Value Village

I tried this location today because I was driving past.
I wanted to look around, but mostly I wanted to exchange a small item from another store.
The place was slammed at 5:00pm. I grabbed another item for the exchange. Exactly what I wanted. I had a wee look around. I was shocked to see a whole shelf of brand new Winter boots. NEW?! They get new stock?
Another thing that struck me was the clean, orderly, odour free stock. Lovely.
At checkout, my line went very fast. A young, friendly cashier was just pumping it out.
When the shopper in front of me needed the manager for a price check, I thought it was going to be a long, torturous wait. Not so. The manager cleared up the sale in record time with a smile. I also needed the manager to approve the exchange. He did it in seconds flat. What a nice guy. He even gave back my change in cash instead of a credit note like other V.V. stores.
I saw this same manager working the registers and helping out like a manager is suppose to do. Even chasing after a Mom who dropped her diaper bag.
I am shocked because I have been a frequent V. V shopper for many years and have avoided this store because it is in a sketchy part of town. I will not judge a book by it’s cover any longer. The neighbouring Dollar Store is my next revue for the same reason.

I live super close to this store so I tend to drop by often. Shopping there is ok. I find the prices a little high, but whatever this is the trend these days. The front staff is usually the best service I get. The worse service is when I donate items. I have had a bad experience 3 times and I am no longer donating here. I collect stickers on my ‘hero card’ to accumulate up to a 30% discount. Every time I have donated they are super stingy with their stickers. You can bring a rocking chair, 3 big bags of clothes and a safe and you might get 4 stickers. It is beyond ridiculous. On their card it says each shopping bag with the dimension of (24″ x 12″ x 12″) is worth one sticker (5%) but really what they mean is an extra large garbage bag. I’m all about following rules but I hate being misled. So now I go out of my way to donate at the Value Village on Fort Road. I have always had excellent customer service there and there is no stinginess when it comes to giving you stickers.

prices… expensive!!! why?

So this is a pretty bad area. You are guaranteed to see some strange characters around here. Just ignore it! (And don’t forget to lock your car)
I was looking for a particular style of dress. Last Halloween. I went to a few other locations but trying to find a red sweetheart dress that time of year is impossible.
I found one here. They don’t seem to get picked over as much as some of the other places. I got fabric to complete my costume as well. I also found a rockabilly style dress with the original tags on it! 90 $ dress for only $ 20.
They for sure seem to over charge for items during Halloween. So plan ahead and shop early to avoid it!

This is one of my two favorite Value Village stores in Edmonton. (The other is on 82^nd Avenue.) My favorite sections are Shoes, Art, Kitchenware, Women’s Knit Shirts, Cosmetics, and, especially, Books. I’ll tell you about my visit on Monday of this week to redeem my 30% Off stamp card: I found three, brand new, unread best sellers — The Detour by Gerbrand Bakker, The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny, and Stay Close by Harlan Coben ($ 5 each). I found a framed, new-​condition, Official NHL Rookie Picture of my grandson’s favorite player — Alex Ovechkin ($ 15). I found two new shirts from Pennington’s ($ 12 for both), a new pair of Naturalizer slippers ($ 5), and a new 16.9 Oz bottle of Crabtree & Evelyn Avocado Oil Body Lotion ($ 6).
Imagine! At the register, I got 30% off these prices.
I love the staff at this store. They are so friendly, and, since I’ve been going for years, I know some quite well, and we always take a little time to chat.
I’ve found a couple of new-​condition designer handbags at this store (real ones, not fake), a few nifty appliances (electric fondue pot, copper espresso maker), and a couple of genuine Inuit prints, among other treasures. There are Value Village stores in Edmonton larger than my two favorites and they are all pretty good, but, IMO, none of them quite measure up to the 118 Ave and 82 Ave stores.
Last but not least, Tuesday is Seniors’ Day at all Value Village Locations and, if you are over 60, you will get a 30% discount on your purchases.

So we were in the neighbourhood trying to kill time tonight, and thought let’s pop in to the V AND V boutique. Holy tweeker central! I mean ok, I should have expected it from 118 or known as «edmontons east Hastings» but I mean. Scary. That’s actually not even the worst part. Hipsters. Everywhere. I don’t know what i was more frightened of. Another thing, the prices! What the heck happened to «second hand bargains» honestly like used jeans for $ 20? A mismatched tea cup set for $ 10? No thanks. Ahh the young indie youth have ruined my «punk goldmine» mind you this isn’t what it used to be. I have to remind myself It’s not the 90s anymore.

Halloween is here again, which means Value Village has been rearranged to give prominence to blood capsules, sasquatch suits and neon fishnet tights.
Over the past few years, the holiday has become more of a VV selling point than ever: it’s a one-​stop shop for costumes, complete with makeup, hair and accessories. They even stock baby costumes (the peanut costume might just be the cutest thing ever).
I’d wondered what happened to the vintage rack VV used to have, but it seems they put away all the really cool items that really wear their dates and pull them out for the season. Everything from polyester bellbottoms to Hawaiian muumuus to 50-​year-​old nurses uniforms are tucked into the costume rack between awful homemade bat suits and cheapo Wal-​Mart ready-​made outfits. Tons of super cute vintage dresses, too, that would be a shame to wear only one day of the year.
Soon, the books will be moved out of the furniture section and back to the front of the store, leaving no trace of Halloween, but for now, everything you could possibly need in a costume can be found right here.

I’ve been in this location a few times, looking for halloween costumes, or more recently, some decent, yet cheap, dress pants. So I must say it’s great to go into when you’re looking for things, mainly clothes, at cheap prices.