Goodwill

This was a very large Goodwill store. We went on a Sunday and man was it busy. Next time I’ll be back on a weekday!

Among the thrift stores that I have been to, which is quite a few, this location could do a better job at organizing and marking the items for sale. For example, shoes are organized as children’s, men’s, and women’s, but are not organized at all by size. Why not? I’m not sure. This lack of further organization can be seen in other parts of the store such as books, and the other clothing departments. To my knowledge, this is one of the larger goodwill locations around and could really benefit from some solid organization and labeling.

A clean and fairly big Goodwill store, although the prices seemed a little high.
I haven’t had especially good luck at the Olympia/​Lacey Goodwills, but this one was a pleasant surprise. It’s pretty large and has a decent selection, and their stuff all seems to be in good condition.
Prices did seem to be somewhat high, especially on women’s shoes. They did have cute styles and the shoes looked very gently used or nearly new, so you might score a deal on a colored-​tag discount day. The medium-​sized stores don’t always have much of a selection of men’s clothes and shoes, but this location had a decent men’s section.
The store was clean and well maintained and has convenient parking. If you’re passing through Olympia and doing some thrifting, this Goodwill is worth a visit.

Goodwill is like a treasure hunt, this occasion I found none.

Okay, this was the first time I actually apologized for having too much stuff at the check stand. The clerk was noticeably ticked off that I had a cartful of linens and clothes during a 50% off sale. Isn’t the reason for the sales to have people take advantage of them, and buy lots of stuff? I actually told this woman (who couldn’t have been more than 23) that I would help her by removing all the hangers from the clothes and find their price tags while she rang up the glassware that really only amounted to 12 small pieces. Here I am again, apologizing for buying stuff. I tried to cheer this woman up because she obviously needed some attitude adjustment so we were talking about how I found a really nice blouse in the linen department that someone had tried to hide in hopes that nobody would buy it before they returned with some cash. She actually admitted to feeling some kind of joy or victory when she outsmarted a customer who came back only to find an item they wanted, but couldn’t afford at the time, gone. With employees like these, how can a store make any money? I’m sure they do, and lots of it, but this girl was apparently economically disadvantaged for some reason because she was working at Goodwill Industries, the organization that trains unemployable people and makes them employable. Some people don’t want to be employable. Maybe she would have more fun and success at a collection agency whose main objective is to find people and threaten them with lawsuits and bad credit reports if they don’t pay up. Or maybe she could get a job with the IRS? With an insurance agency denying sick people medical care? Just a thought, because customer service doesn’t appear to be her cup of tea.
Olympia can be a bit seedy and naturally the Goodwill is full of people that seem like they are scanning the aisles looking for women who leave their purses unattended in their carts while they shop. You’ve got to remember not to do this, especially in Olympia. The place is crawling with druggies who like to hang out under the bridges and around the Methadone clinic which is near the hospital, where this Goodwill just happens to be located. There is also something about Yauger park that attracts them, this area is not the most desirable part of Olympia to be shopping. I indicated that the shoes in the photo was not helpful because canvas shoes are one thing that you should NOT buy second hand. The spores that cause fungal infections like Athlete’s foot can live for years without a host, especially in places like a sweaty canvas shoe, Yuck!

While browsing this Goodwill store I came upon a pair of sneakers on the shoe aisle that were encrusted with mud. Assuming that someone had stolen a good pair and left their ruined ones I took them to the back of the store and handed them to an employee with my theory. He said, no these were put on the floor for sale, I said but that cannot be for they have not been cleaned. He said we don’t clean anything we put out on the floor.
I was very surprised as I thought there were disadvantaged people that were given jobs to prepare items for sale in the Goodwill stores. This means of course that if you buy bedding at a Goodwill store and the house it came from is infested with bedbugs or whatever that you will be be bringing these pests home to your house! Hats could have lice. Shoes athletes foot fungus, etc. Think twice about shopping at thrift stores and ask what their cleaning policy is before you shop.
These shoes that prompted this review were not just stained, they were ENCRUSTED with mud, dried crusted thick mud on the sides and bottom, I could not believe that anyone would put these out for sale. The employees I encountered did not seem in anyway mentally impaired, I grew up with a sibling that happens to have Downs Syndrome so I know of what I speak.

This is my favorite goodwill out of all the 2 goodwill’s in Lacey. It’s hit and miss but more hits than miss. I always find great children’s clothes that are hardly worn. Brands from Gymboree, Osh Kosh to the gap. They usually has 50% off on major holidays like Labor Day or Memorial Day.

The Olympia Goodwill is a strange place.
I go regularly and have filled my closet, bookshelf, and kitchen with finds.
Like any thrifting, it’s hit and miss. Some days are great, other days I find nothing. The clothes selection veers towards mall cast offs, so if you want arty-​funky or classy, you’ll have to dig. But I’ve found some really awesome things.
The prices are reasonable for most things. That being said, some items are bizarrely over and under priced, as though the pricer doesn’t quite know what’s what.
The staff is usually nice enough, and they mostly leave you alone. But it’s not hard to get help if you need it. Traci, who’s often at the dressing rooms, is particularly friendly.
But what baffles me is the merchandise display. They keep changing it around and it just gets weirder. There are these display walls in the middle of the store. They hang clothes on them. Like, piles of clothes. In a way that it is impossible to look through the clothes. That just seems incredibly dumb. They also have tons of frames and art stacked leaning against other walls. Why not put the clothes on racks and hang the art on the weird display walls???
The housewares sections are sort of organized, but the shelves are always kind of disasters, as is the luggage/​bags section. They’ve recently opened a «special purchase» clothing section. I can’t tell what is so special about the items in that section, because they are not discernibly different from any other clothes.
Also, what’s with the dresses on the four/​cross stands? I hate having to walk in circles around them, plus it’s hard to look through the dresses.
It feels like there’s too much stuff out at any given time in some sections and hardly anything in other sections. It’s weird. I don’t get it.

In my opinion, thrift stores today are way overpriced and this store is no exception. Many items cost the same as they would retail and sometimes even more. While it’s not as pricey as Value Village the selection is not as great either. I go here because there is no other game in town of truly thrifty th of truly thrifty thrift stores.

This is one of the better GW in the area. I think they have a bigger selection that most of the GW’s in the Lacey/​Oly/​Tum area. It also doesn’t smell too bad in here. I usually go for VHS and then peruse through the small electronics, records, and men’s pants. They have a pretty big selection of movies for adults and kids and the men’s clothes are okay. Usually pretty picked through, but sometimes you can find some good deals. They’ve got a lot of cool board games too and cheap TV’s. Furniture dept. is kind of lame. I usually go on the weekends when they have ½ off and $ 1.29 sales.

Good store… I would give this store 3.5 stars. They have 50% off colored tags daily. You can find some good items if you look hard, but it’s not as good as Value Village.

Worth it if you shop the sales, otherwise you’re paying too much for someone else’s discarded stuff. Think about it, Goodwill gets all their merchandise for free and pays their employees pittance– SOMEone is making a profit off it all. If you REALLY want a deal, check out the outlet in Tacoma. Everything is by the pound! Better yet, scope out the Free Store at the Westside Co-​op!
This particular Goodwill has a nice selection, with pretty quick turnover. Sales often, occasional coupons.

This is a good sized Goodwill. A nice selection of all sorts of things that you may or may not need. I did find the prices here to be a bit higher than any Goodwill I’ve been to in Seattle. I’m shopping at a thrift store here. I am not paying $ 18 for a simple dress. I was impressed by their active wear section and there was an impressive assortment of shoes. The employees are friendly enough and rather neutral when asked for the bathroom key.
Not a bad Goodwill. I am just taken back by the prices. Am I cheap or what?

Clean store, great selection. Things have a tendency to move very fast. How can you not love goodwill?