Community Thrift Store

Hidden off of Nebraska Avenue, in the shadow of the Salvation Army store, the Amvets Community Thrift Store doesn’t appear to get much attention. But it’s worth a stop in. .. if you lower your sights.
Thrifters know that a good store may not have what they’re looking for, and a crummy store may. Same here. I didn’t find much of interest in the Salvation army store, but I walked out of the Community Thrift Store with a rare record in acceptable condition, a Bill Johnson book, and a shirt I can wear at work, all for under $ 8. Maybe I could find it at a better price somewhere else, but it’s still a good deal.
It’s a huge store, and most of it is clothing. But I had to drop it by one star. It’s hard to find what you need, whether by size or by style. I don’t know about womens and kids. But I was frustrated with the mens department; the sizes were all mixed up, and most of what I found was the wrong size. At least I did find a good shirt. But I hope they take the time to at least divide the shirts by S/​M/​L/​XL and pants by waist size. That way, they’ll get more sales and fewer low Unilocal ratings.

I see other reviews complain about the cleanliness and politeness. I’ll admit, this place gives me an allergy attack and I’ve never seen a smile on an employee’s face yet. But I don’t care, because I don’t go to a thrift store for smiles. I go for used items at great prices and I can get them here. The clothes are hit or miss but they always have housewares, electronics, furniture, books and more that interest me. Great finds. Worth everything negative about it.

I hate this place… rude employees… overpriced merchandise… Terrible. I love going thrifting but this place isn’t worth the hassle.

As a seasoned Thrift Store shopper, I consider this one of the best for my purposes. Recently I got a very good walker at low price for a vet buddy, and have found several serviceble chairs. They do not carry antiques (knowingly) and their limited furniture selection is piled at the back of store. Otherwise it is spacious and not cluttered like so many. Household goods and decorative items are uncrowded on glass shelves. Men and womens clothes on racks with plenty of room… but sizes are not well grouped. Some very good deals, including a large inventory of new golf shirts c urrently. Nearby Salvation Army is pricier, but furniture is more attractively arranged… but clothes are arranged by color… my techo-​geek son would love the section for black polko and t-​shirts.

There are good and bad things about every thrift store, and this one is no exception:
The good:
There are a LOT of shoes and clothes to choose from. Tons. When you walk in, the women’s clothing is to the right, and the men’s clothing is to the left. There were a probably about 10 racks of shoes, so plenty to choose from. The prices are good, clothes ranged from $ 3 – 5 in most cases, which is right in my price range.
The bad:
Clothes and shoes are about all this store has to offer, which is fine for myself, but obviously not everyone. What I didn’t like is there was no organization whatsoever with the clothing. Not colors, sizes, nothing other than type. That’s a little bit disappointing.

Depressing. Depressing. Depressing.
A thrift store can be a fun experience… or it can be a downer. This one was the latter.
I was kind of suprised by the low quality of the junk they were selling. Granted, «junk» about sums it up… but, a half empty bottle of dollar store body mist? They actually put a label on it and tried to sell it. That’s got to be illegal somehow. There could be ANYTHING in that old banged up bottle! Gross!
I wish I had asked how much they were trying to sell it for. Annoyingly, nothing has a price. It is all marked by a number system then they look it up for you. With a pen written directly on the item, too. Who even knows if that comes off.
So many items that obviously came from the garage of a recently deceased old person. Fake plywood furniture that was missing pieces and full of splinters. Countless portable potties. Used mattresses with stains on them. Not one appealing thing or anything I would want to touch. As we walked through the scarcely filled rows of half-​used broken items and dingy flourescent lights, we just felt sad. And creepy. Everything reminded me of death.
I usually love thrifting and appreciate a good yet gently used item. But I would avoid this place. Go a block down to the Salvation Army instead… better atmosphere, cleaner, nothing broken or dirty, better merchandise and better experience period!