The Salvation Army Family Stores

I scheduled a pick up for donations after studying the website. Received a call qualifying the items. After waiting a half day for the truck to stop by, our items were cherry picked, only taking the donations that were «thought» to be saleable. If these items were good enough for our family members, then told that they were not good enough for those «in need». I will NEVER contact them again. The website is misleading and doesn’T take items the website says they will take. Giving FREE to those in need so they can SELL to those in need? Never again!

I used to visit this location frequently because it had a huge selection upstairs and good treasures were usually always around every corner. I would find great necklaces, clean summer dresses at a few bucks and cast iron cookware that is hard to find. Now they have revamped the layout to pay by the lbs and lumped everything in huge dirty unorganized bins. Who wants to rummage through used goods that seem to be in dirty hampers? I cringe at the thought of lice or crap accumulating at the bottom and no longer even shop the upstairs (though it is mostly becoming furniture that is overpriced for a ghetto thrift store). The downstairs is a wholesale for overstock where you can find new Mossimo clothes and Target selections for a quarter of the price. I love finding what I see at TARGET for $ 12 new and still with price tags downstairs at only $ 4 bucks.

This is regarding a phone scheduled pick-​up scheduled a month ahead. They were told we had furniture, multiple shelving units, mirrors, patio furniture, and 65 boxes of miscellaneous items. They showed up at 12:30 with a truck that was 85% full and not able to take many items and we were told they would be back later in the day. Talked with them multiple times that day. Was hung up on twice and finally agreed to send a truck that would come at the end of the day. The truck showed up at 8:15 pm completely full. they stopped to tell us they wouldn’t be able to take anything. The drivers showed us the slip, they had all items listed with an area that said this place has over 100 items, and still they came with 2 full trucks. I would not recommend them to anyone. I would use a different smaller charity that actually cares about getting and picking up items you have to donate, and isn’t rude and hangs up on you when you call. They couldn’t understand why we were upset.

I love the Salvation Army and all that they do to help those in need, along with the fact that I can «find» beautiful Christmas Sweaters and random odds and ends for White Elephant presents. I especially adore this location because the bottom level is dedicated to Target clearance and returns sold in Target stores. A majority of my furniture and winter jackets have come from the bottom level of this location. This review is dedicated to the lower /​Target level of this location.
The Good:
–Cheap: So cheap that it sometimes makes me question buying regular priced items at Target stores.
–Apparel: One can find amazing varieties of men’s, women’s and children apparel currently or recently sold in Target stores. As well as target on-​line only dresses that one won’t find in stores. Be warned; XS, L & XL sizes are almost never in stock. This location primarily has sizes small, medium and 1X for women.
–Holiday Items: This location will sell in season holiday items for typically cheaper than you would find in store. For example, I bought my nephew a couple of Halloween costumes here, as well as Christmas decorations.
–Sales: They bottom level provides phenomenal clothing sales deals near bigger holidays and often has regular weekly sales for various items.
–Parking: Street parking and private lot parking is typically pretty easy to find
The Meh:
–Pricing: Although most of the items are cheaper than regular priced items at target, I’ve noticed that in the last year; prices have drastically increased. Prices have increased to the point where some times are cheaper in store or not far off from the sale/​clearance price at Target. For example, they will sell one infant onesies for $ 3, when I know the same onesie comes in a ³⁄₅ pack at Target stores for less than a breakdown of $ 3 per onesie. I recently saw a cheap plastic Tupperware set selling for $ 30, when the in store price is cheaper and certainly not used or returned for some reason in store. Price mark ups are especially true for furniture, purses/​bags and common kitchen utensils. I’m glad that the money goes to a good cause, but it doesn’t make me feel so great when I know the prices are jacked up more than they need to be.
–Sales Tags: Sales tags are color coded depending on the item and there are weekly sales based on the color of a sales tag. Announcements are made in the store about various sales and I highly suggest checking the chalkboard sign when you walk in to see the exact color sale/​deal of the day. I say this because the red sales tag look like a burnt orange, while the orange tags are a neon orange and unless you notice that, you may get an unexpected «surprise» at the checkout.
–Service: I’ve never received bad service from a cashier and I’m typically pleased with the customer service I receive. However. I often over hear arguments among employees, one time I overheard a manager investigating a theft incident amongst employees and it was loud and awkward.
–Temperature: I’m not sure if they have air conditioning or not, but in the summer it can get ridiculously hot, to the point where people are sweating while standing in line. When there’s big sales and tons of people the lower level becomes stifling hot; if you go to a 50% off clothing sale I suggest bringing a bottled water and prepare to stand in line for quite some time.
Misc.: All sales are final. No returns or exchanges allowed. Must have a photo ID for credit/​debit/​check purchases. I suggest checking and plugging in all electronics at the store before buying, I’ve purchased a few items that didn’t work or worked for a short amount of time

I am always on the lookout for the best places to score old ladies’ midi skirts and vintage décor, and let me say, this Salvation Army is one of the best.
The place is not only larger than most thrift stores, it also has a whole basement of Target rejects, so you can pick up a box of (unexpired) face moisturizer for half the price simply because the cardboard box has a few dings in it (I can’t believe I just spilled my secret). Last visit, I picked up a wicker basket, a wool coat, moisturizer and a lamp.
It’s so fun to peruse, just make sure you give yourself an hour at minimum.

Some days are diamonds some days are stone. You have to keep an eye open when visiting thrifty type stores. This location has more than the average for in box and never been worn items directly from that famous little french boutique Le Target’. You may not always find what you are looking for or even your size but if you need shit this is the place to consider looking for it. They have everything from lamps, clothing, small household applicances, sports equipment. Be careful as some things may be missing parts or look new but not work… Still for a bargin price it is worth the trip to look and see.

I was told I just HAD TO VISIT here by a friend, and that they have target stuff in the basement. So I did…
Well, the top floor was kind of what I expected. Junky and kind of gross stuff. Probably could find some nice things every once in a while.
Then, I went downstairs expecting it to be amazing.
Not at all.
Okay, so it’s not everyday that you find so many name brand things at a thrift store. I will agree with that. However, the prices were not a good deal at all!
All the things I saw were already clearanced at target for CHEAPER than what the Salvation Army was selling them for! Not impressed.
Left empty handed.
You can find better deals at target if you know what you’re looking for. To anybody who doesn’t pay attention to that, then this probably looks like a good deal to you.

I can’t express my love for this place!
They have stuff from Target (mostly), Walmart, Macy’s, Off 5^th Ave and some other retailers in the basement for about 50% off. They have holiday sales, which gives you additional 50% off for clothing and selected items. BTW, the upstairs is awesome too.
I can’t recall all the items I got, but I got a Coach purse for $ 10, a pair of designer shoes for $ 5, Vince shirt for $ 4 and daily necessities from the basement.
You do need to really look if you want to find some good stuff in the upstairs and the basement, but it is worth is.
I think Goodwill now knows what’s valuable and tends to overprice them, but here, all the items are sort of treated equally so if you’re lucky, you will find a crazy deal that you’ll never get at Goodwill.

Not as clean as some earlier thrift store stops. A nice selection of games. Lots of target brands as indicated by previous reviews. Large selection to search for treasures.

This review is for a web scheduled pickup, not the store.
When I went to schedule the pickup online appointments were available for a month out. The items were not in the list but the website did allow you to specify that the items were heavy. In the free form section of the scheduler I requested a call ahead of pickup as we were not going to be on site but were less than 10 minutes away.
Day of pickup and we get a call as we were driving over there, they were already on site. Thankfully they didn’t take off in the few minutes it took to get there. They came in to the building and looked at the items in the apartment and said they were too heavy for them. They also said if we wanted them picked up they would have to be at curbside which would not be feasible in this neighborhood and at this time of year (rain/​snow mix in forecast).
Nowhere in the web booking process was there any info about the pickup people needed things at the curb. The website even allowed you to specify that some items were heavy.
Thanks to SA’s poor communication skills a month’s rent was wasted waiting for their pickup service which was a big disappointment. That money could have been donated to them if it hadn’t gone to pay rent.
Communication is the skill that SA is lacking.
1. Don’t allow someone to request a heavy item be picked up if you don’t pick up heavy items
2. Inform donors ahead of time if something needs to be at the curb for pickup, not at the time of pick up.

Totally worth the trip. Plenty of parking right across the street. Upstairs is a regular thrift shop, but the entire basement is filled with Target overstock/​clearance/​buyer samples. Found some Tervis insulated mugs, normally $ 15 each, for only $ 3! Also got California Baby brand sunscreen for only 2 bucks. Can’t beat that. Lots of kitchenware, clothes and toys. Not a super deal on clothes, but if you have the time to search, you can find some bargains.

I feel like I have found something great. I stopped by over lunch hour and left giddy with thrifty goodness and was already planning my next trip. It was clean and organized and the selection is expansive. The basement floor seems to be stocked with a semi-​Target women’s section and much more. I didn’t have time to explore everything my first time around so I am pretty excited to go back!

Great place to drop off donations, the retail portion is closed on Sunday but they will still accept donations that day. The ground level floor is filled with lots of slightly used goods and you can find some really nice things if you’re willing to dig around. In the past I found some old wooden frames, lightly used kitchenware, drinking glasses and more. This location is great around Halloween, you can buy overstocked makeup from the basement and the upstairs has lots to work with if you are creative.
As many people mentioned, the downstairs portion is new overstocked goods or floor model inventory from Target. While the clothing has never really impressed me (too expensive, it’s basically Target prices minus a few dollars), they often have a great selection of housewares, appliances and furniture. Because the inventory is constantly changing, you may need to visit a few times before finding anything good.

Looks like the secret is out! I have been sneaking away to the basement level for years to grab some great «Target» deals. I get a lot of work shirts and workout pants here. I have also scored great deals on shoes. You can’t be picky but the selection continues to grow each time I am there.
I also bought a desk from here a year back and it was quite a steal. My brother bought two laptops from here with no complaints. They recently opened up a furniture section as well with some great steals — I even saw treadmills!
I think the most fun is just going to look and coming out with a random assortment of items — earrings, strainer, spray cleaner, cute top.

Great big store with a ton of stuff, pretty significant quantity of books, CDs and VHS, with some quality to boot. Huge clothes selection; I found some pretty good T-​shirts here recently. Their furniture options are pretty solid: couches and coffee tables for reasonable prices. The toy section has some surprises as well; I found a Kiss Peter Criss mask that looked to be from the 80s, vintage. Couldn’t pay $ 20 for it though!
The staff is nice here and there’s a lot to look at. A perfect warehouse-​sized Salvation Army for the Warehouse district, wouldn’t you say?

I wish I had discovered this place sooner!
The top floor is standard salvation army fare. The basement is all leftover clearance straight from Target. They also seem to have a bit of their competitor’s stuff because I noticed a few Walmart private brand items.
The clothes are mostly the stuff you looked at when it was on clearance in store but decided against. Make sure you know your prices on clothes because it seemed like a lot of the clothes were priced more than what you could find them on clearance for in the store. But they have a lot more than clothes. Curtains, sheets, kitchenware, lots of small appliances (go here if you need a blender or coffeemaker) and random other stuff.
On my trip I walked out with a cute top, a heart hand towel, a missoni hand towel, and a heavy duty staple gun for $ 22 total. Seems like a deal to me.

This place is my favorite salvation army store in the Twin Cities.
Its huge with two floors the top is for regular merch that they get donated while the second bottom floor is all brand new Target items including Target Samples! I always find something here and they always have deals going on especially during holidays where you can find clothing for half off what a steal!
The sizes for men aren’t that great though my bf is a Large and it seems like all they ever have are smalls and mediums barely any of the bigger sizes.
One down side of this place is there is a no return or exchange policy so always check what you plan on buying for stains, holes, tears, and if the material might shrink just like any other thrift store.
Also during the summer months its does get very hot inside the building so make sure to wear outfits that match the outside weather otherwise you’ll suffer inside.

My sisters and I coined this place «The Special Spot». That’s what we always call it, and what all our friends know it as.
It’s the best of both worlds.
New Target stuff downstairs.
Used and vintage stuff upstairs.
UPSTAIRS:
There is lots going on up there. I’ve found lots of good shoes, skirts, purses etc. They tend to weed out really damaged things, so you don’t have to sift through too much crap. Everything is pretty well organized in the shoe and clothing department.
DOWNSTAIRS: I seriously never buy any household or clothing items at an actual Target store anymore. Why would I if I can get it WAY cheaper at the special spot? I’ve bought countless dresses and tops here. They FINALLY have changing rooms too!
The workers are soooo nice. I’m pretty sure they recognize my sisters and I.

Have been to this location a few times. It’s pretty good sized. Upstairs and downstairs.
I’ve noticed that they have started selling bread. It must be the day old stuff from a local bakery. Sorry, but there are just certain things that I wouldn’t buy at a thrift store. It’s kind of like the dollar store. Certain things yes, certain things no. Maybe that’s just me.
The downstairs is filled with all of the «as is» merchandise. Once in awhile they have some really nice stuff. Have found a couple next to new office chairs which were in great condition.
Upstairs is more rummage sale-​y with old knick knacks, games, books etc.
This location is not bad. It’s fun to see what people have donated, what I’ve donated and what they are pricing things for.
Prices are fairly reasonable for a thrift store which is appreciated. I dislike going to thrift stores and seeing things priced ridiculously for something I can buy brand new retail.

My girlfriend and I were surprised to find that we had to get buzzed in to enter. We were greeted by two smiling men wearing suits in a polished reception area.
I was starting to say «Wow, this is the nices – » and she was saying, «Uh, I don’t think this – » when we both realized we had walked into the Salvation Army Adult Rehab next door to the thrift store.
So yeah, don’t do that.
The main floor of the store seemed to be undergoing some messy remodeling, but there were some solid standard finds — a vintage Lee denim jacket, wood chairs I wish I would have found before going to Ikea, and a DIY sushi kit (with a gift receipt [!]).
I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the mannequin torsos had plush Winnie-​the-​Pooh dolls as heads — a most impressive decorative flourish.
We were there, however, for the sale room downstairs, which did have quite a bit of brand new Target stuff, but nothing terribly exciting.
A lot of the more appealing clothes, dishware, and furniture straddled the fence between really-​cheap-​for-​Target and really-​pricey-​for-​Salvation-​Army.
A few new shirts from Converse One Star and William Rast caught my eye but didn’t make the cut.
All in all, a slightly-​above-​average location, but it was close enough to the library to warrant inclusion on my schedule of occasional downtown adventures. As other reviewers have mentioned, timing seemed to be a pretty big factor here, and the appeal of being able to walk into Target thinking, «These suckers pay full price for all this stuff?» should warrant future visits.
I did end up leaving with pair of $ 6 Dolce Vita pointed derby shoes with studded toes, despite my girlfriend being all, «Do you really need those? You know they’re women’s shoes, right?»
Fear not, pretty lady: convenience is on our side. We both know where I can go if my thrifting addiction were to ever get out of hand.