The Salvation Army

I will NOT plan on donating anything to the Salvation Army again. I have been trying to get them to come for a pickup of goods and this morning they called to ask to re-​schedule for the FOURTH time!!! Yes, I said the fourth time. In the meantime, I keep pulling my large items out and back in again, twice in the rain. If you can’t seem to have an available driver four times, then you obviously don’t need or want my things. I have a large desk with a pull out keyboard tray that’s only five years old along with a box of books and other items that I have been holding in my garage since August. We are now mid-​November. I refuse to re-​schedule one more time. That’s disgusting that you should even ask me to do so once again!!!
Totally disappointing… my goods will be going to the Goodwill here on in.
I GIVE YOU NO STARS AT ALL… with absolutely no apologies!!!

Very disappointing ! It’s always been on the expensive side for housewares. But now it’s ridiculous. Many things can be bought new, especially if you go to the dollar store, for less than what they’re charging. The clothes are extremely expensive. No good deals here. I don’t know how they expect to make any money and they certainly aren’t serving or helping the community with these prices.

Tis the season of giving & I had a ginormous 200+ lbs TV to donate. Yes, we finally, albeit reluctantly, upgraded the living room & there was no possibility of schlepping our old TV downstairs — even friends were like, «no way!» when we asked them for help. It looked *that* daunting!
So after exhausting all my options & pleas to known friends & churches, I went online to see if there were any places willing to accept such a relic… you would be surprised how many places will not accept tube TVs — they’ll only consider flat screens… but the picture quality was still 100% ideal & I had all the remotes, headphones, etc… we just didn’t have space for all these TVs & I didn’t want to trash the unit since it was still in pristine working order
Enter Salvation Army…
My dealings w/​SA in the past have been completely anger-​inducing as they often stood us up for our appointment times & they always refused to come inside our place for stuff — we were required to bring donations to the curb & there was more than 1 occasion where my mom actually had to PAY (BRIBE) THEM to take our stuff away b/​c they refused to accept the donation yet everything was on the curb & we didn’t have the manpower (or space) to bring it back inside
So when seeing SA was 1 of the only places who accepted tube TV’s, I was disheartened but decided to give them a try — I was desperate.
As I made the online appt, I made it clear that unless they were willing to come upstairs & inside our apt to get the TV, we would not be able to donate it. Our pickup appt was scheduled for a month out but that was okay by us, if they were willing to take the TV. In that month’s time, never heard a word…
But low & behold, they showed up on our scheduled day, rang the buzzer to come upstairs, had a donation receipt already prepared, & took the TV no questions asked — we were shocked & impressed!
So not sure what’s happened over the years but am completely happy to see the changes & the donation-​accommodations you’re now willing to make! I hope my beloved TV finds a happy & loving new home & I am loving Salvation Army for making this donation so easy!!!

If you’re looking for a place to buy reasonable furniture, this is your spot. I bought a mid-​century modern dresser for $ 65. Not only were the employees helpful, but they took it through the back door and helped me load it into my car on the back side of the building.

I love this place. It’s on my way home, so I frequently stop in after work. I have found some beautiful bowls and dishes and good furniture pieces there.
A couple weeks ago I finally found the IDEAL lateral filing cabinet (30 inches wide, 2 drawers high) there for $ 40, when they were having a 50% off sale, so it was only $ 20! TWENTY DOLLARS !!! Wow. This was after we had driven all the way to friggin’ Hayward AND San Mateo (both places, argh !!!) looking for something similar and had come back empty handed. (The used file cabinets at those far-​away places were too expensive (more than $ 100), too heavy, and not what we wanted anyway.)
I’ve also found some very nice framed mirrors to hang in our apartment, and some other frames with discardable pictures in them, I like to use the nice big frames to display music playbills /​flyers.
Also I must say, the people who work at this Salvation Army are really nice and friendly. I have a mind to invite some of them over for a barbecue sometime !!

I’ve scored a couple great things here; my favorite blouse & an awesome pair of ankle boots. I love that they have 40% off sales fairly frequently and are always bringing out new stuff. Like any thrift store, its hit and miss.

I have mixed feelings about this place. My husband and I needed some records (for a home decorating project), so we wanted to get them on the cheap as it was only an aesthetics thing. They had records for $ 2 each, so no complaints there. They also had a ton of really cheap houseware stuff, and the furniture was 40% off, making it less than Ikea prices for solid wood furniture (albeit slightly outdated). One thing that bothered me was some of the merchandise in the «Quality Corner.» They had some seriously worn out clothes that were priced as if the logo made the unraveling threads an unnecessary detail. There was a totally faded, worn out Polo polo for $ 15. I understand that the proceeds of sales go to a good cause and I’ve always had a soft spot for the Salvation Army, as my Dad has told many a story of how without them he wouldn’t have had a Christmas growing up, but the thing is… who is the regular customer here? When I was there it seemed like most customers were probably in a lower socioeconomic bracket, and it killed me to think of a guy struggling to make bills paying $ 15 for an old, severely distressed polo. I understand the mission of the proceeds of sales, but what about making prices lower so lower income San Franciscans can increase their purchasing power? Maybe it’s just a sad testament to how much Americans value labels, but if an item is in bad condition I don’t think a label should inflate the cost so severely.

please!!! expect to not find anything of value here anymore. they are probably selling the best online like goodwill does

warning: their cars are garbage… will only cause you headaches. don’t bother.
donated for a reason

decent book selection (like i need more books!). always fun to kill some time, especially on a cold day, and find some cool stuff you didn’t know you needed.

Inicially it doesn’t seem to be a place that you want to go shopping. However, when you get in that store and start looking patiently for what you need, specially clothing, you will find a large selection of clothes that may be very unique and somehow interesting. Sometimes if you go through the entire store, you’ll will find things that you didn’t thing that you would need that. As I said, be patient because you’ll see a lot of junk too.

To quote the first few words of the only other person to review this thrift mecca:
«wow…I can’t believe I’m the first to»
give this store FIVE STARS.
Because it’s beautiful?
DOH! no.
Because it’s so clean and classy? HAHAHAHAHA. uh no.
Because I found what I was looking for (a chair for my desk)? nopenopenope.
well then WHHHHYYYY SQUINKY?
Because I actually found a brand NEW tags on pair of Dollhouse JEANS THAT FIT my ass perfectly, slouch just right on my ankles so — NO HEMMING for
~ $ 9. ~
is that all? That’s just dumb squinkluck. Is THAT it? Would Squinky give five stars just for a small offering made to her ass? Well
yes, butt. there is more giftaciousness.
I also found an amazing pair of dark muted red scuffed up just right platform boots that will be just right for my trip to Canada for
~ $ 4. ~
I noticed that some items in the little «special items store» cordoned off in the back were a bit overpriced, but in the huge room off to the right there were a number of new tagged designer shoes and shirts that were mostly priced under 10 dollars. I wondered if maybe an overly ambitious Valencia boutique had gone out of business and just like the wondering magi of old had laid their extra crap at a saint’s door for the blessing. and the tax deduction of course.
I noticed several gorgeous size nine new tagged Dollhouse pumps –marked at six dollars! — that made me want to grow my toes just to be so prettily heeled.
So people, love the dirty. Real bargain hunting is filthy business that depends on crusty corners and early demises of either someone or some thing. Once the area gets all washed up, what I bought today, one pair of designer jeans and platform boots, if not new, then even in the gentrified *consignment* version, my swaddling clothes and booties would be more like 50 or 60 bucks, certainly not 13 dollars. And new, try 200.
Lo! GIVE STARS that will then shine brightly over the mangy. and the stars shall lead them to the Salvation where all jeans shall fit and really isn’t that enough?
I am standing in my cherry red boots rejoicing.

wow… i can’t believe i’m the first to review this store! it’s huge, but the clothing selection is pretty sparse… heavier on furniture. i scored an arabic print dress for ½ off — $ 4. awww yeah.