The Salvation Army

Can’t really speak to the selection here (although it looks HUGE to me, because this place is pretty big on the inside). Smells like the back of someone’s closet. Ick. (But this is prob just my general aversion to thrift stores cause if you ask me it’s all junk)
My main beef is that the drop-​off for donations is nearly impossible to find. A previous reviewer says it’s in the back, but I couldn’t find it after wandering around the store for 5 minutes and eventually just dropped my stuff off in a cart after asking an associate where I could place donations.
Find a Goodwill instead if you’re looking to donate, just for the simplicity of dropping your donations off up front rather than running all around the store with bags of stuff.

Pretty cool place to shop. Especially if you are thoroughly convinced that recycling can save the world. They have everything here!

They say third time’s the charm, that is not true for this store. I’m reluctant to go to Salvation army in the first place due to other experiences, but when I have to request a receipt multiple times each visit for my donations, there is an issue. When I need to request assistance multiple times because the employees are too busy chatting in a group like high schoolers, there is an issue. When there are other customers waiting to be helped because the employees can’t be bothered, there is an issue.
Never again will I visit this, or other salvation army stores. Goodwill, here I come!

My boyfriend and I were looking for a leather jacket to go riding in. The sheer amount of jackets to choose from was great compared to the selections at other nearby thrift stores. We found a jacket that fit pretty well but was a bit too expensive for a thrift store. Though the selection was good and the prices were ok, the staff didn’t understand enough English to know what we meant when we asked what day white tags were discounted, and that was a more than little frustrating.

Canes in bright colors? Check. Piles of beanie babies? Yep. Random junk? Mm-​hmm!
Since I moved to Roselle a year ago, I’ve been driving myself out to distant Goodwill locations and other assorted retail shops while overlooking this gem right nearby. Actually, I did know it was here, but I had poor experiences at other Salvation Army locations and didn’t want to come here. A few months ago, I stopped in this location on a whim to drop off some donations and ended up being kind of impressed!
It’s one of the largest, sunniest, and most organized Salvation Army stores I’ve ever seen. Every section is clearly labeled by a sign hanging from the ceiling. The clothes are organized by colors and styles. The employees are actually friendly. And the prices?! LOW! Yeah, some things smell «old,» there’s a bit of dust in the air, some of the aisles are quite narrow, and some things seem kind of broken (I would recommend staying away from the toys and electronics), but it doesn’t bother me. Somewhere in the midst of all of this, there is treasure to be found!
While the clothes are a bit worn down and more along the line of spring break t-​shirts than designer tops, this is my jam for last-​minute grabs. Although I probably won’t be filling my closets with clothes from Salvation Army, this is a good spot for pick up some clothes that can be dirty, items for homemade costumes, knick knacks, and furniture that you can upcycle. I am, however, currently wearing a pair of pajama pants that I bought here (don’t worry, I washed them first).
Oh, and as Candice mentioned in her recent review, the couches here are awesome. I found myself wandering around the dozens of couches, wondering if there was any chance that my husband would be willing to drop a few bucks on a new (and unnecessary) addition to our living room. There were so many to choose from and they weren’t icky at all! We haven’t found the perfect couch or armchair yet but I’m keeping my eyes peeled.
By the way, donations are accepted at the Salvation Army truck in the parking lot of Nerge Road. I don’t understand why donations are accepted this way, but hey, it’s for a good cause. And it works.

What a regular spot for me to shop n’ drop a buck or two!!! I love it here and or a thrift it has some good stuff & weekly color special for half off. (Pattern: blue, pink, green, etc.). Staff is friendly and speak English!!! Lol! Every Tuesday is Target inventory coming in midday and everyday there is large amounts of new inventory. :). I recommend being nice to the staff cause it pays off. I have asked for a discount recently off a black (almost new) jacket displayed at the entrance windows and they dropped it $ 15 dollars!!! Great shop and worth the trip…

For a Salvation Army, I felt like this location was pretty immaculate and had probably the largest selection of furniture in better-​than-​decent condition than I’ve seen at other Salvation Army & Good Will store.
I had my eye on this super hip green tweed micro-​couch that would have been absolutely perf in my otherwise sh*tty suburban apartment, but sadly, some other lucky soul got there before me and snatched it up so I couldn’t even see what the going rate had been. Womp womp.
I was definitely impressed with more than their furniture selection and quality as they had great sections for books, ceramics, miscellaneous home-​wares, toys and more.
As far as clothing selection, every aisle seemed infinite and stuffed to the brim, but still well organized by color and basic style. The men’s long sleeve button up shirt section in particular seemed to have a lot of treasures amongst the racks. Their women’s long coat selection was also a doozy. Carmen Sandiego and Cruella Deville would have proud.
One section that was rather lame was their jewelry. Pretty sparse and nothing that I’d consider to even be worth the under $ 1 price tags… but I quickly forgot about the broke-​looking baubles when my attention was drawn to some clearance Nate Berkus wall sconces with all the Target store stickers still on them.
I will totally be coming back here on the regular now that I’ve seen the pristine condition they of their couches, of which I’m definitely in the market for since my boo’s 1970s black leather behemoth of a sofa that he got of Craigslist for free and in present day looks like a dirtier, more deflated and saggy version of Jabba the Hutt. Needless to say, I’m really hoping to find some sofa salvation here.

Donations are a snap –pull around to the back. However, they only take «nice» furniture. Case in point: I dropped off a very cute white girls’ desk. The top was a bit damaged. However, I figure with all the crafty Pinterest people out there, they could sell this pretty decent desk for like $ 20 and someone could use their skills to fix it up. I guess not… the lady sort of tsk-tsk’d me and told me she couldn’t sell it and that next time not to bring such things. I was a little surprised. It’s a charity organization and I know someone could fix it up nice. In the city, they take any olé broke down stuff. I know it’s the suburbs, but that is my point: wealthy, crafty Pinterest people! lol
Anyway, we were in the middle of helping my parents with a home improvement project so we didn’t shop inside. It looks super big and thrifalicious so I’m heading out to the burbs mañana. I may pop in for a little look-​see.

I’m gonna pop some tags cause this place is effing awesome!
Yea, it’s dusty and smelly and stuff is all over the place… But it’s not a department store, it’s a THRIFT store! I suggest you mouth breathe while shopping here and take some hand sanitizer with you.
This is the biggest thrift store that I’ve ever been to. I could spend a whole day here digging around for treasures.
I just visited over the weekend for the first time and found some great stuff. Disney Toy ($ 2) in great condition and brand name (Gap, Mini Boden) clothing for my kids, 99 cents wut wut! My most exciting find were the Longaberger baskets I picked up for 99 cents each!!! High five! Those things sell for like $ 80 new and they were in perfect condition!
They had some really great secondhand furniture too. I’ll be visiting this thrift shop down the road again!

Typical Salvation Army. This one is HUGE though. Aisles and aisles of clothes. Perfect mix of outdated, and more current clothing. I bet there are a couple hidden vintage gems in there somewhere too, I just didn’t have the time to look. Seemed to not have too many household items, although if feel like I missed a few aisles so maybe there were more. Definitely would need to devote a day to give it a good thorough look. And I wouldn’t suggest going on a Saturday. All Salvation Army’s are a nightmare on the weekends.

Where to start?
There is plenty of parking. That’s a good thing.
They have half price tickets every week. Find your color of the week and get the item for half off. Therein lies the problem. This place is a disaster area! How could I ever find anything? The toy area was rediculous! Stuff all over the floor! They have broken items all throughout the store. You would need a good week to work through this place and by the time you worked from one end to the other, you would have to start again because the donations are forever coming in the door.
Most things that I touched were sticky. This is a major issue for me. I shouldn’t feel like I need a shower after visiting a store for twenty minutes.
Sadly, I had a hard time communicating with the staff when I wanted to check out the jewelry in the case. English is not primarily the first language here and customer service was lacking. I had to beg for help just because I had to see two pins. I saw them. And bought them. They’ve since been washed.
Another plus? They operate under a very positive mission. Thus the likely reason for my purchase, however small.
Not exactly my favorite thrift/​resale store. Probably one of my least favorite. So now you know.