Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette

Selection and value of the colored tag sales items. Service has been ok. I go to the different stores in the area for bigger selection.

One of the best Goodwill centers in the Portland area! In addition to the tons and tons of clothes and jeans, they have an area that contains a substantial amount of furniture. Not just the small items like an end table or chair, but sometimes a full dining set. Great for people just getting situated in an apartment or home and need a lot of things on the cheap.

They also have a decent houseware section. That's my area. I'm always looking for vintage glasses & bar ware, and dishes and serving pieces. Surprisingly, I have found some amazing pieces and have been able to build a full set of several different types of glasses by finding one or two at each Goodwill stores. It's all about the hunt and being patient. Love when it all comes together.

Here I found a tall ice tea glass with etched pine cones to complete my set and join the 7 glasses I had already found at other stores. Score!!!

Pickers paradise. You just don't know what you may or may not run across. Big bins of clothes and unlimited variety of other items where you pay for things by the pound or set price. Bring some gloves and keep your eyes open so the staff don't run over you with a bin.

Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette

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On March 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the Milwaukee store an elderly male employee took it upon himself to approach three young shoppers, all over the age of 18, and tell them they are "dressed like whores and you need to leave the store".

I saw the kids when they left the house and they were dressed fine. Irregardless, I was unaware that Goodwill has a dress code and that employees are allowed to discriminate against what people wear. These are young people that are involved in the LGBTQ community and they, regardless of what they're wearing, have a right to shop anywhere they'd like.

If Goodwill, or it's employee, had a problem with how these young people were dressed they could approach them in a respectful manner and stated we have a dress code, which they do not, and they would have to adhere to that dress code. However, this elderly male gentleman employee did not do this. He approached the kids in an aggressive manner and insulted them.

Goodwill, I am 53 years old, I am not young. This misogynistic and archaic way of thinking should be retired as should this employee. This is not the 1960s, '70s, or even the '80s. Dress shaming, fat shaming, gay shaming, discrimination in general should not be tolerated in any industry. If you do not like the way someone is dressed or you have a problem with somebody there is a mature and polite way to approach another human being.

Your employee needs better training. No, he needs to be fired! His personal opinion on somebody's prefer attire is just that an opinion. You cannot refuse service to people who are shopping at a thrift store on your opinion. I searched the internet for a dress code for customers at Goodwill stores. There is a dress code for employees, but not customers. Short of being naked, which is against the law in public, I believe we as women and men can wear whatever we want at your store.

According to Oregon law, code 14A.40.030 Indecent Exposure
"It is unlawful for any person to expose his or her genitalia while in a public place or place visible from a public place, if the public place is open or available to persons of the opposite sex."

Even if there is a "no shoes, no shirt, no service" rule, which most places do have, I'm absolutely sure these three young adults had shoes and a shirt on, and in accordance with Oregon Law 14A.40.030 no genitalia was exposed.
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It's a really unique goodwill, I've never seen something like this. It's a lot harder to find stuff because nothing sorted, but the price per pound made things so cheap. I woukd steer clear if you have some germaphobia.

The guy in line in front of me was given skis for 3$ because they were to heavy to sell at weight.

I had skis in my cart so I was joyed to hear that. I go up and the cashier says no. I said you just gave that guy the skis for 3$ why am I different. She says nope I never said that. The people behind me confirm she did. She says no and stays persistent.

I make youtube videos about shopping here and have for the last year. I will not be coming back after being so disrespected and will be making a video about this.

Okay guys, this is by far the best Goodwill Bins I have been to! I had only been to the ones in California that mainly have clothes (& are much smaller). I was SO surprised by how many bins there were and also by how organized everything was. $2.19 a lb & even with a bunch of people inside I still scored some treasures!

I came here twice on my trip to Portland. Both times were great! No pushing or shoving- just one instance where a man was digging through a bin and hit me with a pile of clothes...

I loved how many household goods & toys there were. I'm used to just seeing piles of clothing. Downside is that everything gets mixed up and there's a slight chance of a sharp object ending up in your bin (ouch)!

Overall, such a fun experience and I was glad that they changed the bins a few times while I was there. It gave me a good opportunity to find some nice items!

A few of the goodies: REI Jacket, Nike Jacket, Vintage The Lion King Simba Plush, and tons of Vintage Clothing!

This place will definitely be back on my list for my trip next summer. But note to self: bring a bigger luggage next time!

Okay, there is some crazy stuff going on at this place. Truth be told, I knew absolutely nothing about Goodwill Bins, no expectations, went with family members who were in the know. There is a system, it's is definitely organized chaos. All these bins, in theory (not 100%) there is a theme to each bin. Bins are in rows and are moved in and out of the warehouse by row. When a row goes out, people line up on either side and wait for the new bins to come in. You don't start looking through a new bin until all the bins for that row have been placed. There may be a secret signal going on here, or perhaps it's just the honor system, but no one jumpstarts the process, everyone waits until all the bins are lined up. $2.19 a pound to start, the more pounds you buy, the price per pound goes down. What's in the bins? Everything. For my first time I bought three strands of light up candy canes that you would put along a walk way, lots and lots of clothes, a rustic metal tool box and a couple of books. All in, $34.

I'm going to suggest you wear plastic gloves if you are squeamish because just about everything you touch is not particularly clean.

Get a cart, prepare to get down & get dirty and plan on getting an amazing assortment of stuff for fabulous prices. All of the staff that I interacted with with very nice and helpful.

The shoppers are rude and employees don't enforce the rules. They barge in front of you and start throwing things everywhere. When the new bins come out they leave their carts in the way and don't move them. They are like vultures. The prices went up and the stuff is garbage. Never any carts available. One time I found a dirty diaper in one of the bins.

I really love re-purposing things and this is a great place to find things to repurpose at terrific prices! The shallow blue bins make it easy to get to the bottom and see all that is in them and they are changed out often! You can spend as much time as you want and have new things to look through every 30 minutes or so.

You do have to be careful not to get mowed down by the bins as they are moved in and out and the crazy eager people when new bins are brought in.

Wearing my purse and gloves is my standard MO.

My latest treasures were two ladder back chairs that just need re-stained to be awesome Renaissance props!