Goodwill Industries

Once again… today I tried to donate a like-​new piece of furniture, and they let me get all the way to the point of unloading it from my car before telling me that they wouldn’t accept it. It’s nowhere on their list of unacceptable donations. I think the *real* rule is basically «if the lazy workers in the donation center don’t want to lift it, it isn’t acceptable».
Once again, I drove over to Out of the Closet, where they accepted my donation without question. Afterwards, I did some searching about their donation practices, and found out that Goodwill is kind of a scam:
Bottom line: don’t give these vultures money. Take your donations to a real charity.

Great store, great selection and a flagship location, for sure.
But more importantly, I want to call out Anthony (Johnson) who works in the appliance section. He found me in the store after my phone dropped out in the changing room.
He would not take reward money or compensation. He was happy to help.
Thank you, Anthony!

Can find good designer jeans, but yesterday an employee was so rude. My 16 year old niece was behind me looking at a rack of jeans and this worker who had a high, fake ponytail interrupted us and said to my niece you need to put those jeans back exactly how they were. She had not even taken them out to look at. She was mortified and embarrassed. Left a very bad taste in my mouth. You work in a goodwill, you put clothes on a rack all day, that is your job!

Give your money to the Salvation Army, they suck! They are over paid executives who can give more and take less!

The only reason I give this review is because I called to schedule a pickup for 2 tvs, and the lady said they are not doing pick-​ups until further notice. It took me a little while to find the number too. The number suggested on their website nobody picks up, it goes to a woman’s voice mail. I tried a couple of times. I finally called the number for the local Goodwill in my neighborhood and they gave me the corporate number which is different than the website.

Refused my office copier after I was informed by the Fillmore store that they’ll accept it for e-​waste recycling. I even called this store to confirm.
Now I have to make other arrangements.
Apparently, they don’t need the money from a large machine.
How hard is it to get employees to tell the truth about what they DON’T accept, ON THE PHONE?!

love this place and the bargins good service and good places one of my favorite thrift stores in san francisico

I called the place to see when they were going to call me back in regards of a job position. They never called. A few years ago I was really interested in wanting to work at GW as a sales clerk and sent them the application and had a quick interview that lasted for only 3 mins. I got out of there quick after he had promised to call me back. That never happened. So in the following week I went in person once again giving them my resume & cover letter. The front desk over — weight dude said he will notify me. That never happened. The reason for the 2 stars? I always use to donate a lot of good stuff that I once owned. The people working with donations are nice. I wish I can say the same for the manager who works in the store.

wow this is probably one of the biggest goodwills i’ve been to. we went to drop off a few boxes and there was a line of cars to even drop off! the line does go by fast so don’t be intimidated. there is a parking lot and metered street parking.
the furniture and home items sold here are great with a ton of selection and in great condition. i wish i had came here before i got mine. with a coat of paint, any of those items would have looked new. we bought a mirror that didn’t have a price tag and the cashier was very helpful.
we were looking for holiday items around the house and ended walking out with a brand new christmas tree. they let us open the box just to double check the size and to make sure everything was there. great service.

I always have a blast going to this store (except for the walk-​in crazies from the street). Eventually I will find something of use, to wear, mugs are lots of fun, T-​shirts from another time and place. Those throwaways have become wear-​ables on my back. It’s fun to re-​stylize hand-​me-​downs into my own sense of fashion. They’re not just old clothes, it becomes a new trend.

Probably the worst customer service ever. Each time I’ve been there the employees are unbelievably rude. I understand working at Goodwill may not be your dream job but you can at least be cordial.
On one occasion, I was checking out and the woman was complaining about how much she hated her job/​the other employees whilw cursing ever other word. She did not smile or eve greet me. She threw my stuff in the bag and stormed off.
On another occasion, I went to the dressing room to try on a few shirts. Said hello to the man attending to the dressing room and he rudely says ‘Its full!!’ I politely respond ‘Alright, I can wait’. And he says ‘Well you’re going to have to’.
Added bonus: there are a bunch crazy people that come into the store. Homeless people and creepy men that try to hit on young women.
The only reason I gave two stars is because they have an awesome vintage section. Everything else is awful.

I just called this store to see if they did furniture pick-​ups. My husband and I have a beautiful couch from Room and Board to donate (we need something smaller), and I was inquiring if they had a pick-​up service. The first woman who answered the phone said no, so I asked if she knew of any other Goodwill stores in SF that picked up furniture to which she rudely replied, «No I don’t.» I really didn’t know what else to say other than, «Um, okay. Thanks?» Then she hung up.
I called a different store and the kind gentleman gave me a number that I could call to coordinate a pick-​up of my couch. Amazing! So I called this Goodwill back to give the lady the phone number, you know, just to help her out a little bit in case someone needed the number. However, a lovely woman named Lisa answered. She gave me the number to the main office — which was different than the number the other man gave me — but now at least I have two numbers to call in case one is incorrect.
5 stars for Lisa and the young man that helped me.
0 stars for the first woman who completely blew me off.

It was a great experience. I found somethings that I can use. This is a big Goodwill, never seen a Goodwill that big. Filled with all kinds of stuff. A lot in each section. Really friendly staff. Hope to go back soon and definitely recommend.

After 630pm you donate @ the front! This use to be one of my local fav thrift shops to go. On the side on 11^th street is the «As is» thrift shop.

This had such a good selection of clothes at a great price! I love that everything is sorted by size, and that they have a separate vintage section. Makes browsing a lot easier, because it’s a pretty big place to cover. Went away with a huge bag of good stuff with plenty of vintage.
The lady attending to me in the changing room (right before closing ⁰⁴⁄₂₆) was a doll and deserves a promotion or a raise. Not as impressed with the cashiers, but it had probably been a long day.
The only negative is that they don’t really seem to check for stains/​rips etc, and I don’t really think animals (besides service pets) should be allowed in the store. When I was there a dog peed on an entire row of pants.

So, here’s the thing about thrift store reviews: They’re only valid for the time period they’re written in. So, let’s say this one applies for like the next week.
I don’t know. This wasn’t the most interesting Goodwill I’ve ever been in. Lots of career standards and basic special occasion dresses. Some really cute kids clothes. The occasional oddball 80’s top.
I think this place would be good if you’re traveling or have just moved and want to stock up on some basics for things you’ve left behind. Also, currently there are a slew of quirky purses.
But not that much in the department of «oddball thrifting finds».

Easy and convenient. Being the last day of the year, there were lots of staff assisting. Folks directing traffic. Drove up into the short queue. The staff unloaded our bags. No need to get out of your vehicle. We filled out the donation slip and drove off. Painless. And to a good cause.
And two free tickets to the SF Zoo for our efforts.

Be very careful if you are considering donating here.
Just donated two large boxes of clothing at this location.
Only problem was I only wanted to donate a box and a half.
As soon as I sat the boxes down on the concrete in the drive up location in the parking lot, they were gone. When I said that I did not want to donate everything in both boxes, they said too late.
They explained that you have to have everything pre-​sorted before you come.
I’ve got a better idea. There has to be a place where the people taking the donations treat you a little better.

I have gone to Goodwills all over the country and this particular location is one of my all time favorites for scoring clothes and shoes.
For being located where it is, this store is surprisingly not picked over as much as one would expect. I’ve found some great vintage and designer pieces that were $ 10 or less. I’ve found Anthropologie dresses here with the tags still on them for $ 8, which in my world equals a thrift score! Once I even found a deadstock ‘50s faux leopard coat for $ 10!
Great selection of shoes… lots of vintage that has its own racks, although don’t expect to find anything earlier than the late ‘60s in there. It’s a myriad of polyester and sequins worthy of Liberace. But hey, there’s people that love that shit.
Staff is incredibly friendly and welcoming. I always make a point to come here when I’m in town!

I’ve been shopping in this location since they opened. If you are shopping here you should know for future reference Goodwill Industries has sold their campus at South Van Ness and Mission for an apartment complex for something like $ 55 million dollars and will have to relocate to another area in the next few years.
This store will stay open until then…
Although I have found several items there now and again I’m dissappointed with their attitude and specifically the current floor managers there who are worse than some with better manners and more common sense who have moved on. The secret to Goodwill is the nice people move on and the bad people stay on…
I recently got an item I paid a fairly high price for which turned out to not work in the long run (it did work when I initially tested it within the three day return period). Shortly after it failed I then saw another item I could make use of and asked the manager for some consideration on it because of the high price I paid for for the other item which was useless.
I got all sorts of hostility eventhough I had bought a lot of stuff from this person in the past. I also know another manager from her prior retail experience in SF who told me she has control of the entire store. When I saw her I asked about my problem and she said she had no control over the area when i know she does.
I talked with another Goodwill manager (same company another site) and he told me the main Goodwill people were messing with me and I should have some received some consideration since I was a regular customer under the cirsumstances.
In short Goodwill (Greedwill) at the main store is full of themselves.
I’ll also comment I was going to donate some old hard drives I no longer neeeded due to an upgrade. I had told one of the above managers I wanted to donate them and was told to give them to her in the store because «they would never make it through the warehouse». I went all the way down there after cleaning and testing the drives and the little new snot at the counter would not take them telling me to donate them outside — I explained it was not a good idea to toss them wround. She then told me the gal would be in later and I could come back to donate them.
Again Goodwill is full of themselves — please support us — but we will hassle you donating and buying. My signifcant other heads a national non profit far bigger then Goodwill of San Francisco and Marin and was aghast when I told her about this event she shared with me they are clearly clueless at Goodwill.
In the end I was so mad i took the hard drives down to Community Thrift who were glad to have them and promptly sold them so Goodwill never got them and will never get anything from our house again. Just today I had an item I did not need and after thinking about it and the Goodwill hassle I just tossed it in the trash.
Before you donate or buy there realize they are greedy and rude in my opinion and do not deserve your support. If you are going to be hassled when donating and when shopping I would not bother with them.
If you do buy an electrical item know you have three days to return it for in store credit — if it is something you cannot completely test in less than three days I’d pass on the item. If you cannot test it fully in the store pass on it because it will come back to bite you and they don’t care if you are screwed in the process.
Goodwill should be called Illwill…

Ok, I love this GW! It is huge and has a great selection. However, before you go please make sure you do the following things.
1. Go to the bathroom. you may be there for a while salivating over all the possibilities. A bathroom anywhere around that area may not be fun (eww!)
2. Bring a bottle of water. Sip cautiously (you just went) but stay hydrated.
3. Be aware of other stylish avid thrifters. They have shifty eyes and quick fingers.
4. Have a vision of what your looking for. The universe will make it happen.
5. Bring quarters, if you don’t have the phone app, be old school
6. Come, prepared with cashola. You don’t want to regret not having enough money for those J Brand Jeans.
7. If your into shoes, go there first. shoes are a hot commodity. Be the first one there. THAT’s MINE!!!
8. Carry wipes and/​or antibacterial stuff b/​c your hands will feel really dry and smell wierd after touching everything. Remember you still have to clean your items.
9. Keep a snack handy. You will be hungry when your done
10. Finally, sit back and enjoy your cache of wonderfulness… aaaaaaaaaah
Love,
D

Awesome Service …
David was so helpful getting the desk we purchased put of the store. Lots of glassware to select from. Punch bowls galore. Plus. No sales tax!

I’ve made an uneasy truce with Goodwill.
This location is super close to my home. On numerous occasions, I’ve found awesome stuff here. Anything from furniture to toys to kitchenware.
Also, this location gets «Target Salvage.» This means a massive drop off of Target items new with tags. They’re priced about 50% what they would be in Target.
The bf and I recently got a wedgewood blue accent cabinet, glass doors, perfect condition with tags still on from Target. $ 60, but retailing online through Target for $ 159.
AWESOME!
I also just picked up a brand new foam roller for $ 4.49, still in the package, that is selling for $ 40 online. Score!
Where I’m leery with this store is the clothing. Pricing is high– higher than most thrift stores. They aren’t willing to haggle, either. Sometimes a low end brand top will be priced at $ 6– it’s in bad shape– and the counter personnel can’t/won’t knock a few bucks off.
Conversely, sometimes there will be a higher end brand item in perfect condition for $ 2-​$ 4. So, clothing pricing is pretty inconsistent.
This place is a charity– items are donated for free. I’d like to see the clothes more reasonably priced.
Anyways, to end this off on a high note– this store has dramatically improved over the last few months. I believe there’s a new manager. They reorganized it, cleaned it up, and there’s a more abundant selection across the board. Also, they have the upstairs furniture area re-​vamped.
Speaking of the furniture– hit or miss. Some of the items are grossly overpriced.
My suggestion is to hit up Thrift Town on Mission first.

I’ve so far shopped at 7 of the 10 SF Goodwills, and I keep thinking this is my 2^nd fave. (My 1^st fave shall remain unnamed so you can’t go grab up the clothes I want to buy.)
It’s got one of the largest, if not *the* largest, BOOK SELECTIONS among SF Goodwills. It also has an expansive array of other non-​clothing items.
This spot is a can’t-go-wrong choice to kill time before Muay Thai (revvie
) or just shop in general.
It was also the MOST PACKED among 5 Goodwills I visited during the 2 Dolla Holla Sale (
). People everywhere with rolling baskets full of clothes? Check.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure! So don’t be shy and dig right in! This is the biggest collection of all Goodwill stores. However like all thrift stores, you’ll have to hunt a lot to get the best out of it and not every day is your lucky day, esp in thrifts. Keep your mind and eyes wide open.
This was my 1^st visit to this store location and after some scouring withing 30 minutes I ended up buying 4 fancy tops for night outs at $ 5 each, 1 Ann Taylor skirt $ 6, an Express jacket $ 7 and a book for cocktails $ 3. A huge success! See the uploaded pictures for reference.
They have a huge section of home goods too. I am definitely coming back soon to pick picture frames and flower vases for home! I saw a lady rush off with 3 beautiful bar stools that I so envied!
This store is well arranged, with everything clearly marked and priced. The staff is very helpful too.