You've got to love Goodwill. I live near Midway Airport but decided to take a weekend stroll up to Evanston, and this was one of my stops. I'll be honest -- I was pleasantly surprised to visit, but not necessarily because of the items. When the store first opened that morning, it was already pretty messy. Compared to other Goodwill locations I've visited, this one felt much less organized. The store itself was clean, but the racks were chaotic. Clothes were hanging off the racks or scattered, and several employees walked past without straightening things up, which was a little frustrating. I'm used to Goodwills having neat aisles where you can browse comfortably, and this one just didn't have that same level of organization. That said, I do want to give credit where it's due. One employee who stood out was Yareli, the cashier. I wanted to buy an item that required an electrical component, and she was kind enough to go through the electrical section to see if she could find the piece I needed. She couldn't locate it, but when I mentioned that I had the part in my car, she kindly allowed me to step outside and retrieve the piece I needed and ahe held the item at the front. I went out to my car, got the adaptor and came back and tested it, and the light worked perfectly. That small act of kindness really made the experience better. To Yareli's manager: that's exactly how an employee wins over customers -- through patience, kindness, and genuine helpfulness. Prices are a little higher at thia location, but still competitive. read more

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A pretty good location. Lots of stock; probably a lot of stuff that NW students are dumping at the end of the year! Definitely worth a peek if you're a thrifter and in Evanston. read more

I do like this Goodwill, today I actually talked to a manager about a bad trend that's becoming more common. When they bring a new cart, the same people everyday who hang out waiting for the carts push their way in, grab items, throw it in their carts and later put them back. They literally push people out of the way, it's rude and greedy. Manager said they are aware of the practice and it's within their right to be the first, and return things they don't want. If it happens to me I should report it. Nope, they should stop this kind of behavior, it shouldn't be acceptable behavior to a store with a cause to help people, and just as importantly it can result in a very bad outcome if someone responds violently, don't wait till happens, stop it now, nor should Goodwill become a hangout for these people, who are not shopping otherwise. You must have rules for safety of your customers. read more

Pretty good location. More dressing rooms than locations in Chicago. Nicer workers by FAR! And still good prices. Plus plenty of parking. read more

Clothing items are probably the best choice for going here other than that the rest of the store is hit & miss

CDS are $1.00, one dollar. VHS and cassette tapes are $0.50, fifty cents each. I got a Chicago Cubs old school cloth baseball hat with reinforced cotton back strap for $2.99. Which shall look good on a lady fan that wants to rock a pig tail out the back of the hat. I got a (3) three hole punch for $1.99, one dollar ninety nine, that is easy on my precious wrists that would indubitably cost at least $8.67, eight dollars and sixty seven cents. Plenty of parking and carts. read more

The goodwill evanston is extremely well stacked. You can really find here a second home for a lot seasonal items at a huge discount. I got here really nice gardening tools, Halloween, and Xmas decorations. The inventory changes often! read more

This is hands down the most organized, cleanest and best customer service of any Goodwill. They have a really good selection of goods, the quality is above all the other stores we've been to. The prices are also very reasonable compared to other resale shops. The manager I spoke with (Jessica) was very helpful and answered all my questions. I will gladly drive the 50+ minutes it takes to get here to have a pleasant shopping experience Thank you to everyone who works at this location for making the store a great experience! read more

The Goodwill in Evanston is run like a department store: stock is cleaned & rotated often; there are fun seasonal displays. In addition to finding wonderful items, I know the items I donate are treated with respect. It's a fun experience at great value, while supporting the environment & Goodwill's mission. Highly recommended! read more

I'm a poor graduate student now so Goodwill is good if I need to get some clothing and accessories for cheap. This store is quite large and has a lot of inventory. Some of the racks are packed so tightly that I couldn't even push the clothing even a centimeter on the rack. I was looking for Renaissance Fair clothing so I managed to pick out a long red skirt, a white peasant top, and some brown boots for a cool grand total of about $16. You won't find a lot of designer gems here. Most of the clothing is on the lower end of the scale. However, most of the items here are around $5 then. read more

Goodwill Store & Donation Center - Thrift Stores Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

This location is perfect for donations. Lots of signage where to go. Friendly staff willing to help unload your car. No hassle at all.

I made a large donation including a dozen clean, freshly laundered bath towels at the GoodWill on Dempster in Evanston. When I entered the store I noticed that there were no bath towels on sale. I asked the staff person at the donation door why and was told that towels were not longer accepted and mine although perfectly usable were destined for the compactor. A manager (?) told me "Well next time you will know". Today on line it states that "Goodwill will only accept towels that are rip and stain-free and are in good condition. (A good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn't want it based on condition, nobody else would either.)" I wonder if the RRR's displayed throughout the store is just a marketing ploy. If this is a new policy people making donation should know. read more

They are very helpful when you drop things off but they have changed what they accept so much that we really can't donate some stuff. We had a beautiful wool rug, in perfect condition that they wouldn't accept because it was too big (5x7). read more

I stopped by here recently looking for t-shirts (my closest Goodwill, Des Plaines, had been a bust). The store overall is smallish, but the t-shirt selection was pretty sweet. I just needed a few cheap ones to wear around the house, but was hoping to find some interesting and/or cool stuff. And indeed I did! There were numerous sports teams (professional, college, and even local high schools), pop culture (e.g. Superman; Captain America; "A Jedi on the streets, a Sith between the sheets"), and the truly random and unique gems that make this kind of shopping fun (e.g. 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey; a phallic skyscraper tilted at 75 degrees captioned "Boystown, Chicago"). The sizes are a bit mixed up, so in the Large section, there are maybe 20% other sizes. Moderately annoying. I also took a turn through the men's dress shirts and the book area, and was impressed with the selection and quality of merchandise. They are not selling very much junk here, and everything is really really cheap. I will keep them in mind the next time that I need a few work shirts. You can't beat five t-shirts for $13.15, but the joy of discovery is priceless. read more

Very impressive Goodwill Store, lots of new stuff and great item selections. I remember how I was excited to visit their store for the first time, it made me experienced the great shopping, and also purchasing their items for cheaper price. I really love this store, they have a great sale prices and they always have good deals. Very organized, neat and clean store. They have so many good selection, and their items has good quality. Prices ate their store can be little high or low but it won't break the bank. You can also find some hard-to-find things there, even the daily things you need. I really love this big store, I am amaze with their clean and awesome place. Their employees are great, friendly and helpful. Definitely try their store, and go to try shop there. You can find there some reasons to go back again and again. Have a great day! read more

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Good store, big selection and clearly laid out. The prices are a tad bit high though. But overall a gem.

I love Goodwill. I love thrifting in general so it's always a pretty pleasant experience whether I find anything to buy or not. This place seemed well organized within the space it has. Staff was decent. Parking was easy. read more

Many of the good items are guarded by resellers who spend their day sitting beside the doors and immediately grab the items that are recently brought out to the store. I even saw some of them open the door to the warehouse to ask for stuff to be brought out to them like records, TVs, furniture. They might be friends of the workers there. They also would rather throw away items that don't sell than simply pricing it down to 50 cents(to compete with dollar store a few stores down the same lot) . many are not rejected by customers due to quality but rather some customers change their mind (due to budget restrictions) and leave the products on top of the wrong shelves. They used to price things for 50 cents more often, but they want bigger dollars per sale, rather than more items resold and not trashed into a landfill. (you can peek thru their warehouse door and see large buckets of trashed donations and a giant garbage truck you will hear them use a lot) Sadly the advertised mission is just a facade. It all goes back to the bottom line $$$. While they do SOME of the advertised "recycling" and "saving items from landfills", it's not taken seriously by staff, management, and corporate. Corporate seems to want to squeeze as much money per sale more than maximizing the impact to landfills and the care for donations given by donors. They make thousands on re selling things online and at the store for a practically freely donated product but they can't spend an hundred dollars to hire one more worker whose goal is to save the donations that are good enough to sell which would pay for itself. they would probably even save that much by just having that worker hand those throw away items for free in a bucket outside the store, since they would spend less money on paying for their garbage disposal. but as i said, none of them take their "mission" seriously to think about these things, they just want more money per customer visit. rather than more donations resold and saved. they don't even take into account that a large number of return customer is usually what accounts for profits in a business. if customers get a buzz out of buying knickknacks for 50 cents (that would otherwise go to trash) or those items they would throw away when they find them out of place. i personally love going home from a visit to the nextdoor dollar store. 30 dollars for 30 NEW items, compared to goodwill where your 30 bucks won't get you far (because the resellers already grabbed it and is now selling it for more money on their ebay). read more

I like older things. I always have. When I first thrifted it was out of necessity and not having much money, later it became about wanting to not see things end up in a trash heap. If I tire of something I purchase at thrift, I either donate again or sell. Sometimes I make a little money, sometimes I lose. I'm all for entrepreneurial spirit and if you find something of value and can make a little money- that's ok. But this store as well as other Goodwills give a bit of favor to those who run resale shops. I overheard one employee literally tell an older gentleman who I know owns a resale shop that he would be wheeling out some new electronics. He urged that guy to stand by the back door. It's behavior like this that angers me. It's a resale shop for all to partake in bargains. Giving another retailer a heads up is wrong- just wrong. I used to find a lot of nice things in here, but recently I've started to re-evaluate my own behavior when it comes to stuff. Go here with a good attitude and the self reflection to know that maybe just somebody else needs that item more than you or maybe they'd like some beauty in their life. If all you are going to do is bury it amongst all your other stuff, maybe you don't need it. To the people that are vulture shoppers in here, maybe you need to reevaluate your life. read more

Store is ok. Nothing special. The employees are ok, nothing special. I don't really recommend stopping in this store. Very little to choose from. read more

Not a good selection of clothing. Very messy and dirty. Some members of the staff are not very welcoming.

The store is clean and well organized and staff is nice but they over price items. They also don't participate in the 99 cent Monday deals that most Goodwills do. read more

The staff is very customer service and more than enough clothes, accessories etc,though could use a clean up and better organization, resources for our homeless. read more

Good items at fair prices. My enthusiasm collapses because the way Goodwill plasters price tags on certain items inevitably DAMAGES THE APPEARANCE. They put stickers on the front of painted surfaces or paper, ensuring the surface has a permanent blemish. No matter how careful you are (I use heat or water with my finger) the tags remove finish or paint. WHY CAN'T YOU PUT THE PRICE TAGS ON THE BACK WHERE IT WON'T MATTER? I purchased a pair of sconces today - one now has a big blemish on it where the stupid price tag removed the paint. Why buy things that will be ruined by the seller's ignorance. this is not rocket science. read more

This Goodwill store has seen some management changes and not in a good way. The store has gotten seriously overpriced for a thrift shop. Too many occasions I've found similar quality items at the dollar store a few doors down that were dollars less than priced at that GW store. I'm sure it's not because they're paying their floor staff anymore. Also, allot of junk, damaged and broken items have made their way onto the floor. I used to visit quite frequently, now, I've hit the three strikes mark and will be shopping at their other locations. Lighten up pricing managers a little flexibility in a thrift store is a positive for customer satisfaction. read more

i love shopping at the good will but i was in the evenston store and it was pink tag day that means pink tags are half price well a girl was taking a lot of pink tag close a way i asked her why she said her boss told her to so not what we have to buy higher priced close well i was disapointed now i do not know what to think im all for the cheaper the better so now what read more

Staff is friendly! Store is clean and well organized. There is a donation center here open from 9am-9pm. Every 15th of the month there is a special deal where you get an extra percentage off. On your birthday they give you 25% off of your purchase at any store. Sign up for their rewards program. Happy shopping! read more

I have dropped off items at this goodwill many times and there is always a friendly person there to help you unload. They hand you a donation receipt without even having to ask for one. I haven't shopped as often but the few times I have I found items in good shape. The staff inside is also very friendly and helpful. read more

Very nice store with a wide variety of quality items such as clothes, books, home goods and more. I work at a day care so I need clothes that are comfortable, cheap and easy to keep clean as working with children can get messy, I have gotten many nice shirts here for under five dollars, good shirts too from nicer places such as gap, I also have bought a couple pairs of pants including a nice pair of Ann Taylor slacks for only 8$. The people that work the cashiers are all very friendly too, you can even get a "preferred card" where you get discounts when you spend a certain amount of money and also during the month of your birthday. Nice store! read more

Great store! My favorite Goodwill is in Carpentersville but this store is comparable! When they first opened their selection was minimal. Now they've got it it going on! It's now my new favorite store! It could be organized by sizes much better in order to find things quicker however. .... particularly the jeans and pants section.... Overall highly recommended! read more

It is very convenient to donate items here. I called in advance and learned they would accept donations until 9 p.m. A few days ago I brought an SUV stuffed to the max. I was greeted by a man who brought a cart right to the vehicle and he unloaded everything in minutes. He gave me a receipt and I was on my way. (You actually get a Form with a code on it and you have to go online to request an itemized receipt.) I asked about donating an 8.5 ft. Christmas tree that I had no box for and they said to just bring the pieces. They put everything into 2 carts and gave me a coupon for $75 off a new tree at Treetime.com! The guys are very friendly. read more

I always love stopping into this location is pretty organized for the most part, staff is always friendly to me at least. The things you come across in here are always worth the visit and the prices are always fair as well, they constantly add new inventory as well so you can count on the store having new things every few days read more

there are four women in the store that stay in there all day and will do anything they can to take everything of value for resale they stay at the back door follow the cart and take everything Goodwill is aware of it other people have posted the same thing they even take stuff out of your cart three times now this woman name Sanda has strong-armed me and taking things Goodwill's mission statement is so that poor people can have something nice for their home not so that people can make a fortune off of resale and stay in the store all day the other day Sandro was following the cart came running down the aisleAnd tried to grab a cane from the opposite aisle and once again did the same thing to me I asked for a manager and he went out front and talk to them not me and asked me to leave the store when I have done nothing said nothing to them nothing I told him Goodwill's mission statement he said they spend a lot of money there and they pay his salary she tried once before to get me thrown out made up a lie manager look at the tapesI saw it was a lie yet they continue to pull this stuff and goodwill allows it I don't suggest you go to the store there's anything good they are going to get it for resale and you were not going to get anything but the junk thank you Goodwill for not having healthy boundaries and supporting these behaviors read more

As with all thrift stores, check for the box for the item if it is a video game. Get home to find out it was empty then could only get a store credit. read more

Tarzan was very helpful and friendly at the donation drop off. I love the convenience of the drive through drop off. I will be coming back with more donations. read more

This Goodwill and the one in Evanston isn't the best thrift store to shop. But it is clean and orderly. Cash-out is quick. On-floor sales associates are available. However, as someone who shops the thrifts a lot, I was disappointed that they have practically no "new with tags" clothing and items like I find at Unique and Village Outlet. I was disappointed that you practically have to go to the Goodwills everyday for the 1/2 off sales because they change the color codes each day. Even the store personnel can't tell you when the sales will be. Unlike the Village Outlet, the Ark and Unique that have Mondays designated as 1/2 off sales. I will not return to either Goodwill. read more

I've been meaning to post a review for some weeks now, so here goes. I've been going to this location for a few months now and I have to say, that Tarzan is the best! I've been cleaning out my house getting ready to move to Texas, and Tarzan is always there to greet me and help me out. He is always willing to go above and beyond to make sure my experience goes smoothly. Today was my last visit to this location and Tarzan will truly be missed. The rest of the staff is very nice as well. Thank you for servicing me for these last 2 months. read more