Let's say you find something of interest to buy after walking around in this mess. You need to carry it a few hundred yards to an intimidating, rude, unkempt, bunch of gangster types who will condescendingly give you an arbitrary price out of the lazy rear ends they are sitting on. I would not be surprised if some of these guys actually have a criminal background. Let's say you have something useful like an old door, window, or some unused building materials to take there. They will always rudely offer you nothing for it. You may be tempted to give it to them for free but refer to the previous and the last paragraph. I have fallen into this trap several times thinking just the one guy I dealt with in the distant past happened to a be a jerk. Fact is they are all trained to be jerks, consistently over many years! If the non-electronics stuff you bought turns out to be useless junk and you take it back next day with your receipt; they will refuse to give you a refund though their policy states: "We offer refunds for up two weeks from the purchase date on most items. We don't offer refunds on most electronics. Testing stations are available onsite for customers to test electronics. Sometimes - not all the time - salespeople may make special arrangements in special circumstances." They will always claim the item is non-refundable by the said policy as it does not come under "most" items, you did not make the "special arrangement" or YOU should have specifically thought of asking the jerk of a salesperson if the item was refundable and get a "special" receipt instead of finding out when you go to return it that you have no recourse. Again they are all trained to be jerks - from the lowest level sitting on their rear ends all the way up to the so-called "managers". Do yourself and the community a favor - do not patronize this place. If you have things you can't donate to Salvation Army, Goodwill, or offer free at the curb then cut it into small pieces and just toss in the garbage instead of giving it to this nasty place. If you need to buy something go to Craigslist, HomeDepot, or Lowes - you get what you pay for with much better quality customer service. read more

I have been regularly shopping Urban Ore for 10 + years. Always a dedicated customer. Today my visit was disappointing to say the least. A lot more straight JUNK at higher prices then I remember. This was not the worst part. The staff needs a major attitude adjustment. Priscilla, an aging senior indoor manager, was a..... how can I say this....... straight BITCH to my partner. Without going into the dirty details she was rude, petty, assuming, and childishly immature for no good reason. To add to the sad show, Arnold, the back yard attendant, after I had to interrupt his personal shoot the shit fest with a fellow employee on company time, he was also rude, abrupt, and short when I asked him a simple question regarding the price of an item. They have just lost two more long term customers based on very poor customer service! I surely hope Dan Knapp, the owner of Urban Ore, is paying attention to Yelp reviews. He's not doing his customers, or himself and his profits, any favors by continuing to tolerate employees that should not be in the retail / people business. At that very least he should put them in positions where they cannot interact with customers. read more

when i first came in here i was absolutely in love. i reveled in the junk and the randomness that surrounded me. it was only a year and a half ago and though they still have some great finds the luster has dwindled since then. also is it just me or have they started charging way more for their stuff? what appealed to me most was having a local reuse shop that really did carry it all from sinks and toilets to clothes and records and furniture, it's all there. maybe people have just not been donating anything that good lately, but it seems that so much that is in there is scraps that are beyond any functional use and the stuff that is useful has a hell of a high price for being in its last leg of reuse. come on urban ore, i still believe in you, please prove me wrong... working for a small business in these tough times i know how hard it is with money, but don't up the prices like you are... the majority of us support you because we are putting into practice the feasibility of reuse while still being low income individuals. read more

Who says one's junk can't be your treasure. This place is amazing. I come here regularly for a lot of things. Given, as some have said, it's a junk heep that's been somewhat organized for your pleasure. If you do know what you are doing, you can find some really unique and useful things here. My list of finished projects include: Finished cabinets, bought here and resurfaced for half the cost of new. Replaced 5-panel doors, with a little elbow 25% of new. Rewire a house for cable, sat, tele, internet, for nickels on the dollar. Hell I've even at time found electronics to get me by. My only gripe, though and I didn't let affect my score was the cat pee smell. I consider this place to be like a junk yard, not a hotel, so don't be surprised if you smell some funkiness here and there. Thank goodness haven't ever stepped in anything funky. read more

It can be cold inside, and you better make time to dig, dig, dig. But this place is simply a treasure trove. Don't come too early. Give the folks there time to get the goodies onto the warehouse floor. Come 9:30 am, the best stuff will likely be out and you better hurry if you want it first. Great for all kinds of knick-knacks, and odd trinkets. The prices for house supplies are a bit steep, but if you need a cast iron tub, or quirky sink, or wood shutters and doors, then you'll likely not be surprised at the high used prices. Most of the treasures I've found have been between the lines. Keep and open mind and a sharp eye, and you'll leave a only few bucks lighter but with something you may have never thought possible to own. My best find were Mole Richardson 2k lights. Got six of them way below even used prices. read more

My Designer Angelisse Karol sent me here to look for old door and windows and some other pieces she told me how to use to make a cool dividing wall between my living room and dining room in my loft. WOW! What a find! They have so much stuff to dig through. I had to come back when I had more time! It took awhile to decide between a few great finds but the end result was spectacular and something I would have never thought to do much less use old parts of old houses. Especially puttting it all together into one great wall! This place is now on my list as a first stop from now on! check out the treasure! read more

This is a big bare bones operation with tons of stuff to sort through. So, sometimes you need help from a staff member. I've been a few times before, and help if you can get it is satisfactory. I don't expect too much. But I don't expect rudeness, which is what I got on my last visit. I asked the bearded guy at the outdoor desk a question about something for sale outside. His response was to stare at me and finally say, "Wada you think?" with a sneer. I'm not stupid, but I'm asking a question about something because obviously I don't know. My response, "I think I'm leaving and never coming back" read more

Urban Ore is boutique prices on junk from demo'ed houses. Case in point they wanted $23 for a beat up old Glacier Bay faucet with missing parts and paint on it. You can get the newer model in Home Depot for $37. Random generic faucet: $20 at Urban Ore, $19 new at Ikea right down the road. Bathroom vanity chipped, with paint and stickers on it $45 at Urban Ore, new vanity from Home Depot ~$40. Don't expect a deal if you're shopping here. Personally I thought many (though not all) items were way overpriced considering condition. I doubt most people shopping here have done their homework. read more

If you've got the time and patience, go here. If you want something interesting and cool, or don't know what you want, go here. If you need a bunch of kitschy forks, go here. Yes, some of it is over-priced, but the deals are really deals! And they have a whole section of stuff for cameras. They have drawers filled with miscellaneous camera bits and pieces, point-and-shoot cheapy's, and anything else you might want that's older and vintagey. Take a day when you've got a few hours, because it's really not worth going if you can't SPEND time there. read more

Picture a vast collection of curbside treasures piled high in a warehouse. Imagine rows upon rows of porcelain toilets, discarded doors, rusty garden supplies, breakables, damaged art, and abandoned furniture sorted into functionality. Think Goodwill rejects as far as the eye can see. For some, this is the beauty of possibility, glorious fodder for a DIY/craft world with character. For others, it's a jumble of old, smelly castaways taking up space. I urge you to find out for yourselves. Cash goes far, so snag a map and start the hunt! read more

Great place, just beware of the short fatty Mexican creep/dude who wears a hat and walks around the place whistling - if he is at the check out counter and you found something you love, when he looks at it and decides the price is too low he will immediately take it off the counter and say ohh this is mis-priced, a very common rip off tactic, and of course when you ask .. Well how much is it? He will double the price. This creep should be fired, very bad for business as it is so obvious of what he is trying to pull off. read more

Urban Ore is a great spot for all kinds of things - I've bought tons of odds and ends for my house and generally love the vibe. But more importantly they have recently started unionizing which will make the space even better! The employees there are great, and I'm confident that treating them well and listening to their needs is the best thing for the space. Managers: please bargain in good faith with your workers! Me and my friends don't want to come to a place where the workers aren't being listened to!! read more

Amazing store for secondhand goods of all kinds -- I got most of the furniture for my first apartment here, and they also have books, records, electronics, clothing, etc. Even better, the staff is currently unionizing! Unfortunately, the owners are trying to suppress the union, which is a really tone-deaf move given the strong pro-labor sentiment in the wider community here. I'm hopeful the owners will bargain with their workers in good faith so I can continue supporting this awesome institution! read more

I literally go here 4 times a week, I go here so much that my daughter calls it the Barbie Store. They have everything you could ever possibly need and some stuff you didn't know existed. Short List::: electronics, computers, books, toys, art supplies, photography stuff, clothes, furniture, doors, windows, gardening equipment, patio furniture, lumber, i could go on and on until the break of dawn. I love the employees and I love that every time i buy here instead of new i am helping the planet. read more

1.Some employees are VERY rude 2. the trash they sell is sometimes dangerous and often overpriced 3. they do not honor thier return policy 4.they pick on and bully their customers 5, they don't respond to complaints (although they will fain a response) For some reason I supported them through the boycott, but now I guess it's back to business as usual which means i guess for them means being some of the rudest employees ever. I will have to start my own boycott. Sigh. read more

The worse prices for junk..nothing here works so don't bother wasting your time thinking your getting a deal. And to top it off, if it does work, it will be priced for double what someone on ebay is selling for, at an assured, returnable price. Save yourself the hassle of dealing with the snobby attitudes (I don't know why, they work at a junk shop equivalent to a small city dumave when being approached to even purchase an item, let alone ask a question. DONT BOTHER read more

I despite this place. You can't find anything useful here, it's literally all junk they get for free, then overprice. INSANELY OVERPRICE. The workers are all jerks, white across the board, racist and superiorist in the laziest, worst kind of way. Hey guys, you sell overpriced junk, it's not a charity, you're not saving the planet or doing anything all that great, really, than taking business away from real charities like goodwill, salvation army, and others. read more

Amazing store with great staff. Most importantly, UOW(Urban Ore Workers) are in the process of Unionizing which will elevate this wonderful establishment to new heights. I fully support their efforts and the community at large will greatly benefit from them establishing an official union. Unfortunately the owners are doing everything they can to stop this which itself is a huge disgrace to Urban Ore and the Berkeley Community. read more

Need some "stuff" for the house? Have a couple spare hours? Head on down to Urban Ore and just cruise around. Serendipity abounds. You can save a few bucks, feel good about being green, and have some fun. These guys have everything from clothes to records to handles to doors to furniture to toilets to tile to windows to nails and screws to mirrors to books to stoves to . . .Don't be afraid to bargain on the price, either. read more