Once Upon A Child

This place is great!!! I had no idea such a place existed until recently. I visited this location briefly, but it seems like they have a great selection and at good prices too.
I don’t care for the layout of this place compared to the va beach location, but otherwise was a good experience. It’s so nice having a second hand store that doesn’t STINK of old used clothes. The staff was friendly as well, I definitely plan to return as soon as my son needs new clothes… Which, knowing him, is like tomorrow.

SUPER expensive. I used to shop at one of these in pa many years ago and I though it was pretty fair price wise and nice things. Don’t know if va just does it differently but wow. Way over priced. Especially they toys and larger items. I wouldn’t go back.

Rude, unfriendly staff that makes you feel like they don’t want your business. Here is the long and short of it – they have a lot of clothes at ok prices but the staff stinks and your are lucky if they buy your clothes. If you want to try to sell clothes there make sure you call and get their full buy-​policy before you go. You need to know that you have to have freshly laundered all the clothes (within the past week), and laid them out neatly. I was told today that they don’t really take 0 – 3 month clothes. They won’t take anything with a stain on it. As far as buying goes, they are usually well-​organized. Frankly most of the time you can get better deals at a sale at carters with a coupon added on. I have actually grown to like their competitor business down the road a lot better because their customer service is so incredibly much better. They have a good clean selection of toys. I’m not sure I’ll return after today’s experience.

I visited Once Upon A Child for the very first time today. It was one of THE best shopping experiences I’ve had in a long time. On par with Black Friday savings, if not better. The store I visited (Battlefield Blvd location) was extremely organized, well stocked, and the items were oh-​my-​God affordable! And there was no thrift store odor, as some (a lot) (most, really) thrift stores have. Everything I laid my eyes on was in impeccable condition! I seriously struggled with limiting myself on not buying the store. I grabbed so many things, because the condition and price were on point; I ended up putting a lot back, only because I already had a cart full. 8 complete outfits, 2 extra sweaters, a fall jacket, a Disney Store Mickey Mouse Halloween costume, a child’s bracelet & a book; my bill came to $ 116 before tax! Unbelievable!!! I will be back, for sure! Love Once Upon A Child!!! And my budget does too!

I went to the Chesapeake location on a Sunday to drop off some items. Let me say while the store didn’t seem very busy the girls sorting items looked and acted frazzled and annoyed. One employee even made a comment when another customer brought in additional items. I was told to give them 2.5−3 hours. No big deal. 4 hours later (still not a big deal to me) I was called and told my quote was ready. I told the girl I would have to come in the next day and was immediately met with a audible huff and a demand of why I couldn’t come back in that night. I informed her I was quoted 2.5−3 hrs and it had been 4 and I simply had other plans. Worth adding it was 20 mins until close when I called so I can only imagine the response had I shown up right before closing. I was told to be there before 8pm the next day. When I returned to get my quote I made sure to speak to the manager (not something I usually do but felt it was warranted) and while I sadly can’t remember her name she was very nice and apologetic. Within 10 mins of leaving the employee who had been rude called me to apologize. I was very impressed with that and it was appreciated. I felt like I was given a fair price for the amount of stuff they took, much better than other places I’ve gone. But the reasoning behind not taking some things (smaller sizes and wrinkles) I felt were a little iffy. All of the baby items were 9 months and up and who doesn’t wash something before they put their kids in it? All in all I would go back. Poor customer service turns me off but the apology from the employee went a long way with me so I will give them another shot.

I did have a chance to go back a few more times since my first and I will say it’s a lot more organized. The staff is still not friendly, nor do they try to be. Honestly a smile can do wonders.

I was surprised when walking in this store! Big, organized, and spacious! Not like other thrift stores that are small and crowded. Like the other reviews customer service is not up to par! Not very friendly. Only one girl had a smile on her face and was nice while ringing me up. But I loved this store and the selection was great! They didn’t buy many items from me but they did give me $ 18 for 6 outfits or so. Not too bad.

Don’t bother trying to sell them anything. They will tell you that your items aren’t good enough because of wear and stains when in reality they are just overstocked. I wasted my time waiting 5 hours for them to tell me my container full of barely worn baby clothes were worth &3.50! Ridiculous! Oh and 90% of the clothes I tried to sell them were previously purchased from their store a few months ago! I would rather give the clothes to Goodwill. On a good note, the clothes to buy there are inexpensive and cuter than other stores. So I guess just buy from there but wasting time selling back clothes isn’t worth it!

Busy… recently opened.
I am thrilled to have a location closer to home.
I didn’t get to peak at all the things they offer, but the set-​up is pretty much the same as the Virginia Beach location (which I love)!
I did see one guy working in the store which was different.
Nevertheless, they offer gently used items… pretty much anything baby/​child. The sizes range from newborn to pre-​teen. Items are priced fairly well. But some of the items, I have to give a side-​eye too… the store buys items from people who wish to sell children’s: clothes, shoes, furniture, books, strollers, cribs, belts, sunglasses, but nothing handmade. In return you will receive cash or store credit.
Now, I pride myself in shopping for my 7yr old. So items I bring in are in tip top shape and the pay out is definitely reasonable. However, when I browse at some of the articles of clothing they accepted… I look in disbelief. Then I see the price tag (they sell it for) I’m like… sheeeeesh!
But anyway. The store is definitely worth checking out.
My selling experience… I dropped off clothes and shoes around 7:20pm and they advised they wouldn’t be able to give me a quote until the next day since they closed at 8pm and had others ahead of me. It was cool. But to my surprise they called me about 8:15pm to advise a quote was ready and that I could come in tomorrow at any time to receive it. I thought this was a warm gesture. I just knew I would have to call and check on them. But I was proven wrong! Way to go yal!
But do visit and have fun :)