White Elephant Resale Shop

Update: Apparently they are closing the store seeing as the hospital moved neighborhoods and will no longer be able to afford rent in Lincoln Park. Darn.

I’m going to miss this place tremendously! Over the years on my way home I’d drop in to persue the mass amount of stuff. I found a Crate and Barrel 8×10 sisel rug in pristine condition for $ 25! I also found a ton of Le Creuset bar ware for 50% off… all items under 10! Countless corningware cooking items, beautiful wood platters and cutting boards and glassware galore. Everyone that worked there was always friendly and I know I felt good feeding my love of shopping by making purchases that would help Children’s Memorial. Thanks for all the good finds!

Was excited to check this place out, but was pretty disappointed. Place wasn’t as organized and prices are pretty high.
I love that all of the proceeds go to Children’s Hospital.

I’m really surprised by how many reviews say this is overpriced. Last time I was in, I got some great sunglasses for a dollar and a collection of books for 10 cents each. Good, hardcover books. I was quite happy with the pricing!
It is a second-​hand/​vintage/​whatever you want to call it, so there are a few things you have to keep in mind. It smells kind of moldy in there. The books aren’t organized as they are listed on the shelves. You really have to dig around. Spend some time, and you’re likely to find some steals.
Apart from books, they have an excellent selection of glasses, vases, knick-​knacks and the like. If you’re looking for some unique, eclectic glassware on the cheap, this is the place to go. I had just moved and was purging everything, so I stayed away, but I’ll definitely be back to check it out. There was a decent amount of furniture too, which I didn’t pay a ton of attention to because, like I said, I had just moved.
And all the proceeds go to the children’s hospital. You can complain about the signs all you want, but I’d rather my money go to kids than who knows where — and you shouldn’t be stealing anyways :-)

Wow! This is a huge store, it just keeps going off from each room, and then poof! there’s another room.
Clothing: Again, (my biggest pet peeve), clothes are not organized by size. Really? Who shops like this? Would love to give the clothing section a ONE STAR.
Check out the back room… filled with hardware/​pet things… it overflows with good deals. and almost all brand new things/​original boxes, for CHEAP! For this reason, I give it FOUR STARS… Cause I was so happy. and such a large store.
Parking: I was able to park on the side easily, with my Geo Metro sized car.
Specially colored tags give you a deal each day, sadly it was not in my favor the day I went. but a deal’s a deal! :)

This review is solely for their furniture donation/​pickup. They are one of the few in town that will pickup donated furniture on a weekend and outside of normal working hours. They two guys who came were prompt, polite, and took care not to bang up my stuff on the way out. I hope someone likes my loveseat!

I got a David Bowie Labyrinth t-​shirt here for .50! yeah, 50 CENT like the rapper! It fit perfectly!
I am wearing it right now!!!
They have a cool robot metal thing I am going back for! Yeah!
I like this place!

Well I guess there is good and bad here. Its a nice big shop with lots of stuff to look through, which is unusual in the city. They have sales which is also nice. On the other hand, the prices are a bit high, especially due to the used factor. The workers are not very helpful either, and this has been on two occasions I have been there, the other I at least had one smile at me. That was nice. ha ha
If there was another shop closer to me, I would go there instead, but there are deals to find, just don’t expect help. Its for a good cause so I will continue to shop here.

Thanks for the work clothes rich white people!!!
Some things are ridiculously priced. (electronics/​art).
Really nice men’s dress shirts though.

Good job! Lots to choose from and I love how they section off the upscale clothing. Many great things to choose from and I love the fact that the people are extremely nice. I picked up a beautiful jacket to wear with jeans.
Definitely worth going checking out!

For those donating: the side entrance is off Halsted.
Super easy to drop off the rest of my old clothes after cleaning out my closet, and a great way to boost endorphins. My head and heart are happy after knowing my old Arden B cocktail dresses, random pashminas and Lacoste polo shirts are going to a better place than the back of my shelves.

I don’t find this place nearly as pricey as others… but maybe it’s because I’m weighting the quality of (most of) the goods there…
I grew up w/​a hardcore antique loving mother. With that being said the furniture is overly reasonable… I think I only saw 1 thing that was overly priced from the surface… otherwise I find 50 – 60 dollars reasonable for a solid cherry coffee table w/​no scratches that is at least 50 years old. Especially when Ikea charges more for fiberboard.
Also, clothes. I’m a recently new-​to-​thrift store clothing shopping customer. I used to be really big, like super big, and the larger you are the harder it typically is to find used clothes. Well I’m still a bit bigger, but not like before, I am around a size 14 and L/XL…well it was my day because some other person donated never worn clothes that I snagged for very little.
200+ dollar tagged Cashmere sweater from Bloomingdales, solid black for 5 dollars.
J Crew sweater new w/​tags, also 5 dollars.
So for 11 w/​tax I just picked up clothing that almost adds up to my share of rent (I know my rent is pretty low, but I share my apt with 2 other people and 2 dogs and also it’s really north and I am totally underemployed so shh!).
I probably could get more if I took them to a consignment shop, but instead of ripping off charity like some women I’m pretty sure I saw there were actually calculating to do, I proudly wore both items to work and it was wonderful.
–1 star because it was cluttered. I get it, but that’s why people avoid these places… also, the organization is really strange or was the day I was in, guys stuff in w/women’s vs versa and some prices were marked some weren’t etc. typical thrift problems.
I wouldn’t probably go that out of my way to go here weekly, but I have a feeling a lot of fancy shopping people of the surrounding areas do drop off their things here… so if you’re around a size 2 – 8 you’ll have a ball!

This is a great place to get certain things, however I do not shop for clothes at this place (I’m not sure why but I’ve just never been interested in hunting through the racks). What I do love about this place is that it’s clean, sunny, and everyone there is friendly (both patrons and volunteers).
They have a fantastic book selection in the back that is really well organized, especially the fiction section. They have great random household needs like vases, plates, glasses, etc. Also, you can sometimes score some fun art or mirrors; and even if you don’t like the art itself, you can always trash it and use the frame for something you do like (you can thank me for that helpful tip later).
I like knowing that the money I spend here goes to benefit the Children’s Memorial Hospital, it definitely makes me more than happy to spend $ 4 on a serving platter. Also, it’s awesome that the volunteers that work here are a combination of ancient sweet old women and hipster young men… it makes me want to sneak into the break room to have a chat with them all.

I really like this place. I desperately needed a bookshelf after lugging up 6 very heavy boxes of books up to the second floor of my new apartment in October. I decided to check out White Elephant for the first time, and was very happy! First, they were having a half off furniture sale. I also liked the broad range of furniture styles they have. I found a no-​frills bookcase for 20 bucks and it hasn’t collapsed yet!
I also bought a broken microwave. The platter doesn’t turn. That sucks, and it sucks that I paid $ 30 for it. That’s why this review is only four stars. So it’s not enough to plug in an electronic device to see if the display lights up, turn it on, watch it work. So… I don’t use it because obviously it doesn’t cook things thoroughly.
But at least the $ 30 went to CMH, and who am I to begrudge the sick children?

So this isn’t a review of the thrift shop or an indictment of the charitable arm of Children’s Memorial Hospital. I have nothing but respect for CMH. The White Elephant, on the other hand, could get trampled by a herd of elephants and I wouldn’t feel an iota of pity.
This past Friday, my wife and I attempted to donate a Lazy-​Boy reclining couch and recliner to TWE. Prior to the pick up, TWE told us that the items couldn’t be covered in pet hair. That was it. So I took the day off of work to wait around for them to pick up the furniture. I had to take the day off because they weren’t available to pick up on the weekend and because they gave us a 4 hour pick up window. TWE shows up around 11:30, inspects the couch and chair and inform us that they won’t take them because they are «too flat.» Whatever the hell that means. So I’m left with two items of furniture in my living room, a lost day of PTO, and an $ 85 bill to have the furniture later hauled away.
I couldn’t stand TWE before this because of the asinine drop-​off hours they have, but now my level of disdain for them has grown even greater. I’ll donate to The Brown Elephant exclusively from this point forward. Let some other chump deal with this discriminate charity …

What an odd little nook of a thrift store.
I found a piece of toast mixed in with some of the clothing, but they also had a Le Creuset tea pot for $ 10, but it had a giant burnt spot on it. Lots of good finds are in here mixed with stuff clearly priced by those who are number challenged. Like there was a pretty random blanket priced at $ 35 and a little baby toy for about $ 10 — when it probably cost about that much (or less) new.
But the main things I was actually there to shop for were plentiful and priced well. I was looking for a semi-​formal type dress and found lots of options for less than $ 20, and some pretty fancy brands, too.
Also the «baby clothes buckets» are filled with deals — Everything in them is $ 1, and various European, boutique and fancy brands abound — but you really have to sit on the floor and dig to get them. I’m just going to say that it is totally worth it. I will be back for some more of that bucket action very soon…
The store is cramped though and there is a sense of people being all up on you, but it’s nice to know the funds go to Children’s Hospital.

I finally stopped here today a half hour before they closed so I didn’t get to dig in too deep, but they have a nice selection of just about everything. I found some fabulous hardcover books and they were only $ 2 each. It seems that they have a much higher quality of certain things, designer jackets, crystal, wood pieces, etc. And like everyone else said, the proceeds go to the kids which always makes you feel good. The lady that rang me up was super nice and I went on a Sunday and had no problem finding parking.

What a crying shame! I shopped here ALL the time back around 2001 – 2004 and I raved about this place to all kinds of people. Examples of steals that I found there– a Marshall Fields’ brand chair and a half with ottoman for $ 75; a pair of lovely wicker ottomans (with detachable wicker backs) that could be used as a daybed, chairs, a chaise, or simply ottomans, with pristine cushions for $ 40 total; untold designer duds for an average price of around $ 8 per item; an Erte poster for $ 22 that sells on ebay and in other venues for around $ 500; a beautiful metal scrollwork dining room table (seats 6 comfortably) for $ 25 with a HUGE piece of glass for the top priced at $ 60; four parsons chairs for $ 80 to go with aforementioned table– the list goes on and on and on…
I recently moved back to the city after 3 years away and could not wait to take my boyfriend in to see what all the fuss was about. Alas, it seems the staff (or whomever else is currently pricing their items) has done up and lost their minds…
Simply outrageous. The prices they’re currently charging are, I swear, ABOVE retail prices for like items. And bear in mind, charity or no– these items are USED. If I had $ 1500 to spend on a dining room table, I would take my lucky butt to Macy’s and buy brand new!
I won’t go on about the items that I saw and how incredibly overpriced they were on my visit in August, but suffice it to say, if you’re looking for a deal, this ain’t the place for you.
Like I said, it’s a crying shame because I felt like I found the HG when I stumbled upon this place a few years back, but they seem to have forgotten that their clientele consists of people who 1) cannot afford to shop retail, and/​or 2) can afford it, but simply like to hunt for deals and steals.
In closing, I should mention that I’ve had MUCH better luck at the Brown Elephant in Andersonville lately (recent purchases include a very nice Pottery Barn style desk lamp for $ 3; a 6′ tall dark wood bookcase for $ 20; a lovely blue and white Asian style ceramic candle holder for $ 1; and a beautiful tiger’s eye pendant for $ 6). The Brown Elephant donates to AIDS research.
So if you’re looking for deals and steals and would still like to spend money for a worthy cause, I would strongly recommend looking a little further north.

Okay, the people who price things at the White Elephant must be on crack. Their items are either severely underpriced or severely overpriced, usually the latter. Yeah, I was recently able to find two cute little newborn-​size jumpers and a couple of stuffed toys for my friend’s baby and was able to haggle the cashier down to 50 cents per hardcover children’s book instead of the ridiculous regular price of $ 2 apiece (which might be a good deal for a hardcover book for adults, but is highway robbery for a Golden Book at a THRIFT store), but anything else there worth inspecting was outrageous.
Seriously, they had a scratched-​up, not-​even-​fancy plastic iced tea pitcher there for $ 8. Are you kidding me? That thing probably cost $ 1.99 at Target when it was new. They also have Connections-​brand purses (which, for those of you not in the know about cheap crap, is the brand that sells for no more than, say, $ 14 each at Payless) marked at $ 25. It’s unreal.
Gimme Village Discount any day over this place, even if the White Elephant’s proceeds go to the children’s hospital, of which they remind you in the myriad signs telling you that «stealing from us is stealing from sick children» or whatever. Maybe the children would make more money if the store actually priced items to sell rather than to annoy.

Great resale shop, and for a very worthy cause. I finally explored this place after driving by hundreds of times. I’m glad I did — this place is huge!
It offers a decent selection of «gently used» and new items (like the Creuset line of kitchen accesories in the front of the store). I spent nearly an hour here, and I wish I’d had more time to devote — it’s one of those places that the more you look, the more you find. I wound up buying a book and a They Might Be Giants CD — total cost: $ 1.25.
You may have to dig a bit to unearth some «finds.» Go often, as I heard the salesclerk tell a customer that merchandise changes frequently. You will wind up buying something here, and the fact that purchases benefit Children’s Memorial Hospital makes it that much easier to buy. Win/​win for everybody!