NextStep

Good place to grab miscellaneous electronic goods! Good return/​exchange policy! Call ahead and make sure they have what you’re looking for!

Wow trying to help my sister get her computer back up and running (she bought it in June from nextstep) And now it won’t boot. It has some sort of driver issue but i can’t get it to load even far enough to try and correct it with advice i have gotten through online research. I have put in several calls to nextstep because at this point i would like to just reload windows off the install disk, and the one time i actually got to talk to someone in tech support they said that would cost 30 dollars. Wait what? Why was there no install disk included with the computer purchase i asked? They gave me some run around about a licensing agreement and said they couldn’t do it, and bring it in and for more money they would look at it.
They are very unhelpful, never call back when they say they will, and have no problem selling utter crap to people that don’t know any better. these people are snakes that hide under the guise of cheaper tech options and environmental responsibility for 260 dollars you can get a computer that will survive the warranty period then go to shit right after it expires. where you can then get a run around and anytime you try to get some one on the phone and pay more money so they can fix the garbage they swindled you into to begin with.
avoid them like the plague these are terrible used car sales men who sell nothing but lemons

We are truly blessed to have Next Step in Eugene, both the donation and the retail ends of their operations. The Unilocal listing gives the address for the donation end; the retail end is a few blocks away at 980 McKinley St. More info is at
My dad’s old Mac died, and he needed a replacement more affordable than the $ 1,200+ quoted at The Mac Store. Next Step’s retail store set him up with a 2006 iMac on OS 10.7.5. The base price was $ 299.99, but, any time you make a donation at the donation end of Next Step, you get a 20% off coupon for the retail store, so we made a donation in advance of our purchase and got the computer for $ 239.99 with the coupon. Had my dad been willing to switch to a PC, he could have got something even cheaper — and Next Step’s PCs are all on Windows 7. Next Step also referred us to Techmedic in the Big Y Shopping Center for transfer of data from the old Mac to the new-​to-​him one, and that cost only $ 80, less than the $ 99 quoted at The Mac Store.
As for the donation end: If you have privacy concerns about donating old computers, techs at the donation center will remove the hard drives for you if you ask. For most computers this is a simple process, but I once brought in an old Mac laptop on a Saturday afternoon and was told to bring it back on a weekday so a more experienced tech could extract the hard drive — I did so, and then I didn’t have it sitting in my attic any longer.

U know this place could move a lot more product and play a more valuable role in the community if it would price items in their retail store competitively. I’ve gone there repeatedly and always find overpriced and outdated inventory. I hadn’t been in in over a year and needed a replacement power supply for my laptop so I thought I’d give em another try. I checked eBay priced at 6 and 7 dollars everywhere. Then tried next step to buy local and support the cause but just as before found pricing about double of the going price :-(. When selling junk outdated electronics I expect prices to match the products. It seems next step still is letting the greed of overpricing stuff they get for free As policy to continue It’s not worth the trip I. My opinion.

I called last week to see if i could buy xbox 360 parts and they said I could — I only needed a DVD-​ROM drive, not the whole console. I arrive with my old drive in hand so I can be sure to get an exact replacement, and I am told they only sell unrepaired 360 consoles. Now, I have volunteered for them in the past, so I know they strip numerous 360s every week, so it wasn’t hard to believe the woman on the phone who was so insistent that I could just buy parts I needed. I ended up having to buy an entire broken console for $ 15, and when I brought it home they had obviously never even opened the housing to try and repair it! It’s not right for them to take people’s trash and stick it on a shelf for sale. It’s not right for them to lie to customers on the phone just to trick them into coming in. My two broken 360s are now in the trash can — they will not be resold again! What a waste of $ 15 and two hours of bus riding.

I’m a UO student and am doing a project on NextStep Recycling. I can assure you this is not the profit gobbling junk yard as was the perspective of the jaded reviewer below. DarkM is Not nextStep’s accountant. You can be sure the money you spend at this store will all be used to support a worthy cause. NextStep does Awesome and important work for our community and since the mandatory recycling law of 2007 their recycling revenues actually declined $ 200,000 a year. They have saved over 10,000,000 (yes million!) pounds of eWaste from entering our landfills and ultimately from polluting our soil and streams. They have supplied over 20 schools, domestically and internationally, with computers (for free). They teach classes for free and do job skill training for a very diverse group of people in need. Store employees are very helpful, non-​judgemental and possess a wealth of knowledge. They are an important and valuable resource for customers. All items are tested and sold in working condition unless clearly labeled otherwise. Prices are competitive and based on how much a similar item in comparable condition sells for in the marketplace. If you need an inexpensive remote control or would like to purchase some computer cords for pennies on the dollar, go there and pick them up. If you like vintage items or simply would like to set up an office with inexpensive equipment that will get the job done the NextStep store is the place to go. If you need to recycle your computer, printer, cell phone or any other electronic item simply drive up and drop it off with the friendly volunteers at the recycling warehouse. They’ll make sure it ends up in the proper place. Be prepared for the $ 5 fee if you are dropping off a printer. The website works well, is easy to use and informative. Additionally, the eBay site has some great items that are very reasonably priced and I’ll bet you could probably pick your eBay purchase up locally to save on shipping. If you have tech skills, or would like to develop some, and would like to contribute to the cause, I’m sure NextStep’s staff can find a volunteer position for you. We should be proud of the volunteers that contribute their valuable time to this grass roots organization. Eugene needs this business to be successful and because of its management’s unselfish ways it certainly will be. Please support them, they do good work.
P. S. according to their publicly available tax documents. They had outgoing grants in the form of $ 112,500 (charity that Next Step gave) and a total income after expenses income of Negative $ 20,540 in 2011.
I wonder if RatB tried to return his parts.

Recycling is good. Asking for money to ‘recycle” working items by selling them in your shop at a sizable profit is unethical and uncool. They have a decent selection but things are very disorganized. Items not marked are sold at arbitrary prices. Prices marked will pull a silent WTF out of your mouth as you jaw drops.
Need a set of decrepit 25+ year old blown stereo speakers? Rush down and pick up a set for $ 100!
It’s a great place to buy common used obsolete electronics for almost new prices while you get looked at by the staff like you are a nuisance.
Great idea, bad implementation.
Edit:
Joseph Z — I’m not jaded. I’ve been going to the NS store for several years and have found several parts I needed. I have an opinion that is based on realities there in the store consistently reenforced by the state of conditions there in the store. 75% of the time what I am looking for is not priced and the staff have a very unwelcoming attitude. Arbitrary pricing; it is when one visit it’s $ 20 and the next it’s $ 15 and then $ 20 again. Speaker example; on shelf for over 6 months with foam totally shot. It’s not fiction. When at their old location; every time I went there someone was at the counter with an issue the cashier could not satisfactorily resolve.
Sorry you don’t agree, but again the review is based on direct experience and not wishful thinking or attitude. From reading your review you do not sound like an independent reviewer.
This review is in regards to the STOREs, not the entire operation. K thx.