Goodwill Industries

Found an old kid’s toy for $ 5.49 and when I brought it up to the counter, the clerk said she needed to check the price. They took the item in the back room and came out with a $ 22.49 price tag! Total BS. There was also a gentleman trying to purchase a pair of basic pants and they wanted to charge him $ 18 for them… These people are ripp-​off artists. They get the times for free and charge as much as regular retail stores. Do yourself a favor and go down to Thrift Center in San Carlos or Savers in Redwood City instead. Much more reasonable and honest…

I actually spent a long time browsing the racks here. They have a good selection that’s actually somewhat sorted so it made browsing pretty easy.
I ended up scoring some Sanctuary jeans for $ 2.75, Dolce & Gabbana jeans for $ 7.49 and a Carolina Herrera shirt for $ 3.49. Pretty good finds if I do say so myself. I also tried on a lot of other clothes like Milly for Design Nation. I was pretty impressed with how stylish the clothes are here, surprisingly. The jeans section had a lot of Levi’s and J. Brand!
Some of the items were kind of over priced (like $ 40+).

This is my go-​to Goodwill. The clothes are are in good condition, often new with tags, stylish, and well organized so it’s easy to find a specific item: color, size, type. I rarely leave empty handed. Yesterday I went in with my (young adult) daughter to find a dress for holiday events, and in 20 minutes we left with four dresses she absolutely loved for less money than we could have gotten one in a regular store. Aside of the obvious savings, this was way more efficient than going to the mall and searching multiple departments in multiple stores. Unfortunately, I lost my wallet and it wasn’t turned in, so keep a close eye on your personal belongings.

Called up before driving up for donations and was told they are open and are accepting. Just 10 min after I arrive there, they have a sign that says they are full! The staff is there uncooperative and unhelpful. Never donating my stuff there ever. Found a local thrift store who are getting my stuff since then.

Called ahead to ensure they were still taking donations. Drove in, waited patiently behind some folks who didn’t seem to have their-​you-​know-​what together. Donated my stuff and drove off.
So, yeah, my recommendation is that you call ahead to ensure they are still taking donations.

I absolutely love this store and want to give 5 stars! As the store is clean and the people who work there are cool people. My one complaint is when their new items from Target come in and are priced the same as if you shopped at Target!!! Come on Goodwill Pricers! Use the target app and scan barcodes if you are trying to help those who cannot afford to shop in the real store!

The saddest Goodwill I’ve ever been too. Where are the kids toys? Where are the stuffed animals? Very odd. No maternity section but was able to find some tops that were in with the other women’s clothing.
Pretty small place compared to other’s I’ve been too. I wasn’t impressed at all.
I won’t be coming back if I’m in the area, I’d rather go to a Savers in Redwood City.

Hello Unilocalers! Here is my two cents on this Goodwill located in San Mateo. I stop into this location at least once a week because it is a hit or miss depending what you are looking for.
Pros:
1. Parking is free, up to maybe 20 spaces.
2. They are open 7 days a week.
3. Most of the staffs are friendly.
3. There are workers who will assist in dropping off your donations.
4. They do have tag sales on a given day.
5. CDs and DVDs are fairly reasonable; cds ($ 0.99 to 1.99) and dvds (2.49~4.99)
6. You can receive store credit if you return any electronics you bought at the store within 3 days till the day of the purchase. Make sure that they write it on the receipt and bring it back when you return it.
7. They do take credit cards no matter what small amount it is.
Cons:
1. There are some rare days or time of the hour that they will not accept anymore donations.
2. During busy hours, it will be difficult to find parking at the location and nearby; so expect to walk if you are going for shopping.
3. Most of the time there is only one cashier working at the register so you will have to wait in line.
4. Prices on dvds varies depending on who is at the cash register and/​or what kind of dvd it is. For example, the cashier tried to charge me more on the dvd because there was a bonus disc included. I tried telling her that it was still one movie and that it came with an extra disc but she thought it was another sequel to the movie and that it was considered as buying 2 dvds. I had her to talk to the manager and he had agreed it was still just considered as purchasing one dvd. Still i think they need to explain and train there cashiers regarding the issues before they are sent back.
5. Most of the electronics are overpriced in my opinion. They do have an electronic section in the back but most of them are just stereos, vhs and dvd players and lamps.
I hope that this review helps you out. Thanks for reading!

This is a hit-​or-​miss Goodwill location that’s been more hit for me as of late. The clothing selection can be solid. Prices are consistent or just slightly higher than comparable Goodwills in the area. The housewares selection is not great. Also very little furniture, and usually overpriced. Worth a look if you’re in the neighborhood.

The clothes and shoes are really overpriced. Found a pair of shoes from Forever 21 for $ 15… really? They were probably like $ 18 new.
The only thing worth going for are the media — you can find CDs and DVDs for $ 1.

Called to confirm they were taking deliveries based on earlier reviews, but they said no issues and when I arrived they had a very efficient collection /​sortation thing going on. Drive in from 25^th and they’ll help unload your car. Was through in about 2 minutes.
Overall great interactions.

I have been donating to Goodwill Industries for many, many years and dropping off donations has NEVER been a problem… until I started going to this location. Arrugh!
More often than not, there is a sign advising that they are full and aren’t accepting donations. What does that mean exactly? For an hour, for today, for this week? The unload help are so rude and, when I asked for clarification yesterday and, after getting his attention by saying «excuse me», the guy pointed at me and told me I’d just have to wait. There were four other vehicles (two of which were small trucks with full beds) just stopped in their tracks as they saw the sign and didn’t know what to do. The fellow who yelled at me to just wait, yelled at one of the trucks, telling the lady to pull out of their lot and gt park somewhere and then come back in 15 minutes.
Perhaps they are understaffed, perhaps donations are higher this time of year than usual, who knows. I would like to understand so I can better time my donations but a hand-​scrawled sign on a piece of cardboard and staff who are rude and are standing around with, apparently, nothing to do because they aren’t unloading vehicles, is neither a good communications strategy nor conducive to good public relations.
I’m sorry… this is a two way partnership. The unloading staff are not doing me a favor. The public provides something Goodwill Industries needs and Goodwill Industries provides a place to dispose of unneeded items. Have I got this terribly wrong?
There are many donation opportunities and it’s time for me to find an organization other than Goodwill.

Horrible service and some of the meanest people I have ever met. All I wanted to do was drop off donations.

This was smaller than I expected, but a decent selection overall on the women’s clothes. The women’s shoe selection though was underwhelming. I find the prices to be decent and nothing too outrageous. It’s actually around the same prices in Arizona.
I didn’t get anything this time, but Goodwill has always been a hit or miss for me.

Hello all,
I LOVE this GW! Let me tell you why. If you’re an avid super duper thrifter you will know that you will encounter the good, bad and the ugly at these stores. This includes people as well. That is OK with me because the reality is, I have walked out there with authentic Christian Dior Blazers, Tori Burch kitten heels, St. John Skirts to Zara, Top shop, etc, etc, etc. The prices seem higher here but you get what you pay for. We are the beneficiaries of the donations of the surrounding «nice areas».No shame in that.
I do have to agree that Burlingame has more labels, especially in Jeans but I have yet to find true treasures there.
Wanna come with?
Love,
D

This is the second best thrift store in SMC next to Savers in Redwood City. It’s a great place to find bargains and volunteer in order to help those in need.

While dropping off goods, the receiving guy openly accused me of dumping goods with the intent of abandoning them.
Huh? You’re open, right? Yes, but we’re full up, we aren’t accepting any more items today. Oh, OK, slick,… THEN SAY THAT. All you have to say is that we simply aren’t accepting more goods today. You don’t openly and angrily accuse someone of dumping trash because they are unloading all their goods at once onto the sidewalk before walking them up to your receiving area.
He was a loser, a total loser. I guess he was upset that I interrupted the obviously social conversation he was having with others.
I like shopping the Goodwill in Palo Alto, they have excellent customer service there. But this one? Wow… what a joke.

The stars are only because– hey it’s goodwill! Great stuff at great prices!
SHOPPERS BEWARE! Manager Helen is rude and a jerk! They post tag sales then put other colors on the tags so nothing is actually on sale! I was yelled at by Helen because «if you shop here you should know what the tags mean»!!!

I didn’t step inside the store. The 4 stars is for the nice guy receiving the items I dropped off and for the nice parking lot so that I can park and dropped things off. This doesn’t happen in SF. People are grumpy in SF and there is no such thing as parking.

This review is more to say that I’m a fan of what the Goodwill does and what they stand for over all else; I don’t shop there very often and typically have a hard time finding something of interest — but every other month I drop off a bag of clothes, accessories and the like to donate and I’m grateful to have a place like the Goodwill to take my stuff.
As they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure — and if it weren’t for places like the Goodwill, most of that treasure would be buried and of no use to anyone.