Salvation Army

There is a lot of good merchandise relatively well-​organized and much cheaper than any other thrift shop. The oddest part is the boutique side, where not-​so-​nice brand names are marked up a couple hundred percent from the regular floor. I think the folks who work here are sweethearts who put up with a lot of attempted bargaining from customers and not the best technology for checkout. Good place!

I have to update my rating, because the store has gotten a bit more organized and because it is so much better than other thrift stores in the area. I make the rounds of other Salvation Army stores — including the huge one on 7^th Street in Oakland — as well as the Goodwill stores, and this place has them beat by a mile.
If you’re looking for furniture, this location is terrific. Lots of decent stuff at great prices. Clothes are a bit more hit and miss, as they always are at thrift shops. But all in all, I have ended up purchasing more clothing here than at any of the other thrift stores in the area. I look at all kinds of places, but I FIND here. That’s why it has officially earned the title of «The Gettin’ Place» in my book.
Best part: There are discounts of 25% to 75% every day.

It’s a thrift store, exactly what you’d expect. I didn’t really have much experience with employees or anything. So nothing bad, but nothing too great.

Pretty good selection of stuff a little more costly the others but better selection of stuff! Good place to shop

0 star for Angela, the manager was so disrespectful and discriminative. As my mom walked to the cashier to pay for the item she removed and changed the price. And she wouldn’t give 30% off discount that they advertised. So my mom just asked to atleast get her senior discount. But she still insisted that it was already a good price so she cant give us a discount. And she raised her voice and said, If you dont want it then don’t buy it.
Im never gonna go back to that place ever. Aside from the awful service. The place is disorganized and nasty. I don’t leave negative comments to a place because I wanna give people a chance but that Angela was just too much. She is arrogant and disrecpectful.

i have not been so humiliated and treated with discrimination by the lady at the check out counter today, april 6 when i visited the store. i went to the store to drop off my donation and decided to go in just to see what’s in the store. i like jewelries so i check out the counter first and waited patiently for my turn. the lady who claimed herself as the manager said that she can not help me because she was going on break and that i have to wait for the other check out girl. she told the other lady before she left in a foreign language to show one by one because it might be stolen. when i moved to the other display, the manager lady was back from break and i asked her to show me the one tray. she got the tray and rudely set the tray on the counter and picked each one and said i can only see one at a time. i went ahead and looked at the first three items and then she said that i cant see the rest because i can only see items for short time. rudely telling me that she can tell me to leave the store and not help me at all. i asked for the manager and she proudly said she is the manager and she said again that she can refuse to sell anything to me. i asked to see the manager because of few reasons. 1. a customer has the right to see any item that is on display. 2. speaking foreign language in front of a customer is very unprofessional. 3. yelling or speaking loudly to customer is humiliating, and will create commotion to the other customers. 4. sales people or workers are getting paid to show items and are there to help, not to be proud and feeling we need them. they need us for profit so they can get paid. we are the reason why they have work. 5. managers are the front liners, the face of the store. this lady is very unprofessional. she’s judgmental and rude to selected people. i saw how she acted nicely to other customers and rudely to other few ones. salvation army is now pestered by unprofessional uneducated workers who don’t have any knowledge of customer service. they are only out there for the money, no love of the job they are doing and gives a bad reputation to the company. i truly believe that this so called manager, as she claim she was should not be working there, if she does, she needs to learn to adjust and be flexible, not judgmental and stop discriminating people because of color, race or sex. i had to be the bigger person and left the store and believe me. i will never donate to that store again and i will be telling this to my other friends and relatives who donates to salvation army

I honestly love this place!
Donating is always hella easy, and since I love thrifting, I can spend hours here going through the racks. I’ve found ugly sweaters (which I love!) baskets for making gift baskets, and frames to make chalk boards, and other various items for DIY things. Also; my dad found a dresser for me a few years ago too, which I still use to this day (I want to paint it, but I don’t have time for alla that) but it serves it’s purpose, so I can’t be mad.
The organization is what I would expect from any thrift store, and it smells like old lady, but again, it’s expected.

Top awesome things about this place: it’s super clean and organized. Employees look happy. Also scored a pair of $ 200 shoes for the price of five bucks in new condition. And new vans for seven bucks.
The bad: They do have some beautiful pieces of 60−70s furniture. However the price range for all of it? $ 45 – 199 for dinged up couches, end tables, dressers, entertainment centers. It’s not worth the price especially when it’s dinged up with major dents and such. If anything the price should range $ 20 – 45. I’m cheap but I also know furniture. You’re better off spending the big bucks at CB2 or Ikea. The second, really really really humid in there, the building has no air and that’s normal for the Bay Area. When going there dress like you’re in Arizona or Florida.
Great selection of things, but most of it very over priced. Beware.

Donating items was a breeze, which was the main purpose of my visit. Employees readily took a big bag of clothes, poster, and television that I had.
I thought the parking lot and store were unusually full for a Thursday afternoon, but it didn’t get in the way of browsing. The store is chock-​full of merchandise, mainly clothes.

Today as part of my Saturday tasks, I took a senior citizen shopping at Salvation Army. While she was picking up clothing for herself, I stumbled onto a set of NEW tire chains in the box, that fit my car.
For $ 10 I have a set of tire chains to fit my SUV.

One of the better thrift stores I’ve been to. This place has a great selection of furniture and little knit knacks that you didn’t know you wanted! The people here are friendly and really willing to help you find something.

For the most part, when I go to a thrift store I know what I’m getting into and I come prepared.

Hand sanitizer? Check.
Allergy pill? Check.
Perfume applied directly under nostrils? Check.
Yes, I found myself digging through the kinds of things that haunt my dreams. (I’m looking in your direction hideous wool sweater covered in cat hair.) Yes, something in that place was quite pungently urine-​scented. (It may have been a human, it may have been an item for sale, it really is anyone’s bet.) Regardless, I’m giving this store a rounded up 3.5 because I found most of what I was looking for and it was incredibly cheap.
–My Shopping List–
FOLDING TV TRAY
I immediately honed in on a TV tray tucked in a back corner. It was kinda grimy, but it is real wood and I already intended to sand and repaint it, so no big deal.
SCHOOL SWEATSHIRT OR TEE
I don’t know much about Pine Valley Middle School, but thanks to the kind donation of a kid with the last name Lile I will proudly strut around town in one of their gym shirts.
BAND SWEATSHIRT OR TEE
I also scored a ‘Neutral Milk Hotel’ tee that I will wear as I listen to their albums and contemplate the grossness of current pop music. On a TOTALLY unrelated note, I also saw some Justin Bieber for all of you Bieliebers out there.
ROYAL TENENBAUMS DVD
I couldn’t find a copy of this DVD, but it’s totally understandable. I mean, it’s a really good flick. Who would intentionally get rid of it?
The girl that rang me up was super friendly and even gave me a complimentary unused reusable Wal-​Mart bag. I spent $ 2.98 on the TV tray (thanks to the 50% Manager’s Special), and $ 1.99 on each tee. Tax-​free. It’s all about your expectations, I guess. I went in thinking that my little list was a long shot, but I found the majority of what I was seeking for less than the cost of a decent craft beer. I’m into it.

Bad Customer Service.
The lady that helped me removed the tags on half of my purchases and told me that they are not the tags and that she cannot sell them to me, then immediately hides it on the side, doesn’t even ask me if I wanted to buy them, or tell me the right price.
Then she told me that I need 3 more items, then when I handed her 1 more item, she took out the tag of that item as well saying: This one too, you have too many! I was like, «What? I don’t know what you’re talking about, I got them all over there.» So, of course I was shocked because this is the first time this ever happened to me. I did not come to Salvation Army just to ticket switch!
I was in the store from 9:30am-11am looking for deals and Orange ticket merchandise because that is the sale for that day, $ 2 Orange Tickets or 10 for $ 10, so of course, I want to buy 10 so I can get them all for $ 1each, so when she removed 3 of them, I was shocked. It takes a lot of time to look, and I only have limited time because I have to pick up my daughter in school. Then when I came up with 3 more items, she put my clothes that were on hold in front of me like a pile of laundry, while dropping some of them on the floor, What the heck! I gave them all nicely to her earlier, then she’s gonna pile them up like a laundry.

Then she told me that the tag should look like this and not like that. I was like: «I don’t know, I got them all over there.» But now I remembered, one of the Men’s Sweater has a tag on it that says Men’s Sweater, so I don’t know if she was just making it all up, because to my knowledge, the tickets match. I work in retail too and one of the things I look for to find out if it’s a ticket switch is the description of the item. So I really don’t know it she really knows what she was doing or she was just power tripping.
Before that, I was standing in line and she asked me if I was ready, and picks up the phone and was on the phone for a very long time. Do not ask a customer if she was ready when you are not ready!
Also, she was counting the clothes one by one like this: 1, 2, 3, 5, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Okay?!
So when I came up to her with the other 3 items, I asked her if the ones that she took out earlier was a ticket switch, she looked at me and said yes, then looks around me.
I called the branch an hour later to complain about her behavior and one of the ladies that I talked to was very apologetic, very different from the lady that helped me was rushing, no explanation, just plain wreck!
At the end of the transaction, all she said was” Your receipt.”
I was the one who said” Thank you and have a good day.”

I love thrifting so much– you never know what you are going to get!
Yesterday I brought SIX BAGS full of donations here. Just a note for all of you looking into making a donation big or small– you can drop off during working hours in the parking lot near the sliding door. There will typically be a large truck parked here. Just leave your bags here and they will pick them up to be sorted for donation.

salvation army here is poorly designed.
the displays are poorly configured, it’s easy to bump into someone when one just turns around.
the parking lot is good for small cars but not vans nor suv’s. just waiting for accidents to happen.
books are cheap, 3 for hardcover and 1 for paperpack. not much selection. plus the books are scattered thruout the store.
doubtful return.
only good-​no sales tax charged.

Best thrift store for furniture & housewares in the East Bay! I am HOOKED after just one visit!
I found the coolest stuff here:
–Mid Century Modern side-​table/​night-​stand (real walnut wood) $ 39
–Mid Century Modern lamp $ 15 (at antique stores, you’d see a similar lamp go for wayyyy more)
–awesome wall decorations (a hand painted owl on wood block, signed by the artist from 1972– $ 2)
–random house-​ware stuff (a set of 6 wooden hangers $ 2) (vintage doilies $ 5 for a set of 10)
You definitely have to look (and sometimes dig) but that’s the whole fun of it!

What’s the point of having a shop so big if it’s so run down?
This Salvation Army has a lot of goods, but all of the meat here has been picked off the bone. What’s left is a sad carcass of a building, full of broken VCRs and smelly clothes.
Though truth be told, their holding program for large items is pretty nice.

This place smells like shame and poverty but it is a veritable goldmine. I have found some great jackets and ugly sweaters here (they do not apply discounts to special items like this). If I ever need clothing for a costume or to destroy, this place never fails me.
They also don’t charge tax! So you won’t support anyone but the business in the process. Yay!
PROTIP: They usually have 50% off sales around most holidays, beat those poor people early to get a steal on those coveted smelly clothes!
Don’t forget to think about the dead person that the clothing you are trying on came off of!

A honest-​to-​Dios Judy Knapp late 80s blouse: cropped front and long shirttail, white w black squiggles and bright primary color geometric shapes, and shoulder pads for 40% off. Hello, next 80s Dance Party outfit! And hello new stopping point when I leave Alameda!
Other pluses: a large bathroom available for customer use, huge space.
Minuses: parking lot opens right into Park St. traffic. Curse the old lady who cut me in line even though you could smell my toddler needed a diaper change desperately.

Not the best Salvation Army I have ever been in. It is giant inside with tons of furniture and rows and rows of clothes.
Its not very well organized and I saw a lot of broken things for sale. Mostly broken nick nacks.
The amount of stuff to look at was really overwhelming. We didn’t find anything worth standing in line for. I noticed that the stuff for sale wasn’t that great.
You can usually tell how affluent an area is by whats for sale at the Salvation Army. This must not be either affluent or fashionable because I saw nothing I wanted to bring home and save.