PRICE: As many have already said, this Goodwill is more expensive than many other Goodwills and thrift stores in general. I was looking for some jeans, but was disappointed at the price of the jeans. They were all around $12 and were not in good condition. Ties and belts $4.99. Sweaters $6.99 - 7.99 Shirts: $4.99 undershirts/camisoles: $2.99 dresses: $7.99 - 12.99 handbags: $4.99 (small like wristlet size), $7.99 (medium), $10.99+ for bigger bags ORGANIZATION: there are handbags and random shirts thrown randomly in piles all over the counters which made my head spin. Clothing is organized by color which is aesthetically pleasing BUT really not helpful if you're looking for a particular size. Jeans are randomly placed on racks so I didn't even take the time to sort through them to look for my size. SERVICE: The workers are disorganized (I was standing at the cash register for a while before someone came to ring me up). Also, the lady who rung me up kept changing the prices of the things that I wanted to buy. "Oh. This is wrong.. it shouldn't be $5.99. It should be $7.99. I'm going to ring it up for $7.99". OK..... maybe they tagged it wrong. Then, as I'm getting ready to leave, I hear her say to the guy who was in line behind me: "Where'd you find this? It shouldn't be $1.00. It's $2." Either this lady is embezzling funds from Goodwill and needs the store to make more $$ or their labeling system needs to be fixed. FITTING ROOM: one. There is one single, lonely fitting room. Good luck. Overall, the store needs some help and maybe some price adjustments, but thanks to donators' fashion sense, there are some good pieces. read more

Do you need more 80's in your life? Go here. I was going my standard weekend suburban exploration and spotted this place up the street from El Cerrito Plaza. Decided to walk up and do a peek. Peek's conclusion: 80's. This Goodwill has pretty high prices for a Goodwill. I'm not sure I entirely understand that. But, there's a decent assortment of the odd and old. Quirky haphazard organization compared to some Goodwills I've seen. It also had what I feel is an excellent selection of dinnerware. Didn't buy anything as I'm not an 80's/90's blazer aficionado but, if I was this would be a destination for me. read more

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i have regularly donated to this Goodwill but I will never return after the rude way I was received the other day. I debated writing this review because I have always supported the Goodwill organization but decided maybe the manager will see this and talk to staff so they do not lose donations from other people due to their poor treatment of the public Earlier in the pandemic before they closed for awhile they were having customers drop donations into sorted bins outside. A few weeks ago, i went to the donation area and a guy working out there said to go on through the double doors...I followed his instruction and I was very rudely yelled at by the man working inside that the donation period had ended 10 min earlier (i didnt see a time posted) and I shouldnt be in there. I said I was sorry but the guy outside had sent me in and I didnt know, The guy inside yelled at me AGAIn and said thar guy did not know anything and was just a driver. I replied thar as a customer, I didnt know who worked at that location and so there was no cause to yell and the guy yelled at me a third time and said "well now you know!" and then yanked the bags from my hand. At that point I started to walk through to the retail area of the store and he yelled at me a FOURTH time to walk around to the front. While I understand everyone has bad days and it may be frustrating to have people trying to donate outside of hours or having the delivery driver undermine you, I was treated with such aggression and rudeness that will never donate at this location again. read more

The prices on some things are just too high. Sometimes the place is empty and sometimes the customer service is kind of meh. Lower the price of the video games please because some of the games in the goodwill are cheaper on eBay.... and that's not right.. read more

This store is a mess. I couldn't believe how small it was and the limited selection. I guess I had high hopes since the location is in Albany. I have driven to many Goodwill locations and I drove just about 40 miles to get to this location Such a disappointment. read more

This place has the potential to be pretty cool, but the execution of the store just sucks. There's a little bit of everything: clothes for men, women, and children, blankets, curtains, dishes, toys, shoes, dvds, books, wall art, mirrors, electronics, even arts and craft things.The items look to be in decent to like new condition. Parking is usually not a problem. The organization really kills the place, though. As others have mentioned, clothing is not sorted by size, but by color/style/random whim of the employees. I was looking for toddler pants. I found 2 pairs in the labeled "children's" section. The rest, it turned out, were on a rack with men's jeans. I'm not sure why it was set-up like this, since there was room in the kid's section for those pants. In equally strange fashion, a toddler game table was with bedding items, an Ergo newborn insert was among women's clothing, and a very nice prom dress + sweater combo sat in the children's section. I think the thing that irks people the most is that prices are along the lines of higher-end consignment stores, but the work required by the buyer to find the things he/she is looking for matches that of lower-end thrift stores. If the managers would just take the time to reorganize and label items, this would be a much nicer place. read more

Goodwill - children's section. Toddler pants are behind the shoes with the men's pants - Thrift Stores Near Me - Albany, California

These people are awful. I brought in a bag of nice like new clothes. First the giant guy under the DONATIONS sign told me I had to walk around to the front to donate. What? Nonsense but whatever. Walked around, set my bag on the table, and the woman decided to argue with me about where the donations were brought. Eventually she moved past this BS her own employee had CREATED, and asked what I had brought. "Clothes." "What kinda clothes?" "No idea they're not mine." "Your clothes? Baby clothes?" "I don't know. Do yo want to them or not?" "Nah." Okay, FU then. read more

I was definitely excited to hear that a Goodwill was coming to the area. Especially one with a donation center. Originally I assumed because of the location (Albany, near Kensington) I'd find a lot of good stuff but of course like all thrift stores, it really just depends on your timing. I went a few weeks ago and saw that they had a few film cameras for reasonable prices, I think ranging from $15-30. Which I wasn't so sure on whether or not I should buy, simply because it'd be my first camera and I'm not an expert. So foolishly I decided to consult a friend who told me they'd be a relative steal at that price. Sadly upon my return, all 3 of the cameras had been purchased. Instead I settled for a large movie theater poster of the Lord of the Rings. A victory in my opinion because I paid $5 for it and from what I hear these are usually not sold by movie theaters after the release of the film. So I lose on the camera but win on a poster. But enough of the stories, down to THE BASICS of this Goodwill. I've only been here twice, but from what I can tell and by comparing it to other Goodwills, the ALbany location is not really different from others. I skimmed the clothes and some things did seem a tad overpriced but I suppose it's opinionated. Some people simply expect Goodwill to be the cheapest thing around and forget that part of the money they make is given to foundations to help people in need. They have a decent sized space. Seeing as how it used to be a Blockbuster. Everything is kept clean and organized. And again this place is only a few months old, as time pushes on more and more people will donate their "junk" and it'll become someone else's treasure. read more

Goodwill - Thrift Stores Near Me - Albany, California

This Goodwill is so much better than it was. The new manager is doing a wonderful job!! The assistant managers are also great ladies. This store is tough because of it's size and the huge amount of donations they receive. read more

This Goodwill store is pretty packed with people's retired goods. The store is neatly arranged and color coded. There's a lot of retro looking stuff, fun for costumes but not necessarily my style. Overall, though, I'm glad I popped in for a looksee. read more

It's that time of year again where before you can get "in with the new"...you really oughta get "out with the old". Such was the case for my closet- I finally sat down to downsize my extensive t-shirt and outerwear collection and came out many dozens of items lighter. In my handful of visits over the last couple of years, this Goodwill location seems pretty straightforward about giving you your tax receipt for your donations. Simply park in the back (plenty of space!) and drop your stuff off in one of the huge plastic bins just right of the doors, and ring the bell for someone to give you a pre-signed/dated receipt. Occasionally, the workers will have to forward you to a different location for your donation (i.e. stuffed animals, small furniture like foldable chairs are sometimes turned away) if they are currently too limited on space. In terms of shopping, pricing of items at this location is definitely higher than other thrift stores I'm used to (like the Out of the Closet or Goodwill on University Ave in Berkeley for instance), and by virtue of being one of the smaller branches...also a bit lacking in selection...but the handy-dandy location near El Cerrito Plaza and ample parking in the back sort of makes up for it. read more

This used to be a great place to buy kids books and find unusual and interesting things. Now, it is a large, mostly empty shop that offers practically nothing. Mountains of books are dropped off every day, but Goodwill has decided that these books will not be offered to the people who live in the community. Instead, Goodwill sells the books we donate for exorbitant prices online, through Ebay, ABE Books and more. I have stopped donating books to them, as there is not a SINGLE book for sale in the entire store, and apparently there never will be. I find this fairly outrageous. I really miss the wonderful store that was here before the pandemic. Very sad. read more

Fiona keep up my complaints and yes I know I don't have to shop here lol. Picked an item last week marked$7.99. Turned it over to see original price tag from Marshall's for $6.99. That about sums up the Melnea Cass location. Why pay less when you can pay more. Pricing seems to be at manager's discretion and things are way overpriced especially when the pricing conflicts with what the signs says. 99 cent coffee mugs start at $3.99. Don't even get me started on the no return policy since Covid. They'll take in donations with no covid protocols but won't let you bring things back even for credit and the dressing rooms are closed so if something doesn't fit, you're screwed unless you don't mind trying things on in the store under the watchful gaze of Mass & Cass wanderers. read more

I have noticed an appreciable decline In the availability of media (records, cds, etc.). I don't know if someone is screening this stuff before it hits the floor or what. Also the store is becoming increasingly disorganized and dirty. They need to get their act together! read more

Sooooo, management: I have questions. Is it your store policy to follow and harass teenagers around with some kind of stupid device to prevent stealing from the GOODWILL FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!??? Is it policy for them to be talked down to and disrespected by your "employee"!!!??? When confronted by another adult customer for the ridiculous behavior, is it policy for your "employee" to then be down right ugly and rude as she explains that this is what "her job is"!!!??? My daughter and her friend just had this happen to them in your store. I guess your employee thought the girls were there on a shoplifting spree until the mother of my daughter's friend walked into the store shortly after to shop with them. They were planning on trying on clothes and spending money that could help benefit those who need job training and placement instead of spending their money in a retail store. Your "employee" could certainly benefit from some customer service training. The mother was stunned and correctly told the girls they would not EVER be patronizing your store again and they left. Disgusting. Unfortunately, yelp won't allow me to give this store the negative rating this foul encounter deserves. 1 isn't low enough. read more

I appreciate being able to drop off items to donate here but trying to find someone to obtain a receipt or ask to help move heavy items from my car? That's a different story. I have had three occurrences of that. There's no one to be found near the door because of all the merchandise on display - shelves and racks are tall, at the donation counter area - even if you go to where it goes to the back and have to step in a few feet, or working on the floor nearby. It's frustrating when you can't easily see someone who actually works there. read more

$10 for a man's long-sleeve shirt. At a secondhand store! You're better off spending that money on something new from Target.

Easy, pleasant drop off with two employees ready to receive at the back side of the store. Quickly dropped off two big boxes with no issues and no wait. Received a goodwill receipt after requesting. read more

I will never even come near this store ever with the workers that live here! My fiancé and his brother were trying to get rid of our old couch, I had made a time for them to go to salvation army in Oakland to drop it off, knowing it is the policy of Goodwill's corporate that they do not take furniture and get a tax break from (which from experience of donating furniture to Goodwill when policy started to be in-effect, and was refused that tax break). They had decided to ignore what I said and donate it here. Less than an hour later, I told my fiance he needs to get it back as I know their policy about this (even with manager approval, the corporate does not support this) and I do not want to be screwed later! The staff was so unprofessional about them retrieving the couch, they were not kind to my Fiance, were very short and told him, they hope his girlfriend (me) is only that a girlfriend and that he should leave me. He did not appreciate that comment or thought it was necessary; especially when he told them, he made a mistake. We will never be coming back to this goodwill! we are so livid with this place and feel like they are disrespectful! I will never recommend them to anyone. read more

So exciting to have another Goodwill store. What an excellent reuse of the space formerly occupied by Blockbuster video A parking lot plus easy street parking! As any thrift store aficionado knows any visit is a 'hit or miss" venture. I often find that I'll discover something amazing by sheer luck. When our son was a baby through toddler I found barely worn Oshkosh clothes and contains Playskol sets. Through the years I've found too many treasures for every room in our house but clothes for sort of zoftig me to my buff and tallish son to wool Pendletons for Mr. Rinky. I've been to the Albany Goodwill three times and found a few things each visit. If you have time, energy and patience you can find something that falls into your budget. I think Goodwill and most thrift stores are charging more these days. Yes the items are donated but they still have to pay rent, decent wages for their staff to name a few of their costs. Their prices are still cheaper than buying items new or from a consignment store. Thriftown in San Pablo and the Goodwill store in Oakland on San Pablo (btwn Ashby and Alcatraz) have cheaper prices than this Goodwill location. fyi. I try to donate my family's former clothes to the Bay Area Rescue Mission. The clothes are given to people in need. http://www.yelp.com/biz/bay-area-rescue-mission-richmond read more

When The Mother and I were at The Goodwill Store in Berkeley, we decided if we could not make it to Berkeley for the 50% off sale on Saturday, we would go to The Goodwill Store which opened up in the old Blockbuster Video store sometime ago. Which means they also have a parking lot. Onward with the quest in search a a new wardrobe for Dolce. And they were having the 50% sale too. When we arrived and parked the car, we were delighted to we could go inside through the back while donations were being processed. The children's section was easy to spot and so we started perusing shirts for Dolce. The Mother looked at many of the finds and considering the prices, decided to get them all. When I was putting back a shirt that was not going to fit Dolce, a familiar looking pair of dark jeans caught my eye. I took a look at them and they were just my size. They were Gap "Always Skinny" jeans. (And I paid almost full price for the pair I still have at home.) SFW! And at 50% off--SFW! Maybe I will have to rethink shopping for basics such as jeans at the Goodwill Store before going elsewhere. We scored some other interesting purchases at the Goodwill Store. The Mother found an interesting black and red bag. And I took a look at it. It is a Yelp! tote bag. I found a folding laundry net bag. And The Mother got a dog bowl for Bianco at a great price! (For the cost of two-buck Chuck!) I then saw a group of navy T-shirts. And much to my surprise, there was a BEAT STANFORD T-shirt for $2.99. The cost of the shirt after the 50% discount was 10% of the retail price at the Cal Student Store. [Hmm, I am going to have to rethink as to where to get my Cal shirts and gear also when they are not free in exchange for tweeting, texting, instagraming, facebooking or (in my case) quick tipping on Yelp!] It looks like Goodwill Store is going to be part of our shopping repertoire and rotation. And a new resource for clothing basics. Treasures can be found at The Goodwill Store. read more

I read enough bad reviews to know not to indulge myself into even coming mightest well go to a store with new items and hopefully nicer people read more

Meh. The staff are friendly when I drop stuff off, but the other reviews are rght: stuff here is expensive. I wasn't even looking to buy anything. I jut started cruising because of what I read on Yelp. Maybe it's because it's a new place, or maybe rent is really high or something. Either way, I'm down with Goodwill. I read all their signs about their job training programs, and I'm really into that. It seems like they have the kind of programs that keeps employees off welfare and empowers people. Very cool. read more

I came here for furniture, so the review is based on this Goodwill's furniture. The selection is poor, but the worst part is everything is way overpriced. Example: crappy bookshelves from target for $40, probably the same price new. Also, they are selling a bunch of dirty garbage. Example: frying pans with destroyed surfaces for $10 and lamps coated with grime for $13. And it smells pretty bad in the back with all the housewares. I think they need to improve their process of sorting and cleaning donated items, and also for pricing stuff. read more

I've always brought quality items to donate when I no longer have use for them. This place has always been staffed with nice people. I called yesterday to ask if they accept hangers and they said of course we do. I get down there and they say they're not accepting donations for the day even though they just told me 10 minutes prior that they were. Then the manager told me sorry and bring it back tomorrow morning. I get there today and they tell me they won't accept it again, same manager was there and corrected them and said they would. Then store manager comes out and says they won't. Then I let the store manager know that they're giving me a real hard time when I haven't been rude and even called to ask to make sure it's fine that I drop off. Then she told me that maybe it's me that's giving them a hard time. The management here is not on the same page and have very poor communication skills. read more

VERY OVERPRICED!! I've found a reliable indicator for the general pricing of a particular thrift store is how much they charge for their George Forman Grills. Every thrift store has them, but the prices can vary considerably. This place was asking a whopping $15 for probably the nastiest one I've ever seen. Did it work? Nobody knew. There was a new squirrel trap (the humane kind with a triggered door) for $20, which is three dollars more than a new one at Harbor Freight Tools. Maybe they just didn't realize what these things were worth, but they also had a set of fairly decent dishes, all matching and were asking $2.99 EACH!!! I just think that's crazy. The overpricedness seemed to be fairly evenly distributed through all departments, clothing and shoes were on the expensive side too. I gave the store 2 stars because 1) the store was well organized and clean and 2) it has parking. read more

Thrift store shopping is like a treasure hunt. And I like treasure hunts! This store was a pleasant surprise; easy parking, nice staff, neat racks of clothes and tons of household items. The layout is quite nice and pleasing to the eye. Found some cool things (silly Christmas decorations) and the price was right. I felt that most things were priced appropriately. read more

This place is terrible. I've been here 2 times to drop off a bag pretty much barely worn clothes from like Gap, Banana Republic etc. over the course of 3 years. Both times, they turned me away. They said they had too much stuff and weren't accepting donations. They asked me to go to another location which is miles away! What is even stranger is, one of the employees was there with a trunk picking up merchandise to shift to another store so why can't they just accept the donations and shift these around themselves if they have the trucks for it. If you aren't accepting donations, take away the 'donations, drop off here' sign you post on the sidewalk. The staff here are always rude too. Terrible place. I am going to donate to the Salvation Army instead. read more

I like to come here to spend a little time and see if I found some interesting things to buy, this afternoon I was short a dollar to buy a little crystal giraffe, yes it was swarosky it said, it was 6.99 I don't want to use my card so I told the cashier a black guy who said he was the manager I'm going to get the money from my car, I don't find enough changed so I asked to a latino girl with her baby if she can borrow me a dollar because of that I explained to her she gave me some changed and I went to the counter, the manager said now it is 16.99 I said why, he said right after that the thing is gone I sold it already, I said why if I told you I want it and going to comeback for it. He said is gone. And I asked.for his name and I asked why he did that probably because I'm latino and somebody else do that to him too. Terrible attitude and the worse customer service ever. Probably the giraffe is going to be displaying in his house. I will never come back here again. read more

I really like this Goodwill. It's large and airy. It's a nice building. I haven't bought any clothes from them, just tchotchkes from time to time. They are a bit out of my neighborhood, so I don't really know the clerks, except one very nice lady who used to work at one of my local Goodwills. So, no real impressions of the staff. They do have a lot of interesting glass and china, some arranged by color, which I enjoy investigating. From time to time I've found some very nice items, though of course, the prices are rising fast. As with Thrift Town, it seems somebody told the pricers to just ignore cracks and chips. But there is a good quantity of items to check out, and I like that. Not much parking in their two tiny lots next to the store, but I've always found a place. This is a very pleasant Goodwill. read more

Went here for 50% off day. I honestly didn't stay here long. I was very confused by how everything was laid out. I'm from Illinois. And I'm not sure if this is how all Goodwills out here are, but there was no type of signs designating sizes and such on racks. Without these signs, I had to wade through thousands of pieces not my size. I did not factor that into my rating, because maybe I'm just lucky that my local Goodwill does this. What I did factor in was prices and selection. Everything looked pretty dated and prices were pretty high. I could shop at Target and get some better prices. The positives were that employees seemed nice and the building was beautiful - nice and airy. read more

First, you must allow time to explore the store. It always seems that there are so many quality items to see. I mean what's the point of thrifting if you're in a hurry... The best bargin I've ever found was from this store. I was searching for a little black dress, so why not check here first I told myself. And I tell you, on that day, the universe knew to lead me to this store, because I found the perfect dress. It was new, unworn, price tags still on display. It had sold for $460., but on that day I snatched it up for only $20. And that's one reason why this store remains my favorite starting point - when thrifting. read more

Typical Goodwill store: low prices - I got a Roxy t-shirt in great condition for $2.99; other tops seem to average around $5 - and the clothes are mostly low-to-mid quality brands but include a few better-quality items here and there. Arranged by color, which is helpful. Sunny, well-lit. The rating should really be a single dollar sign, not three. Prices are low! If Goodwill managers ever read this, some suggestions: Some racks were overcrowded & hard to flip through. Put in a mirror or two on the women's side of the store (yes, I know there are a couple on the other side). And the placards proclaiming that Goodwill's job training prevents crime make me wince - seems a bit embarrassing to the staff. But yes, it's a good cause, and you can't beat the prices, and I'll be back. read more

I have always liked this store because it's neat, there is parking and the staff is very helpful. But what has happened?? I never know if they'll be taking donations. And now they're just plain closed. I don't get it. If I take the time to sort through and prepare clothes for donation, I don't want to come back home with them. I want them to go for donation nicely ironed or folded. Can you get your store to be a more dependable service? read more

Nice and airy Goodwill store. They had a lot of shoes. Everything seemed to be organized pretty well. The workers weren't friendly, but they're not staight out rude either. read more

Mostly donated clothes and some appliances at this location. Very nice staff and lots of parking.

These folks really helped me not have to take extra stuff to the dump during my move. Little did I know they also have a whole network for handling scrap metal, rags, and other things like that when it doesn't sell. And the provide jobs. I am impressed with them. read more

I received wonderful service today at the Albany CA goodwill. I like that store very much. It's very organized and I get great buys and everyone is pleasant. Susan read more

Great selection of items and clothes, and very clean and well organized. The staff is very professional.

Goodwill in Albany gave me excellent customer service. They helped me carry in the boxes and bags of donations from my car quickly and cheerfully. It helps that they have a parking lot, and I can park close to where the donations go. read more