but very well organized. They don’t seem to get a lot of name brand merchandise, however the ones in Rocky Hill and Glastonbury seem to be filled with them.

This is the best thrift store in this area, but I’m biased as I prefer ones with large bric-​à-​brac sections, household goods, and books.
They are the thrift store of choice when the nearby Target has merchandise that didn’t sell — so you see a lot of unused Target goods here too, which is great.
They’re open until 9pm and on Sundays, which is unique to most thrift stores, and much appreciated.