NCJWLA Council Thrift Shops

They do price discrimination depending your race. If you are a certain color and race you will be charged different for the clothes. Given that this is for a Jewish charity, someone should check this out. Upper management probably does not care. But it is illegal to overcharge bc of race!!! Talk about reverse discrimination it is alive at this store. Stay away, the employees are the worst. Cashier are in competent.

Long ago, I worked next to I think the first NCJWLA. They negotiated. They had amazing items out on the floor. I even got to argue over an item with a customer! They reduced the show room, started with eBay and google everything brought in there by ruining the thrill of finding a little treasure. This location I may say I have yet to purchase a single item. The staff are actually pretty nice. There’s just hardly ever any good stuff and when there is it is priced at retail.

Scored a Patagonia jacket for $ 18 and ANOTHER scarf for $ 8 ! Staff is friendly, they run sales buy 2 get 1 free.

Got a very beautiful coffee table today for a great price. Friendly people, well organized, willing to bargain. Not crazy overpriced like BTS thrift on Washington.

After seeing bad reviews I still decided to try this place anyway and I’m glad I did cause I found exactly what I was looking for. I’m moving soon and decorating so Ive been searching for accent pieces. Home goods and tj maxx are awesome and Ive made purchases there but thrift stores have great finds too, u never know.
This place had all sorts of things… but I went straight for the home décor stuff. I found this really nice vase, it was a very light pearl pink color, just what I wanted for my nightstand décor. It wasnt damaged at all and had a home goods tag at the bottom that it was 26.99 and I got it for $ 10 so I was happy.

The best thrift stores in Los Angeles! It is evident from the way the stores are managed that they care. Every day new items are put out for sale. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

I was surprised to see this place get «$$$» and poor reviews.
I discovered this place while I was just walking through my neighborhood and popped in just to take a peek. It’s a fairly large store. The front is dominated by clothes and shoes. There is also a back wall with a large bookcase full of DVDs and books. A section in the middle has the furniture they are offering. In the very back there is a collection of odds and ends for sale. All around the walls they have artwork for sale.
So far I’ve had very positive experiences with the store. That first day alone I left with 13 DVDs, a desk, a dresser, and a purse for $ 90. I think you can’t really get much better than that. I was also VERY tempted to buy this beautiful bureau they had for sale. It was large, I couldn’t see a single scratch, and they were selling it for $ 58. I think their prices are extremely affordable for furniture.
Their clothes section honestly SHOULD be cheaper but I have found some rare gems. I picked up an Oscar De La Renta dress there for $ 18!!! This only makes it all the more baffling that they have designer dresses selling for next to nothing but they are selling Forever 21 used clothes for practically retail price. The pricing consistency is non-​existent. I hate that their minimum for ALL clothes seems to be $ 8. For used clothes that is a pretty high minimum price. I have purchased some designer shoes there while they were having a Buy 2 Get One Free special.
I feel I should note: They sell A LOT of clothes and have no dressing room which is insanely annoying. They offer store credit if you don’t like the clothes after you purchased but I find it profoundly annoying. Twice I’ve bought something that looked cute on the hanger but doesn’t fit well and I’d rather avoid the hassle of returning items altogether and simple try it on before I leave. There are some more expensive items on their designer rack that I’d be tempted to buy but without being able to try them first, I don’t want to take the risk. Ah well, at least it’s saving me money!
As far as picking up items goes, the process has been quick and painless for me each time. You can hold items for up to 3 days after you purchase so you just pull around back to where they hold the items and a team helps you load it into your vehicle.

Purchased 3 large/​extra long scarves and a shorter one. Only complaint is that pricing isn’t consistent… Eric is very helpful and always willing to meet you halfway on pricing of most items. This location is much more affordable than their Hollywood location.

We have shopped here for years and really want our purchases to go to a good cause, but that all changed this weekend. Between Craig’s list, yard sales, and other stores-​we know prices. We were looking for an item for a craft project that is max $ 20 EVERYWHERE. Went into NCJWLA and it was about $ 75. A woman with an absolute bitchy attitude, sounded like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, would only come down pennies. Too bad she has NO idea how to negotiate, because they could move a lot more merchandise and raise a lot more money it she had a clue. Absolute shame. We drove up the street and they had 3, all $ 15 each, and they even gave me an extra one for FREE!
SKIP this place and search for thrift stores on Venice and Washington… you’ll be do a lot better.

I’d give this three stars for dishes (which you should always buy used), shoes (mostly $ 6 a pair, good for L.A.) and purses (also $ 6). Okay for furniture (pine end tables for $ 20 a pop) and often some deals for mid-​century furniture. I put a full review with extensive pics on my site, at
if you want to check it out.

Terrible lugar, el trato es pésimo, el personal incompetente, groseros. Sienten como si le hacen el favor al comprador. Muy cara la ropa pq es donada. Tienen trato preferente. He mirado que escoge primero el personal lo mejor y no son justos. Es tonto como la persona responsable no hace nada para mejorar el servicio. No hemos vuelto jamás ni amigos ni familia ni yo.

We noticed most of the clothes have no prices and some do. I asked «why they don’t have the prices?» The answer «it starts from 7 dollars and up» — – this doesn’t mean anything. Been through this before with a place like this… I had a friend ask how much a certain jean pants were and were told its 10 dollars, I told her to give rme the same Jean pants and I asked the cashier how much and she said 20??? Hmmm…misleading and makes me feel like places like this are just judging people on who they can fool with the prices. Either way, it’s not good. That’s just my observation.

Okay so I’m a fanatic thrift shop shopper. Althougth this place has really good stuff i felt they were over price. The customer service from employees was not so great too. Not very helpful. Is neat and clean but I just felt i was not very welcome to shop around here. The cashier that help me out was terrible. I dont think i would go back to this place

I like the VHS selection here, but sometimes the manager likes to jack up the price when hes there. I get a weird vibe from him.
also, I dont like that the staff takes all the cool stuff like shoes before they put it out on the floor.
One of the male staff members who I see often had a huge bag of awesome shoes. another customer and I took a look at them, then he came over, and said «Those are already bought», grabbed the huge bag and brought them outside.
I brought in a gift card my ex gave me, and they said she had to be in there to use it.
There are wayyyyyy better thrift stores all OVER the place, and very close by.
The goodwill in westwood has quadruple the stuff this place has with better prices

Just wanted to donate my IKEA love seat. I signed up online to get them to pick up the donation. I had to wait an entire week for them to come pick it up. They were supposed to come today between 1030a-​130p. They didn’t arrive until 230p and because of a few loose threads they wouldn’t even take the sofa. I even have another cover for the sofa that has never been used but they still wouldn’t take it. I can easily get money for the sofa on craigslist. Huge waste of my time. I’m definitely donated my old clothes to another thrift store from now on.

Looking at the other reviews I should have known this place had gone downhill. I used to donate clothes here on a regular basis. One thing I’ve always done is pick up the receipt first, fill out the value of the clothes I’m donating, and then drop everything off. I went to pick up a receipt yesterday and the 2 young Latino men outside rudely told me I couldn’t get a receipt first. I explained I’ve been coming here for years and that’s how I’ve always done it. They laughed at me and told me they’ve been working there for years and it’s NOT done that way. I could have argued but I left. I’d rather take the designer clothes I was about to donate elsewhere.
I’ve noticed a lot of the 1-​star Unilocal reviews are mainly about the service. I also notice they haven’t responded to anyone and clearly they’ve made no changes with their employees. To me this shows they flat out don’t care. If you don’t care about how your business is run then shame on you.
Lesson learned. I will never donate anything here again.

Wanted to ad to my prior review.
I have twice brought in items that they took, but did not note on their receipts. In fact, I told them when I donated the second time they had failed to write down some items, and they said they’d add them on– and did not.
I phoned the main office which gave me a number to call at the local thrift, and supposedly the items wil lnow be added to a corrected receipt. We’ll see.
I did donate at the end of the year and realize they can overlook a box and such, but this is the second time this has happened to me (counting this as one time, not two). My conclusion is that while they do give itemized receipts which is great, they probably short change a lot of people. If the receipt is the issue, maybe take a photo of what you are donating and take it in somewhere else.
I agree this is a very expensive thrift store, or what poses as a thrift store, and does reflect poorly on the NCJW, which is a shame. The shop is open until 6pm so why don’t they take donations until then, or at least 5;45?
Really, someone in management should shake up this store.

The employees are sketchy. One day the manager will negotiate a price, and the next day she says she «does not negotiate“The workers stare too long at customers.
I give them 3 seconds then tell them to «stop or we will have a problem.“That is when they forget English. They remember English when it is time to close … «Get out we are closed in 20 minutes»
The usually rude demographic that represents West L.A.
fills the store. The hours are bad. They sell everything
That is donated without scrutiny. Dirty, ripped items
get the pass by the production dept.
And here’s the best part: no dressing rooms!

Last Sunday 11/​02/​2014 — I was in the store, shopping, with a good friend of mine who just moved to LA from Israel (she is strapped for cash, hence why we were at the thrift shop.)
I was standing in line to check out. I had picked up: 2 shirts, a jacket, a shop vac, a woven basket, and the cap to a Stanley thermos (mine is missing its cap.) I had removed the cap from a Stanley thermos in the kitchenware section, and had intended to ask the women at the register if I could buy just the cap, as I did not need the gross and decrepit thermos that it had been screwed on to.
As I stood in line to check out, the manager, (his name is Andrew,) approached me out of nowhere and demanded that I take take the thermos cap out of the basket. As I tried to calmly explain that I was interested in purchasing the thermos cap, Andrew overpowered me with his voice, and growled «we don’t like people who take parts off of things and slip them into baskets.» At this time I noticed that he had one of his male employees standing right behind me, deep into my personal space. Slowly, I put down all of the items that I was holding, still very calm, I tried to explain to Andrew that I was not trying to steal anything…
As soon as I put the basket down, Andrew ripped the clothes out of the basket, and grabbed the thermos cap as if he had recovered a brick of gold. «GET OUT OF MY STORE, YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!!!» he SCREAMED.
Still calm, I tried to tell Andrew that I wanted to buy the stuff I had picked out, that he was making a big mistake.
«YOU DON’T WANNA LEAVE?! OKAY I’M CALLING THE COPS!»
He picked up the phone and started dialing.
I wish I were making this up. It was a truly humiliating experience, as all the other customers who were in line and generally around Andrew and I gave me looks of disgust… I HAD DONE NOTHING WRONG!
Facts about me:
I have no need to steal from the NCJWLA.
I am from Beverly Hills.
I do not respond well to accusatory or physically threatening situations.
Barely able to remain calm, I called my friend over and indicated that I would like for her to purchase the clothing items that I had picked out. Briskly, I walked out of the store and onto city property.
Now there are other reviews where people have mentioned Andrew’s aggressive nature. An organization (such as the NCJWLA,) that shields women and children from aggressive, violent and dangerous men should certainly not have just such an individual working for them, even at one of their thrift stores. Andrew made me, a 6’2 man, feel very threatened especially by surrounding me with his male staff.
To NCJWLA: Get rid of Andrew!!! There are literally a million people who could handle the job of managing this thrift store. Can’t you see that this location has 2.5 stars?! Something is wrong with the management here!!! Just search «manager» on this Unilocal page. 49 reviews and 5 of them (more than 10%) mention the egotistical, rude and aggressive (other people’s words) Andrew. One of these straws must break the camel’s back, and I intend for it to be mine!
Personally, I will not rest until Andrew is either: A) Fired as he should be B) Relocated far away from where I live, shop and donate C) Forced to apologize to me in person for his conduct and made to reform.
And whomever Andrew’s boss or supervisor is, should be keeping a better pulse on these reviews! I’m sure you’re being paid handsomely!
I will be calling in to NCJWLA, and pushing this one up the chain. Until then, I will gladly stay away, and tell everyone I know of my experience here. Ugh.
My relationship with NCJWLA, displayed chronologically:
1994 – 1996 — my mother worked for the NCJWLA as a counselor to elderly people (many of them Holocaust survivors.)
2005 – 2014 — my father and I have donated about 3 truckloads and several bins of assorted goods to this Mar Vista location.
2004 – 2014 — I have shopped on a number of occasions at this Mar Vista location, and have taken friends and family here to shop.

Just horrible! I got there at 5:03 pm to drop off a couple of bags full of shoes and clothes, I saw the guy literally closing the gate (the close at 5 pm) and he told me he couldn’t take them. I kept asking him to take my bags, since it was not a lot and he told me «I have a lot to do» and he couldn’t take anything anymore and then he added «If you were back here doing my job you wouldn’t take them either». He had just closed the freaking gate!!!
Wtf? You try to help people, donating stuff and that’s the kind of attitude you get from their employees! So sad!
I donate pretty often and this place is crossed out from my list!

Love this place! I found a stylish wool blazer originally made and tailored in South Korea here for $ 10. It looks like something one would get at the GAP for like $ 100. It was a little big in the waist so I took it down the street to Celeste’s Alterations, and now I have a perfect fitting, casual night out blazer. I’ve already worn it to a Bachelor party weekend in Vegas, where I looked sharp and yet didn’t have to worry about someone spilling a drink on and ruining my actual Jos. A. Bank’s blue blazer, which now I’ll keep in reserve for truly nice occasions.
All in all, I’m very happy with the find.