Goodwill

I often tell myself that I am a thrift store connoisseur to make my simple obsession justified. From my «connoisseur-​y» views on second stores, this one is a goody! I was excited at the large amount of treasures to search through just by my entrance into Goodwill. Overall initial impression of this place… ahhhhhhhhhhh, yayeeeeeee! Most second hand stores have sections that stand out more than the others but this one offers a ton of clothes, home goods, electronics, shoes, and the glory, the Great Wall of Purses. I would say the only area they are lighter on is men’s clothing.
If you are looking for a one of a kind piece of furniture, their furniture section is the MAC DADDY OF THEM ALL! Bring a truck!
To close out my fun morning at Goodwill, I found a three hundred dollar purse for $ 15.00 (I study my buys), a leather tote, and a pair of leather shoes for $ 7.00. I win! I will say prices are higher than my normal thirfties I frequent but that is probably due to being in Seattle. I still felt like I found some great treats and I probably could have found more but nothing was below $ 7.00/$ 10.00 which is steep for a thrift store, not matter the location.
Everyone was so friendly and helpful but the bathroom and dressing rooms were a mess. No matter, I suggest getting here early in the morning if you can. I left around 10:00 am on a Friday and the isles and dressing rooms started to fill quickly.
Note: They have new items here as well.

This store has three dressing rooms that are always full. 5 items in the dressing room ok fine, now they’re prodding me for how many I want to try on total because ‘oh people are waiting’ because their dumbassses won’t get more dressing rooms!
Then I get to the register and the lady says «no, no. I can’t sell these pants to you. They have the wrong price tag.» What? Oh well, I guess they have a bigger price tag for me in the back. Cool, I’ll wait here while you go decide how much money to charge me.

If you’re a woman bigger than a size 8 – 10, this is not the store for you!
This particular location has an obvious bias against sizes larger than 8 – 10 or Medium. There’s next to nothing bigger than that, and if you ask any questions the managers are beyond rude about it and often times will flat out lie and say, «oh well we just don’t have any in right now».
As an experiment, some friends and I went in every 2 days or so for a month shopping for «plus size» (apparently they consider anything bigger than a 10 to be plus size) clothing. Anything bigger than a large is isolated from the rest of the clothing section, and often times the clothes in it are severely Mis-​sized (you’ll find size 6 clothing marked as 18 or XXL). If it wasn’t bad enough that they’ve isolated «bigger» women, they’re also quite brash if you ask if there’s more of a selection that isn’t out.
I would NOT recommend this place to ANYONE. Value village is only a few blocks away and it’s 110% better.

I have been a regular customer at this Goodwill for a number of years. They are fairly organized in the mornings when it’s not as busy. I found many items at great prices in the past.
That said, prices have gone up noticeably since last year. For instance, the color tag sale started on Thursday at 50% off. That’s changed to 30% on Thursdays and Fridays. The 99 cents (usually the following Monday) are now $ 1.79.
In general, all items are now priced $ 1 or more per item, with little consideration of the condition. Children’s brands are on adult racks. Many items are overly priced for used donated goods. They do not seem to have a good grasp of pricing. Thrift store customers are looking for value. Somehow this store seems to have forgotten about this.

This location puts the good in Goodwill, Today I walked in carrying two items I was trying to match for color and coordinates. I found three items that worked, when I got to the cashier I put the items I’d found on the counter, and explained the other two items were mine. The cashier was very pleasant, and asked if I wanted a bag, I declined and said I had one with me. He rang up the sale, put the items in the bag and, out the door I went. I didn’t realize until I got home my two items were not in the bag. I called the store and was told I’d have to go back with my receipt. So I went back and showed them the sales slip, which has the time, date, and cashiers name, [ Theo] was taking his lunch break, but the manager reviewed the tape in the meantime. The film revealed the sale but did not show my two items. By now Theo was back from lunch and he took it from there. We didn’t know if the items had been taken by a customer, or if they’d been recycled to the pricing dept. Theo spent a good 45 min to an hour in the back looking for the slacks and top. Using my description and apologizing for keeping me waiting, at last he came back with ½ dozen brown pants and several red tops. Low and Behold there they were! He really made my day. Thank You Theo for all your good work. You went above and beyond the call of duty for me. Just know your efforts are very much appreciated. Smiles Page

I’ve gone to this goodwill for years and buy most of my daughters clothes here as well as other home goods. Last night while shopping I found a used luggage set that was priced very high and although it was a nice set, was cheaper to buy online new than it was to buy used at goodwill. After asking multiple employees about it including the manager they just said there was a reason it was priced that way. I did research about the item online and went back to talk to the manager Theo who was on duty. I let him know it was only sold on amazon and it was a product that was only available from amazon. I also let him know Costco sold the product in 2014 new for less than the price goodwill was selling it used. You really have to watch pricing here! do you research as they will take advantage of you and offer no explanation or help.

I’ve been going to both the Shoreline and Ballard Goodwill locations regularly since we moved to North Seattle two years ago. This location has always been a nightmare parking-​wise, but it was worth it because they seemed to have a high concentration of nicer things than Shoreline. Almost all the staff I’ve encountered has been very helpful and kind, so few complaints there.
Issues:
The dressing rooms are a nightmare, and it doesn’t seem like any one employee is trained to handle them the same way, so it’s hard to figure out what you’re supposed to do, and then they often get irritated when you don’t do it correctly because they’re dealing with huge lines.
In the past two or so months leading up to Christmas, I’ve noticed prices seem to be getting a lot higher. Maybe it’s just a fluke, but it’s becoming the norm to see things like $ 30-​$ 40 sweaters and jeans and jackets in the ‘fashion collection.’ And the average price of a color-​tagged item seems to have risen from roughly $ 4-​$ 6 to sometimes upwards of $ 8-​$ 10. (Don’t even get me started on the terrifyingly bad ‘curation’ of black-​labeled items, but that is true of every Goodwill that follows that structure – it’s a terrible idea and always terribly executed. I’ve been to Goodwills all over the country and it’s never done well.) They especially love to jack up prices on anything Lululemon, North Face, and other expensive labels; the issue is that condition doesn’t seem to be taken into account, so a very outdated and stained/​ripped/​beat up item will still be priced very high as long as it has an expensive brand label. I can certainly see charging a premium for expensive items in good condition, but it seems that employees have been trained to only look for brands (for example, they wanted $ 10 for an Under Armor thin fleece pullover that had a substantial burn hole in the front).
(Also, don’t get me started about how the way the barb tags are attached to clothing actually puts holes in them the majority of the time – I just bought my husband a beautiful polo only realize it had for some reason been pierced through TWO spots in the sleeve – why? – and created a hole in an otherwise lovely shirt – why ruin good items that people donate to you in kindness?)
Some weeks, I am at Goodwill more than once (it’s a hobby at this point) but I have already stopped going to this location except on occasion. The prices are reaching consignment store levels, but it’s not managed, organized, or curated like a consignment store, so it’s simply not worth it when you might as well go somewhere that has similar prices but you have a much higher expectation of quality and less to sort through. I shop at Goodwill for deals and ‘treasure hunting,’ and I usually leave Ballard feeling like I got taken advantage of these days. Takes the fun out of it entirely for me, as well as my goal of saving my family money. Maybe I’ll check back after Christmas and see if it’s a holiday price inflation issue…
For now, I find Shoreline to be less chaotic, and they charge up to half as much for the same items. You have more stuff to sort through, but if you have the time, you can still find a good deal there if you look, which is not the case in Ballard.
Ballard, you’ve gotten an ego! Don’t forget you’re still a Goodwill serving people in your community…

Let me start by saying I have shop in almost every single goodwill and even though this one is not the biggest, it has by far more selective, quality items.
I usually go into a goodwill once to twice a month and drop 200 dollars or more, but I hate to feel taken advantage off! I was recently in the Ballard one and something really annoying happened to me, after I grabbed around $ 200 dollars in items I went to pay and a pair of shoes I grabbed had a tag of $ 6.99. The cashier went to her manager standing near her, talk to her for a few seconds and the manager came back telling me that there was a tag on top of a tag and that the real price was $ 14.99. Since I’m pregnant I didn’t want to get riled up so I stayed quiet and just paid for it.
But here is the deal:
What annoys me is that I have been reading reviews in Unilocal about different goodwills and something similar has happened to other people, stuff like the item not having a tag and when they ask, they get charge a ridiculous high price. It seems to happened in nicer locations, I don’t know if they look at you and judge if you have money or not to pay for it.
I have been 100 times in the south seattle location and never had an issue like this. I like this location because its convenient due that I live in first hill seattle. Even though it’s the biggest one, it’s not the best merchandise or the nicest store.
Anyways my point with all this is that I feel taken advantage off!!! I guess next time I will leave my LV bag at home and wear crappy clothes so they don’t see me as the idiot that will pay more or I will just not shop at the goodwill anymore!

On the hunt for items for a Halloween costume, I stopped at this location in Ballard to see their wares. I was looking for a tweed jacket & pants, a bowtie, and some big framed glasses.
The store itself is impeccably organized and the clothing racks are so full, it’s literally hard to move the hangers one way or the other. This is probably a good thing, but makes for tricky shopping.
I snagged a tweed jacket for $ 7.99 — it wasn’t a name brand but it was exactly what I was looking for. I almost picked a different name-​brand jacket (can’t remember what) and the original tag was on it, marked at about $ 150, and it was on for $ 12.99! Also snagged a pair of passé 90’s tweed stirrup pants that make my middle look like I’ve got a floatation ring under my outfit (lol!). Snagged the glasses and bowtie off the Halloween rack for $ 4.99 and $ 3.99 respectively. My Halloween outfit rang up at about $ 27 with tax included, which isn’t terrible considering I bought actual clothing pieces — of which, I’ll just donate back to Goodwill.
The parking lot here was insanely busy when I arrived around 1:45pm, and I got the last parking spot in the lot at the time. By the time I left, the lot was once again full with a parade of hopeful shoppers looking for a parking spot. They had blocked the south entrance to the parking lot, so all inbound and outbound vehicles were using one entrance/​exit area.
I’ll be back, because I can tell if I had more time, I could find some real gems here! Gotta love Ballard.

I went to donate a bag of clothing at their drive through location today, and the staff member attending the drop off center treated me with extreme and unwarranted rudeness. Even hours later I still feel frustrated and wronged. I understand that the line was long and he had probably worked a long day, but I don’t see that as a fair justification for his attitude and behavior. I will not be returning to donate more items to this location because I cannot support a business which condones this attitude from their employees, especially towards those actively donating so that they can operate.

Very nice selection of various items.
BIG store!
Nice employees. Their employee Gary, is so nice and helpful.
I will most defiantly be back.

I’ve gotten little things here (always on a whim) like a small fan, wicker laundry basket, and countless books. The electronics section has power strips and outlets– make sure to test the item before buying.
They also seem to have a pretty large selection of new items, from very modestly priced kitchen gadgets to hygiene products.
I’m reviewing for the speed and ease of donation services, though. After calling some pick up places and hearing that they tend to pick and choose from your donation items, I decided it was worth it to drive in to Goodwill and drop things off myself.
There were at least 3 – 4 guys working on a Wednesday afternoon. They were friendly and polite and helped move my boxes from the car and trunk into the donation bins. Best part is they take it all– clothing, housewares, décor… I’ve even seen billboards advertising that you should bring in holey or stained clothing (not sure why, but I for one used to toss those instead of donating).
They ask if you want a receipt at the end, where you fill out the estimated value of your goods for tax purposes. Will donate again!

I love this particular goodwill. They are very organized and things are really easy to find. This store also tends to get more of the better quality, clean and even new clothing (other items) w/​original store tags. I love the vases of junk jewelry but this particular store rarely gets them. The one on the south side has tons though. I would go here everyday if I could but then I would probably be broke and need the services that they offer lol I’ll keep coming back and again and again.

I love this particular goodwill. They are very organized and things are really easy to find. This store also tends to get more of the better quality, clean and even new clothing (other items) w/​original store tags. The staff is great… especially the furniture handlers. They have tons of quality craft supplies and I love the vases of junk jewelry but this particular store rarely gets them. The one on the south side has tons though. I would go here everyday if I could but then I would probably be broke! I’ll keep coming back again and again.

Tons of selection and great stuff. I once saw two ladies leave with IKEA shelves they got for $ 20.00 each. I like this store because they always have a constant flow of stuff coming in. But with that in mind, they are always busy. Parking is limited and there can be a long line and wait for donations. Unlike, Value Village, coupons are not given when you donate. If that matters to you, which it sometimes does to me, you might want to go to Value Village.

This is my favorite Goodwill store. It’s huge, easy parking, clean, and well organized. I always find something I want here. Their clothing selection is my favorite. During my last visit I found a pair of $ 200+ jeans (sold at Urban Outfitters) for $ 6 and a top from Nordstrom for $ 1.49. You can’t beat that. I wish they had a wider selection of toys and kids stuff, but you can’t win ‘em all I guess.

Loved it! This is a pretty big goodwill so It took an hour for me to browse through the women’s tops and shoes.
Altogether it seemed like pretty decent items with a good number of recognizable brands that didn’t look completely worn out. Sure there are always those bad apples, so you have to do due diligence and check seams for holes and look for all the button but for the most part there was a good selection. There were a couple more trendy items but mostly solid staples for very reasonable prices ($ 7 banana republic sweater? Yup!)
The ladies managing the dressing room were really friendly even though they looked a bit overworked. It was a little slow to check out just cause there were so many people in line — kinda reminded me of how people queue up at Nordstrom Rack. Altogether a great find, I’ll definitely make it a point to stop by if I’m in the area.

This location is like most others but much busier. Parking is a pain so avoid the place during peak times when everyone is off work. This location seems to be kind of trendy to shop at, believe it or not. I’ve been in once and got a great deal on a nice Kenwood 5.1 receiver. The staff I had contact with seemed friendly and helpful. The store was clean, orderly and didn’t have quite the smell that others have.
Avoid the Shoreline Goodwill as it’s apples and oranges compared to this location.

Today was the last straw I had been to this location a handful of times and I always leave disappointed (yes I learned my lesson this time) I have found a few good items that I will treasure; however I did pay a hefty price for them this place is obviously overpriced and most of the workers here are rude especially the jewelry people they don’t want to help you get things out of cases to look at they give you attitude about it then when you come back to the counter to buy a couple items & your jewelry they say go stand in line and tell them you have jewelry… really you can’t ring me up for my two items in my jewelry that’s already at your department completely ridiculous I will never come here again I do not recommend it to anybody complete waste of time

The managers are not friendly at all. I spent several hundreds of dollars on my trip and they started tripping on one shirt I had that was without a tag. They wanted to charge me 3 times what I paid for my other same brand shirts.
I never understand why you don’t try to make the customer happy instead of trying to make sure a customer won’t come back and I won’t.
There are friendlier places out there with better prices. Find them

This Goodwill is a madhouse. It’s almost always busy and there are usually about 100 employees running around with carts or trolleys or some other stocking device.
It’s fairly well organized and has quite a big section of new, dollar-​store kitchen goods and other wares. The prices can be high but that seems to be the problem with thrift stores in general. They figured out that people donate good stuff and they charge you for it.
They do have sales on occasion and that is the time to buy. The sales actually bring the prices to what they should be, all the time.
Parking is a bit like Death Race 2000, so park on the street, and skip the mêlée.