Goodwill Shop and Donate

The prices at this Goodwill are BEYOND RIDICULOUS. Yes the store is clean and well organized — that’s a Goodwill standard I’ve come to expect, but there were so many things here that were HIGHER PRICED than in the store brand new! I saw Dollar Tree brand items (Greenbrier International) priced at 3.99 and 4.99. I saw a few Target $ 3 items priced for 5.99. It seems someone has their head in the clouds or they’re getting greedy. Or maybe it’s because they need to pay for those expensive billboards all over the place?
Their 50% off «color of the week» is also VERY CONFUSING. They say «blue tags» but everything in the store has a blue tag. What they mean is the little plastic tag HOLDER has to be blue. Those were few and far between.
The only saving grace of this store, and reason I would even consider going back, is the friendly employees and the silent auctions. They have an amazing auction area in the front of the store (walk in and turn right) where you can bid on some really cool stuff in great condition. It’s a silent auction with a book where you write your bid and leave your contact info. I do have a qualm about this as well — your contact info is there, exposed to the public, for anyone to write down! That’s a bit scary.
I go up this way quite often, and eat at the Fazoli’s next door, so I’ll pop in this place, but it’s definitely not a place to go out of the way for. Especially when just up the road 30 minutes is the Goodwill Blue Hangar outlet.

I give this place one star because of how poorly the management staff is. They lounge around. Are not helpful what so ever. I heard one even comment on the shorts I was wearing and make fun of it. I know for a fact it was mine. Simply put: this is the worst goodwill experience I’ve ever had. Never coming back here.

Huge selection of clothes… lots of housewares, furniture, knick-​knacks, etc. Today was Goodwill’s big 50%OFF sale and it was mad busy… but all the staff I encountered were pleasant, friendly, and helpful. They greeted us coming in and thanked us leaving. My first time there… but will not be my last.
Sherry

3.5 stars would be my rating! I thought this Goodwill absolutely fabulous. The employees and CSR workers were all super friendly and helpful.
The store it’s self was clean, neat, organized. Not a single item of clothing on the ground or off it’s hanger. The sizing on clothes was all very clear and not mix ups!
The selection of clothing was pretty decent. Given it’s not going to be your high class stuff, but every now and then you find some good buys.
**i bought a north face coat for $ 15 that I later went home and found on the internet for $ 250!!**
Overall, this place has got me returning.

A pretty decent Goodwill. The building is new so everything looks up to par. The staff were all friendly and helpful. The store layout needs some work. For example, they have the men’s t-​shirts not where the have the men’s clothing but in a far corner behind housewares. Anyway, it’s a well stocked, nice Goodwill if you’re in the neighborhood and if you’re not, it’s not so much better or worse than any other so spare yourself the trip and go somewhere closer.

This place is a lot of fun! I did a quick stop & they have a big selection of EVERYTHING including furniture. Their prices are also lower than other goodwill stores I’ve been to lately.

Oh, how I wanted to love this Goodwill, as a new San Marcos resident and experienced thrift shopper. :(
First things first. this store STINKS. Literally. I’m not sure what is going on «in back» but it smells like someone has a truck pumping in gallons of sickly sweet smelling Fabreze or similar. The whole store reeks, all the merchandise reeks, and I get a headache every single time I go in there. Asthmatic? Don’t risk it! My asthmatic son can’t go in at all. It’s awful. I have never experienced this at any other Goodwill stores, at least not to this extreme, and I recently moved from San Antonio where there are MANY more Goodwill stores (and I’ve visited them all).
Next — organization. This store has a section of miscellaneous stuff, near the back /​bathroom area and over by all the dishes. Lots of donated «new» small goods like school supplies and printer ink and so forth. The problem is, they try to use the hangers that come straight out of the shelving to hang all this stuff and none of it will actually stay there. In order to see something on the back of the row, you have to take everything else off the row. The shelves immediately under the hanging bars are piled high with stuff, and pretty much any time you try and look through this area, stuff just constantly falls to the floor. Every time I am there they have a volunteer puting stuff away and picking stuff up and it is a losing battle. They need to re-​think their strategy here.
Third: non-​working electronic stuff. Yes, they have a short warranty for returns but why not test stuff first and save us all a headache? They claim that they DO test stuff, but I’ve found numerous items that just didn’t work. I’ve pointed out broken items to management, only to find the same item on the shelves weeks later.
Finally, but the biggest factor for me; price. They’ve got a «boutique» mentality going on here. There are no sales, ever. No manager specials, no color of the week, nothing. They are priced higher than the Goodwill stores in San Antonio and Austin. Their prices are more in line with the «boutique» Austin Goodwill stores. Women’s blazers are $ 8.99, dresses are also $ 8.99, small kitchen appliances are often priced very close to what it would cost to buy them new at Walmart.
Maybe they figure they are the only game in town so they can get away with it? I guess. Personally, I’d rather drive to New Braunfels, Austin, SA, etc. and shop elsewhere. I visit this Goodwill to lightly browse but NOT for hard-​core shopping.
Oh, the one good thing — employees are all very friendly.

I don’t know what’s going on at this location, but the last 2 times I’ve been there, there is a completely overwhelming scent of, like, Irish Spring soap… as if they’re pumping some kind of fragrance through the air system. It gave me migraines both times… it’s awful! How can anyone even be in there for more than 5 minutes?! I’m concerned for the employees health!

It’s Goodwill. Tons of cheap stuff. Great for college shopping.

Hands down the best Goodwill in the Austin/​San Antonio area. I’ve been going to Goodwill since my childhood. Love the steals and deals. This Goodwill is clean, organized and often has brand new items from the local department stores. Ok, it smells like Goodwill, you know that funky, stale smell. But, once you wash and clean your finds, it’s all in the past, and you’ve saved a load of cash. My last great find was a brand new pair of Franco Sarto shoes.

Goodwill hearkens back to those bygone days of yore when the words «thrift store» actually meant somewhere people shop to be thrifty, not somewhere hipsters price gouge other hipsters seeking trendy/​retro items to be ironic (further proof that hipsters ruin everything). It does not get much thriftier than Goodwill. They have a wide variety of gently used clothing for people of all shapes and sizes as well as shoes, furniture, books, and other household items. The last time the BF and I went there, I scored a sweet shirt and a set of six wine glasses and the BF got a pair of slacks and a button down shirt. I have never purchased anything here that was in poor condition and sometimes you can even find items that are brand new with the tags from the store still attached for a small fraction of the original price.
We also donate items that we no longer use here and they make it as simple as possible with their drive-​thru donation station. If you want a tax write off they have the paperwork for that as well and you can even fill it out at home so you don’t have to hold up the line. Where else can you find somewhere that provides services that are both convenient and cheap? Very few places, I’m afraid.
Oh, and hipsters! Last time I was there, I saw a framed poster of Ronald Reagan from his second presidential election campaign, circa 1985. It would be so ironic if you bought that and hung it on your wall. You know you want it.

I personally can be cheap and I like to recycle. Therefore I shop and donate to Goodwill. I just recently bought two pairs of jeans from there and it was only $ 17.50. I know if I was to go to Wal-​Mart, it would be that much just for one pair of jeans. I have never had an issue with any of my purchases from Goodwill. Whatever I buy, I wash after buying them, and they are like new. I have even bought a pair of vans from there and they even had the price tag on them of $ 46.90, and all I paid was $ 12. I have bought books, cds, random items for a home, and many, many clothes from Goodwill. The best thing about Goodwill is the costumer service, they always say «have a great day», «is there anything I can help you with?» and «thank for putting good people to work.» They support people with disabilities, they help them and youth get jobs, I love companies that give back to the community, so I have no problem spending my time and money at Goodwill. Plus right now, they are loaded with Halloween costumes and items, making it easy and affordable to look good this Halloween.