I love a good thrifting experience. That being said, I have a set of criteria for each store I visit. Here's how Value World measures up.
1) Appearance - The racks are neat and attractive. The aisles are well lit and wide enough for shopping comfortably with a stroller or a cart. The sections are well categorized with large, oval signs that hang from the ceiling. My biggest complaint is the sizing on the racks: If you want a pair of jeans, you've got to dig through 30 pairs to pull out your size. Rated B+
2) Customer Service - The cashiers are typically neutral. You're not met with any warm greetings or general pleasantries when you check out. They put aside your hangers, ring you up, take your payment and hand you your bag. When I become a regular at a thrift shop, I usually come to know at least one employee. After 2 years shopping here, I know absolutely no one. Also, there is no dressing room here and no public restroom, either. Rated C
3) Products/Stock - It's rare that I come here in search of something and leave empty handed. When it's seasonally appropriate, you can find pretty much all of your family's needs under this one roof. I was looking for something as obscure as a biketard for my oldest daughter's gymnastics class and we found two beautiful ones there. All of my kids' summer shoes are from Value World. I scored a nice sand/water table that my girls love. We always check out their selection of children's books. You get 5 for a buck, which is a great deal. Rated A
4) Value - Hit or miss. Some of the stuff costs a more than it's worth. I've pulled $4 shirts from the rack with small holes under the arm, $6 pants with pen ink on the knees and a clean swimsuit with an old stain in seat. That one was a bit traumatizing lol! When buying play clothes, I don't mind snags and imperfections. But I won't pay more than a couple of dollars for play clothes. On the other hand, I've seen Baby Phat jeans in great condition for $6, pristine Juicy Couture leggings for a mere $3 and perfectly adorable flip flops for only $1. All hard and soft cover books are 5 for $1 (unless otherwise noted). A few times a year, the store offers 50% off coupons which are extremely popular. Typically they only work on orders of $25 or greater, so you're better off using it on a big shopping trip. Rated B+
Some Tips From a Regular:
*Use the bathroom at Burger King (across the parking lot) before you settle in to go shopping. Value World doesn't have a public restroom.
*Ladies, wear leggings, close-fitting shirts (like a tank top) and easy-to-remove shoes. That way, you can do a quick fit check in the aisle. There's no changing room, and they have a no refund policy, so this reduces the chance of buyers remorse later.
*Remove clothes from the hangers before you get to the cash register. It helps move the check out process along faster.
*Go to Valueworld.net and join their email list. You receive coupons right to your inbox, which is great because they now accept digital coupons on cell phones!
*Pass up the board games, unless you can verify that it has all the parts. I bought a few that were cheap but barely usable due to missing pieces. read more