Goodwill

It's no secret that I have sort of a love-hate relationship with Goodwill. As an adult with a disability myself, I'll always resonate with the idea of getting more folks with disabilities working in the community and I'll always resonate with Goodwill's mission and values.

That said, I tend to find a good majority of Goodwill stores lacking in terms of accessibility. I find the shopping experience seldom beyond a mid-range experience and all too often I find the retail experience so inferior that it's difficult to imagine anyone is actually being well-trained for future work.

That said, the combination of affordable items and that mission for folks with disabilities will usually get me in the door except for the locations where they've ticked me off just enough (I'm looking at you Sunnyside).

Strangely enough, I go all around this location but seldom seem to stop in here. I avoid Glendale largely due to abysmal parking. Sunnyside, well, let's just say they ticked me off. So, I usually end up either in Nora or Fishers.

This location is in a shopping center adjacent to Castleton Square. It's right next to Patel Brothers and down from Sam Ash. It's a smaller location with a donation drive-up to the side. It has only a couple accessible parking spots - both are at the end of the building right as you pull up to the donation drive-up. As an important note, that corner is also the only place there's a curb cut.

This location isn't that old, however, it looks that old. It's older. It's typically somewhat dirty. The automatic doors are here as usual, a definite plus, and the same ratty-old shopping carts are here. I get the feeling Goodwill shops at rattyoldshoppingcarts.com to get their shopping carts. The interior is fairly typical for Goodwill with men's wear to the left, women's clothing to the right, and home goods, etc. toward the back.

The aisles here are definitely more narrow - this makes it difficult in a wheelchair as you can't possibly go down an aisle that anyone is in. I also found a couple times when employees were shelving items seemingly oblivious that someone might need to get through. On the plus side, a young male cashier was super friendly and helpful. My impression was that he had a cognitive disability and he was just giving it his best and he definitely soothed my cynicism.

I found three items that I needed in clothing. I also found some personal care items priced well. I thought some of the clothing seemed higher priced. I don't know if every Goodwill has raised prices, but I've always found Goodwill on the higher end of thrift - especially since accurately sizing clothing seems completely beyond them. My guess is at least 1/3 of everything I buy at Goodwill is inaccurately sized. The percentage may be even higher. This is especially challenging these days since the pandemic has caused most of the dressing rooms to be closed (and they're not actually disability friendly anyway).

Overall, I found this to be a solid mid-range experience. It wasn't really good. It wasn't really bad. I got some decent items at a fair price. I was able to snag an outer aisle parking space - typically difficult - but parking continues to be a wee bit challenging here if you're in a wheelchair (slightly better than Glendale).

The friendly cashier was a definite plus and being able to find some unique items and get out of the store for about $20 seals the deal. This isn't my favorite Goodwill (that's probably 116th and Allisonville), but I can see it making my rotation when I can find parking. Good deals. Good cause. Average service. Good luck on accurate sizing.

Goodwill how dare you, putting obscene prices on a lot of you items are you kidding may as well shop Marshall or TJX and get new up to date stuff
Just because it's a DKNY or NIKE does not make a top worth 19.99 no way.
Who's making these decisions?? Honestly get over your self. In case you forgot items are GIVEN to you.
Greed.

It's clean and things are placed neatly every where. The employees at this location are courteous. Rodger, who was working at the cash register during the time we were there, was awesome and friendly. Another employee who unfortunately I didn't get her name and who stated she works Saturdays was also pleasant.

It looks like I might have had a more positive experience than most during my brief visit to this Goodwill location. We popped in unplanned after visiting Patel Brothers to look for work boots. I ended up finding several great tops and winter boots with hopes of returning in the near future. They have a smaller than average home decor and furniture section. I also noticed that they have a small baby clothing section.

Half the fun of this particular location is that it neighbors several great international groceries and is just up the street from Trader Joe's. Easy parking and always hard to beat the prices...

Very mid range Goodwill location. The parking lot is small. The clothes are not very well organized- many of the sizes were mixed together. I did find a book today that looked relatively new. The wares section seemed very sparse. The checkout section was small compared to other stores. My cashier was nice and fast. Overall a pretty average goodwill.

A bargain hunter's dream...especially on first Saturday 1/2 store. Although, if you are a person who likes things nearly in their place, you will find it on the racks, as clothing items are sorted by colors and clothing styles, but everywhere else's you will need to rummage through to possibly find what you are looking for.

Even given the mild disarray Goodwill is useful for finding evening attire and ugly sweaters for Christmas parties...along with general clothing attire for a super affordable price...which is super helpful for all Berger types.. oh and let's not forget entertainment and household itms!

A quick word about the staff...most of them maintain a positive attitude.

Overall, if you are looking for a good bargain and don't mind slight disarray...then pop on over to Goidwill.

This location is jam! I'm an avid thrifter and clothing refashioner, and this location somehow always has what I'm looking for. They have a great selection of trendy and gently used shoes, a solid blazer rack, and there are always vintage two piece sets (I have to size them down to fit, but they're great!) The staff is always nice. It's also ever super crowded which is a huge plus. I'm not in the market for furniture, but I've noticed a lot of awesome stuff in that section lately too.

Oh, if only half stars were an option... this is a solid 2 1/2 spot as I have "experienced better", but will round up for one reason (see below). In all fairness, I have been to *a lot* of Goodwill stores, so there is some basis for comparison if even in my own mind when it comes to each store -- especially in the Indy area. This is the closest location to my home and therefore is the most convenient for a quick garage clean out/donation drop-off. However, it's not the biggest, definitely not the cleanest, and the selection is hit and miss at best. The staff has always been friendly, so that's a star bumper upper for me.

Most recently, I had a $5 birthday reward coupon to use ($5 off of $25), and I had a hard time finding $25 worth of merch to purchase. If you know me, that's an oddity, as I can always find some random obscure 80's or Movie Soundtrack CD to purchase, a comfy old sweatshirt to kick around in, or some sort of bedding to use for my rescue pups. Perhaps I hit it on an off day (it was close to the half-off nutty Saturday madness), but it's been slim pickins the last few visits. We will continue to frequent this location, but often seek out others if looking for more variety.

I know Goodwill mostly through the giving end of things. For years I've dropped off loads of stuff at this marvelous receptacle of things I no longer want or need. I give things not needed; someone gets things needed. Perfect.

Long ago I heard about someone who found, at a Goodwill or Salvation Army Store, a bunch of old maps of Paris in the 1800s. They were worth millions. I've always had a fantasy of finding such a treasure in plain sight (aren't they all). Saturday I decided to check out the retail end of the business to you know, see if I could find my maps.

No maps on this trip, but I was blown away by the efficiency of the system going on in there. Well lit, well organized and easy to use. And the prices - holy shit! $11 bucks for a suit??? I wasn't shopping for a suit, but someone is - someone who has that big interview where sharkskin could make THE difference.

Housewares, clothes, electronics, toys, sundries, etc. It's all there including...old albums, CDs and DVDs - oh yeah and VCRs :-). I poured over the albums: Herb Alpert, Berl Ives (Little Bitty Tear) - Oh dude that brings back the memories, Helen Reddy (Greatest Hit - I Am Woman, 1971) - the more things change the more they stay the same. In the end, I scored several DVDs including John Waters Hairspray for $2.99 baybee - that's right...$2.99.

It doesn't matter if you're involved in the giving or getting end of Goodwill. Just get involved.

As I left, I thought about those maps. It would be like winning the lottery, except you wouldn't be winning from the State, you'd be winning from an organization that does a lot of good in the world. I'm guessing it would be pretty hard to cash that check. I said it would be difficult...not impossible ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3yKMWaaD9o

I enjoy goodwill, but this one is awful. The staff is rude and doesn't care that you're shopping. They'll just run you over with their carts or cut you off while trying to put things back. It's always terribly thrown on the shelves. You can't shop certain things, like records, because they organize it where if you even touch it, everything falls over on you. It's just not worth it to me with all those aspects of it going on around me while I'm trying to shop. I've just had far too many bad experiences there.