The Salvation Army

One of my favorite thrift stores in Pgh. Wednesday is family day — which is half off clothing and shoes. That’s the best.

The prices are great, the associates are friendly, the hours are good, and the selection is pretty comprehensive. I bought a piece of furniture, a shirt, and a gym bag. Ample street parking and bright interior. Better than Goodwill in South Side.

The old, 2 story Sal Val has moved around the corner to infamous East Carson. The building itself is huge & bright compared to the former store.
Bobby wanted to stop in yesterday so we made a trip here. The fact that everything is color coordinated is awesome. Not only that but style coordinated. Red polos are with red polos, brown long sleeve shirts are together, ect. Even sweater vests were in their own category :) The clothes don’t seem old and run down when organized this way. They had a decent furniture and home goods section (lots of halloween stuff on the lowww) While browsing the aisles i found 3 sweaters that looked like new. I’ve noticed my fall wardobe is basically brown, black or gray so i found a nice pink & white sweater, turqoise sweater and a cardigan.
There is a parking lot behind the building (through the alley) Its kind of easier to just find street parking right in front and pay $ 1.

I want to give this location of the Salvation Army 5 stars but I just couldn’t do it. Let’s start with some pros!
— Huge beautiful brand new store that is now well lit, with wide aisles!
— Clean. It’s nearly grocery store clean.
— Clean public restrooms.
— HUGE dressing rooms. Benches, hooks, mirrors. I’ve noticed a lot of Pittsburgh thrift stores don’t have a place to try things on.
— A very large selection of clothes. Not a ton in the children’s clothing area, but a lot of adult clothes.
Now some cons…
— The majority of the clothes felt like cast off college coed clothes. There is some variety but it’s a lot of American Eagle, smaller sized clothing. You’ve really got to dig. Not a lot of skirts, which I always think is weird. I’m a skirt buyer 110%.
— Not a whole lot in the ream of jewelry, even your common plastic costume jewelry you get used to see at a thrift store is lacking here.
— Every single afghan I’ve picked up has anima hair on it. I love a good Grandma made afghan, but I just can’t abide by people not washing them before they bring them in.
— Also, I can not find hours for this store. I’ve gone to the Salvation Army’s website AND called and can’t get store hours. (I’ll take a photo the next time I’m walking by.)
— Lastly, and this is the big one, the line takes forever to get through. Even when there is just one other person in line ahead of you. The people ringing customer’s out are REALLY taking their time and not in the friendly «Let’s make conversation!» way either. I have stood in line with two cashiers working and two people ahead of me in line and waited 20 min.
In all it’s worth the stop in its brand new store front location, make sure you have some time, and REALLY dig. Happy hunting!