The Salvation Army Family Store & Donation Center

Reviews 6

MB

MB Stewart

I guess the clothing selection is good; the musty smell seems more pungent in this store than other secondhand stores so I avoid. Higher end items are usually nicely displayed at the front of the store and in seasonal displays to the side. The electronics section is very small and limited to a few pieces of lighting and 10 kitchen appliances like Foreman grills. At the front of the store is a collection of decent-looking pictures and wall hangings as well as a mid-size furniture collection. The furniture is pretty typical of what youd expect to find in a resale shop although every time I go in, I see at least one very good quality piece. Many have commented on the high prices and I do not disagree completely. I think this store really focuses on the brand of an item to determine pricing and that is unfortunate. Ive seen brand new still-tagged "Honors" and "George" (Target and Walmart brands respectively) shirts priced at $5 or $7 and faded, old, very worn shirts from Gap or Banana Republic for $7-10. The childrens toys are not well laid-out with a majority of them stacked on top of the clothing racks. If youre short, good luck with that. Of course I understand that if all the toys were lower to the ground, the kids would make a major mess. There are some good deals in the kids clothing if you have the patience and strength to push your way through overcrowded racks. The housewares are organized by color and really unreasonably priced overall, in my opinion. For example, I went recently in search of a set of drinking glasses and some additional coffee mugs. A set of 6 plain glasses that were not "designer" was priced at nearly $6 and coffee mugs...used coffee mugs...were $2-3 each. Basic mugs, not oversized latte stoneware or anything "fancy". Are these prices unreasonable? Yes, in my opinion they are. I can purchase brand new plain glasses at the dollar store for the same price and can get plain coffee mugs there as well. Were not talking Waterford here. I have found the staff to be pleasant most of the time, usually very busy. It is a good selection but this isnt the kind of place where $10-20 is going to get you too far.

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A

A Private User

This store & their staff should be ashamed! The prices are OUTRAGEOUS! The collectible area features jewelry,dishes,glass...whoever prices these items is out of their mind & clueless about the worth,lots of stuff is damaged but still priced so high you have to laugh,the person/people in charge should be sent packin! The rest of the store is about the same, I saw incomplete dish sets in the houseware section priced at $300 & up,things with the dollar store tag still attached but now priced at $5.99,kitchen items with food still clinging to them-DISGUSTING & broken knick-knacks from $5 & up! The clothing had broken zippers, stains in the worst places,rips & missing buttons ,ALL HIGH PRICED! I tried to ask an employee a question, in the middle of her reply she shouted(in my ear!) "Hi Mr. & Mrs. *** I asked her who the couple was and she said "the owners of the store!" Owners? I thought this was all for a cause, not a profit! Forget about buying furniture,you might as well get it at Art Van,new & cheaper! I thought these Sal. Army "thrift stores" were for the good of shoppers who might be hurting right now (alot of us are) & to generate funds for a good cause, not to be greedy! They would sure benefit everyone including themselves by changing the prices to reflect the word THRIFT, imagine what a turnover they would have instead of letting DONATED things sit forever on their shelves,getting old,dusty,& broken. Its not like the store owners paid any cash for these items so mark them down & bring out more! I saw the back room was JAM PACKED with stuff! The highlight of my visit was when I asked an employee who was working on clothing racks if there was anyone to help me with the jewelry, she replied "Thats what I was wondering,if there was anyone to help with anything?" then turned her back on me, guess Ill never know if that pin with the missing rhinestones was really marked $30 or if my eyes were playing tricks on me,if I had to bet Id bet on my eyes! A Ridiculous & very insulting place to visit, save some money & shop at Neiman Marcus instead, its cheaper & much better quality!

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JO

Jo LAFATA

I dont know what happend to this store but the staff at the check out has taken a drastic turn for the worst. If you plan to purchase anything from this location, plan on standing in line for a very long time because a couple of the new cashiers care more about chatting with the customers about their social lives than getting them checked out. They have no concern for the customers who are waiting in line. I was there last night before closing. two of the four registers closed down before cashing out the rest of the customers in the store. There were two customers in front of me, two cashiers open with a customer and I waited for 20 minutes to hear the words "next customer". It took the cashier another 5 minutes to process my purchases I held in my hands, no cart. The second chatty cashier declared how she was going to go lock the door now. I spoke up and said, "please do not lock me in". As I stood in line for the 20 minutes waiting I had to hear the random conversations these two cashiers were having with their customers and watched how slow they were moving and all I could think of was "WOW", are these people volunteers or do they actually get paid for this? What a bummer because I have made very large donations from my company to Salvation Army as well as have made very large purchases from them to help people in need.

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D

D M Peters

This is one of their larger (but not largest) stores. Occupies the entire building of a former Super Great Scott. Well-organized and nicely merchandised, with polite, helpful staff. Of all the SA stores Ive visited, have found consistently the best quality and best deals at this location. Each week features a different color tag on sale at 1/2 off. Wednesdays are Senior Discount Day; 55+ get a discount (check for current %). Mention discount before order is rung up. Friday afternoon through early eve, and similar times Saturday, are usually crazy busy. Closed Sunday. Special sale days are crazy till the last couple of hours before closing. Expect very long lines at these peak times. Store will also be messy during these times, but staff catches up quickly afterward. NOTE: all merchandise is donated. They are a charitable organization, and do not purchase items.

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AL

Alex Leigh

Finished shopping with a friend, decided to have one last look around since it was our first time at this location. The woman told us the store was closing 20 minutes prior to it closing and that we needed to leave, that we werent even allowed to carry our bags or purses in the store. Then she started the vacuum and turned around very nasty like. I think her name was Michelle. I asked if she were a manager and she said yes, one of them. She had blonde frizzy hair and middle aged. Extremely rude behavior. We asked the lady at the register if carrying our bag and purses was against policy and she said no of course not. Apparently, that manager lady just wanted us to leave for some reason.

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MA

Mary Bublitz

Worst thrift shop Ive ever been to. And I go to a lot. Restock racks block isles, I had to push 3 out of the way so I could get through with my cart. If an aisle isnt clogged with restock racks then there is certainly a lone cart or 2 waiting for you to move it out of your way. Its near impossible to get around the store. And there didnt seem to be anything worth the effort to manuevre through so I left with 1 toy my daughter picked out. And I wont be back. Also, as others have said the prices are ridiculous! If its name brand you can get it new on the sale rack for that price or cheaper. The Clinton township and sterling heights SA are much nicer and cleaner but similar pricing.

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