Goodwill Industries of Alberta

I went here because I had a thrifting day. I normally just go to the Value Village up the road but I decided to go to both last week. I like to look through everything, so it was nice that this store is smaller.
First of all, if you’re looking for a massive selection of things, save yourself the time and go to value village. The housewares selection here is pretty poor unless you’re in love with coffee mugs. The books and toy and bag selection aren’t really that bad. The clothing selection is decent but I do like that they have a set price for each article. You can find a $ 70 shirt for $ 7, but you can also find a $ 2 shirt for $ 7 type thing. It’s good if you find hidden gems but it’s not that outstanding if you’re looking for things like plain sweaters or simple t-​shirts. I purchased a mason jar, two windbreakers/​fall jackets, a shirt, a Nike workout shirt, and a hat. I also got a huge plaid scarf. I’m very thrifty and was obviously impressed with the prices.
They had a red tag sale when I went which was awesome. Getting cheap stuff for even cheaper is a good feeling. The jackets turned out to be $ 4 which made my heart (and my wallet) very very happy. Go when they have a tag sale, it makes the shop a lot smoother.
The woman working the till was atrociously rude when I tried to make conversation and ask how her day was going. But she did give me a non-​red tag 50% off which was pretty nice of her, I guess. Decent experience. Would go back for the sales.

This used to be a weekly stop for me during my last year of college and with some time to kill before meeting someone nearby today I decided to revisit to see what if anything had changed. The housewares collection here was never outstanding and it doesn’t look like it has gotten any better over the years. There are lots of books, clothes, toys, and accessories but for items like dishes you would probably leave disappointed if you counted on getting it from here.
Going back to the clothes the selection here is fairly decent sized as it is a larger store. None of the ladies racks I went through had any faded or overwashed items but some of the styles did seem a little dated. The nice thing about Goodwill versus Value Village is that everything follows a set price list. All the long sleeved shirts for instance are all the same price no matter what brand they are made by.
It was nice to be back after all these years and come in and poke around but I left with nothing today. It’s not a bad shopping experience by any means but the combination of somewhat dated clothing, limited housewares, and the fact there is a pretty awesome Value Village just across the street means I can only justify giving it three stars.