Walked in was greeted right away! Now those that know! That is an Aplus! The same lady that was working her bins off! Complimented my daughter on her dress! Now that makes a persons day. Off to the cashier! She was the most funniest, sweetest lady ever! We will be back. My baby girl found a million good finds! read more

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This is a strange Goodwill--very expensive and also extremely messy/chaotic inside. I give them points for having an outlet so you can test your electronics before purchase. I was overcharged for an item I did not buy, or something was scanned incorrectly, but I'll have to return either way to settle it. There is a parking lot but the spaces are tiny and the setup is weird. read more

Remember buying some ' Fairly Nice Crockery Pieces here almost 9 - 10 years ago when I first moved to Albany..... Lovely Mugs - plus were ' on sale ' pretty cheap !!!!! read more

I asked my niece and nephew if I could take them shopping for Christmas. They said yes - thrifting! They found a highly rated place in Berkeley on Shattuck but it was a Friday night and the parking there sucks. Plus we had dinner plans at Zachary's on Solano. So - compromise... we went to the Albany Goodwill on San Pablo. They were finding armloads of clothes and everything was super inexpensive. Pictures attached are the two sweaters I would not buy my niece because I knew her mother would kill me. My nephew found a cute pink striped cardigan, a Stanford sweatshirt (because we're a Cal Berkeley family and he thought it was hilarious), some authentic looking striped Adidas and a variety of more shirts and tops. My niece couldn't find any good cargo pants but got a ton of other stuff. Including her favorite find, a crew neck sweatshirt that said "Kelly is my lawyer." I'm glad the kids have their Aunt Kris's obscure sense of humor! I even found a delightful $10 Ugly Christmas Sweater to wear to my company holiday party. Service here was just fine, we didn't experience any of the negativity that others did. I'm so happy that teens today love to thrift. It was something my friends and I did heavily in high school and college because we were poor. They do it because it's cool. read more

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Best Goodwill! Highly recommend! This place has made a major come back in the past few weeks. Definately under new management

I appreciate the hardworking staff and excellent organisation at this store, both as a buyer and as a donator.

Good mix of merch. I always go home with something at this location. Nice staff. Was greeted multiple times today and previous visits.

The worker, lady with the mask, was so rude. I get it you're doing your job by putting go backs but it is not that hard to say excuse me, instead she shoved me out the way MULTIPLES TIMES in different aisles all to put some clothing back right next to me each time. So rude & disrespectful. I'd assume an older lady would know better. They don't have anything good in stoc regardless & it's overpriced for a goodwill read more

I have been here four times and walked out empty handed. Inventory items feel very worn and old. Prices are too high.

Great prices on cups and dishes,Mens T shirts toys baby clothes and shoes, cheap small tables and chairs, radio's paper shredder, file cabinets read more

BEHOLD THE RUDEST EMPLOYEE AT GOODWELL!!!! JOSEPH First of all: HIGHEST PRICES of most Goodwill stores I have seen. Fine... I like charity. He did not offer a bag or to wrap my breakable items before he took my card & checked me out. I asked for a bag, and he said it was 10 cents. Fine. As I was looking for my 10 cents, I commented that he must have a rough day based on the rude way he was talking to EVERYONE. He then kicked me out as I was frantically looking for 10 cents. Finally, another woman gave him a quarter and said she was appalled as to how she was talking to me and decided not to buy an ENTIRE CART worth of goods because he was so awful. He refused to give me his name, but the receipt said Joseph. BRO. IF YOU HATE YOUR JOB- GO WORK SOMEWHERE ELSE. I wasn't rude. He was literally fighting with another customer and took it out on me who couldn't find a dime in time. Kicked me out of the store. Our interaction was maybe 3 minutes long. read more

Goodwill - Rudest Employee at Goodwill! - Thrift Stores Near Me - Albany, California

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Recently redone and much better! Many small houseware items, and great shoes. Brand name (New Balance, Nike) shoes are frequent and good quality. read more

Goodwill - Great housewares - Thrift Stores Near Me - Albany, California

I popped into my local goodwill to pick up a single stainless butter knife, the smallest and lightest I could find, after the one in my travel set got taken away at TSA. I brought it up to the counter and was told it cost $1.99. When I looked horrified the poor guy behind the counter explained to be that he knew it was stupid, but that the policy at this store is that nothing can be sold for less than $1.99. He explained that he couldn't give me a "discount" without offering it to everyone. I put the knife back and left and said, "I don't blame you." Honestly, I felt bad for the guy, as he clearly knew the policy was absurd but couldn't do anything about it. I've been shopping at goodwill regularly my whole life and have always depended on them for a low cost, eco-friendly shopping option. I stuck with them through the raising of prices, closing of fitting rooms, and no returns policy--but this is the last straw. I officially give up on Goodwill for good. read more

As someone who primarily shops second hand, I frequent my local thrift stores often, so customer service is very important to me. Raydell (forgive me if I'm not spelling his name correctly!) has consistently provided me with exceptional customer service, such that I am happy to keep coming back to this location. Thank you Raydell and all the kind staff here! You make this retail experience enjoyable. read more

This used to be my favorite Goodwill. Not anymore. Used to be the most organized Goodwill I had ever visited. They used to have tons of vintage glass. They boarded up all the windows. Now it is just an unorganized mess full of typical junk that you find at any Goodwill. Cashier was friendly so that's a plus. I might go back but I doubt it. The Goodwill in Rodeo and San Pablo closed. read more

Best Goodwill for donating. Long hours and nice staff to help unload. The selection inside is small but pretty good.

I've been living abroad for a decade and recently returned home. So I did a "spring cleaning" on clothing I had in storage. I double checked with Goodwill whether they took clothing and bedsheets. They said yes including underwear and socks provided everything has been cleaned. So I washed and dried everything and neatly packed them into white garbage bags. They took a total of six bags of clothing and a double-bed sleeping pad. This made me feel good because I knew they would be put to good use. Some other use goods charitable outlets, "Out of the Closet@ comes to mind, seem to think they're doing you a favor and will actually disdainfully pick and choose what they will take from you. I do not dump junk when I donate used items and I certainly didn't appreciate thst attitude the last time I brought reusable items to them. That was why I personally checked with Goodwill first. They took everything - no problem. read more

This is a review for the drop off services. Beware of the white dudes on a power trip. I am a person of color and have never had a good experience dropping stuff off when a white dude is the gatekeeper. Lots of attitude and belittling going on. Go to Richmond instead. read more

Perfectly located on San Pablo Avenue, this Goodwill became my go to place for donations when I lived in Albany. I had moved from Hawai'i to California without thoroughly going through my belongings and was too busy my first year in Berkeley that I didn't make the time to start going through things. Then I moved to Albany and made it a repeating thing to go through my belongings, identify the things I no longer wanted nor used that were still in good shape, and donate them to this Goodwill. I donated everything from decorations, to clothes, to guitars, to books and bags. So so so nice to have this Goodwill nearby where I could come and donate things. The donation drop-off area is located on the backside of the building relative to San Pablo Avenue. There are a handful of parking slots near the donation area, so it was best to come early if I wanted to park in one of the slots and carry my donations in. The people working the donation area were all friendly, I came a number of times and did not have a single bad interaction. read more

Me and my family has been coming to this goodwill here for sometime now. I have not been in here for about a month or so. When I arrived inside the goodwill store I noticed new faces and the store itself has been rearranged. I bought few things in particularly glassware. The cashier lady (10/18/2024-10:40 am) was very uptight and not helpful at all, I had over 15 pieces of glassware that soon as I paid for these items I was left stuck there with no bag or even the simplest news paper to wrap them in to protect from breaking. The cashier said no bags, then tried to turn around and sell me there goodwill bags upon another purchase. LADY IT WOULD Have BEEN GREAT IF YOU TOLD ME UP FRONT WHILE PAYING THAT I WAS ON MY OWN ON GETTING THEM TO MAY CAR WITH NO BAG or support from your team!!! I will never shop there again!!! read more

Cleanest and organized Goodwill I have been to. Although it's not as large as other stores I have visited it doesn't have the musty smell that other stores have. On this visit I was able to score a Stephen Curry and Hardaway Jerseys for my grandson. Small parking lot. read more

The male employee Joseph who has been pictured and called out as rude in other comments charged me $10 for the lid to the serving dish I was buying. He failed to tell me he was going to do so and it was not priced separately. I paid cash but suspected an overcharge as soon as he handed me the receipt. I asked what the $10 was for and he said it was for the lid. I said you should tell me before charging me and demanded a refund if the overcharge. He refused and said we always charge $10 for those lids. I said I would call the police. He thought I was joking until I said I am serious. The manager gave me the $10 back. Today they had two similar serving dishes and the lids were priced $6.99 for one and $14.99 for the other, not $10, and most buyers won't notice the lid and bottom are priced separately even though they are displayed together. A few weeks later same rude guy rang me up and rounded my total up to the nearest dollar without my permission. I did not confront him because I don't need the grief but I reported this store to Contra Costa Co. Weights and measures for deliberate overcharging. Like all Goodwill stores, they don't know how to tell women's jeans from men's jeans. Men's pants racks are already way too crowded to have to also look through women's jeans without making pants fall off their cheap, worn-out hangers, but add in women's jeans and it is a serious time waster for men. They need to search on YouTube for videos explaining I how to tell the difference between wonen's and men's pants. Hint, shallow or non existent front pockets are not men's jeans, but don't bother trying to teach them, they know everything. read more

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Management change and people especially at the donation are very rude. There wasn't any sign of only donation at the back entry and that tall guy after I walk in asked me if I am donating or not. I said no I am not. He said use the other door. I said I am in already. He said go out and use the other entry!!!!!!! I said I am in. He was almost threaten me to ask What is wrong with those new people at this store :( New manager doesn't look friendly at all. And this donation guy feel power over customer ??? Store workers doesn't handle the customers professionally looks like. read more

Picked up a few last minute second hand items here for a 90s themed party. This Goodwill seemed pretty well organized. There was a plethora of plaid shorts, shoes, t-shirts---both men and women's. The setup was organized and things were pretty easy to find. Best of all, browsing around here was non-rushed and relaxed. I easily get anxious when shopping, but the way this store was setup it was a pretty seamless experience. Checking out was easy and there were no long lines either. Parking was easy; a Goodwill I'd recommend if you're looking for second hand items! read more

Couldn't even donate today. They turned me away one hour after they opened and said that they were full. I had even made a special trip to donate goods and had taken them out of my car. This location needs to put a large sign up or something when they are not taking donations or update their online information. I've never had this happen to me before. How bizarre. read more

From what I gather, this location was closed for a while, and then reopened under "Goodwill 2.0" - a sort of revamp with a new business model. It's pretty bad. The space feels sparsely merchandised, and not an improvement in any way from the way the store was before. If the vision was for it to be more boutique-y and upscale, this is a massive failure. Don't bother with this location unless you're in the area. read more

I agree with Linda. The business plan for the reopened Albany Goodwill and the University Ave store in Berkeley is wrong on every mark. No kids clothes? Fancy displays? I've shopped Goodwill for years and I don't go there for the "atmosphere." I don't need to admire the displays on the walls. They should be covered with racks of clothing or shelves with Knick-knacks, not AstroTurf and vinyl records. Speaking of... No records? No books? No dvds? Not sure what corporate is smoking but they definitely missed the mark here. As for the customer service, well, the current employees can't be bothered. The gal at the register just kept announcing she was about to clock out. Seemed she already had. And no tag sales either. Won't be back to either store. read more

Goodwill - The wall in University store. Less elaborate in Albany but still. - Thrift Stores Near Me - Albany, California

Review pertaining only to donation drop-offs: I dropped off a bag of clothing and some used pans at 11:15 am on Saturday 1/2/21 morning, and was out in a flash. There is a currently a limit of 2 bags per customer, but the gentleman in front of me showed up with a gigantic tub of all sorts of items, and all that was still accepted. I was surprised to see that most of the bins were already almost full despite the fact that donation hours had only just begun (that day's donation window: 11 am - 2 pm), so my suggestion to those who are wanting to drop off donation items, is to show up close to the beginning of the donation time window or there might not be enough space for all your items. Each time I called Goodwill, there was always someone who answered on the first or second ring. Thank you for being easy to work with! A last tip is that the donation station is around the side of the store, the furthest side from San Pablo. read more

I tried to donate clothes to drop off. The guy was being incredibly rude to three different groups of people trying to drop off clothing. The woman in front of me in line asked him how long it would take to wait and he would not give her any estimate of timing and continued to be extremely rude while loading the truck. You would think they would be a little bit kinder to people donating. I left and will not be back. read more

Unfortunately this goodwill does not serve it's community & just a reseller. I was going to donate items as I have in the past but after shopping here for the last time today, I will only be donating items to a true charity serving the community. Some of the reasons for the one star (wish I could give less than zero are: 1. Rude customer service especially the manager. Myself & others have witnessed & commented him being very short tempered and inappropriate with several customers & employees on several times. 2. Outrageous prices. I saw things like q-tips and other dollar store items marked 2.99. 3. The bags they sell are dirty and still have crumbs and receipts and other debris left from previous donations. 4. They sell broken or cracked merchandise so triple check it before taking it home as they won't refund them. 5. None of the old employees work there and several of the new workers smell of pot. 6. Finally double check your receipts as they tend to overcharge. read more

It tends to be difficult for me to let go of things I don't really need. I hate the idea of things going to the trash, especially if they're still useful and/or in good condition when I know other people could use them. The last few weeks I have been working on decluttering and donating items to different thrift stores around the Bay Area in hopes that others can enjoy them as I had. The other day I donated to this location. They took the bags one by one and looked through them individually to sort them. I found this somewhat odd because there was a line of us and most locations do the sortings after they accept the bags. This slowed down the process a lot, but since I hadn't donated to this Goodwill before I figured it was just how their process worked. After I gave the employee one of the last bags (which had glass antiques and jewelry, all of which were in perfect condition) I watched him take one item out of the bag and toss the rest into the bin clearly labeled trash right in front of me. Now, I completely understand that not everything can be resold and some things need to be tossed, however, he didn't even look through the rest of the items which could easily have been sold for a somewhat high price. Again, I have a hard time letting things go unless I know they're going to be reused, so watching him toss the bag into the trash and hearing all the glass break as it hit the bottom was heartbreaking. I had loved the items that were in that bag for a long time, I just no longer had the space for them. I noticed he had done the same thing for someone before me so it wasn't personal but it was alarming to see the blatant disrespect for the people who allowed the company to stock their stores. I will absolutely never donate to this location again. If I thought something was broken or unable to be used I would have tossed it myself. I didn't need to see a stranger not care and throw beautiful glass pieces right into the trash. read more

Oh well ...it can be a ' fun place ' to ' hang out n explore. Very pricey for a Thrift Store. Most items are ' broken or missing parts ' so be Careful before you drop your Valuable $$ .... Think there are Sale days etc. , or markdowns oost a certain period. If you leave something behind - just say goodbye !!! Clothes are ' quite old & smell bad ' !!!!!! Worst part is - " Their posing as a 501 ( c) - Non Profit. Whereas I read an article in the Chronicle I believe stating - " Not " !!! The owner apparently has become a " Multi Millionaire " in the process !!! S...o..o ...' Decide where you want your ' Valuable $$ to go ' ...research the story !!! I rather shop @ ' Out Of The Closet on University Blvd. ' , or Community Thrift on Valencia in San Francisco ..... Their Funds go to ' Legit Charities ' !!!!!! They are ' Genuine 501 ( c)' s ... read more

This Goodwill location is reopening tomorrow. There are signs in the windows and on the building and merchandise is visible through the windows. I was surprised to realize I hadn't reviewed it. I bought a very useful fabric belt for my exercises here following my knee replacement surgery several years ago and Alan and I had donated several bags of clothing and other items shortly before they closed a few months ago. Although we will donate to The Good Stuff Thrift Shop since it has reopened, this is another good option for the community. It's a clean, bright, airy store and doesn't have the musty smell that so many other stores selling used clothing have. And the staff I have encountered have been very nice and helpful. read more

No Goodwill no - your business plan is not a good one. This store was closed for awhile and just re opened and the prices are sooo ridiculously high that I just want to barf!!! I won't return!!! Never!! $17.99 for a jacket?? Hahahaha what a joke! read more

This review is solely on the cashier at 4:00 on October 21, 2017 with the salt n pepper hair and glasses on. (The rest of the employees and actual store are still the best in my book) While walking around the store I heard someone say loudly "I wish you weren't leaving" three different times. Wasn't sure if it was loud customers until I got up to the register and the cashier was say it to a fellow employee (who by the way is a stellar worker as she has helped me on many occasions in the past. Hard worker and really kind). While I'm finally being rang up she continued to say she didnt want the employee to leave and wish she didn't have to go home. And then the cashier started complaining about another coworker right there in front of me. Hello, ring my crap and talk about this in the back. She kept turning to the employee who was leaving and complaining about the other woman on the floor working and that she wished the employee wasn't leaving. Omg! I had to keep motioning to finish ringing me up several times. What dreadful service. And this is my spot. I love this goodwill. I love the employees. I've cussed out other customers in the past for being rude to the employees here. Never have I had such a terrible experience at this location. So to the cashier that rang me up: 1)learn some manners, don't talk about fellow employees in front of customers and the actual employee (as she heard what you said and came over to check you) 2)you rang me up wrong and actually charged me less than you were supposed to. Maybe if you would have put your focus on ringing me up and not complaining constantly and ringing me up in between your complaints you wouldn't have messed up 3)you need to work on your work ethic because right now it's at a negative -1 4)you work at goodwill! Work on that attitude. If it sounds like I'm angry, I am. Her behavior was atrocious and how dare she be so toxic while at work. This ruined my shopping experience and pissed me off. Ugh read more

Goodwill - Thrift Stores Near Me - Albany, California

Donation dept closes early, try calling before you head over. They do not operate the hours that they advertise, they stop receiving donations whenever they feel like it. I showed up an hour before closing time, door was open and I brought my donations inside, a guy came over and said they weren't taking any more donations and I would have to take my boxes and come back at another time. Considering that their hours are unpredictable, I don't read more

i have regularly donated to this Goodwill but I will never return after the rude way I was received the other day. I debated writing this review because I have always supported the Goodwill organization but decided maybe the manager will see this and talk to staff so they do not lose donations from other people due to their poor treatment of the public Earlier in the pandemic before they closed for awhile they were having customers drop donations into sorted bins outside. A few weeks ago, i went to the donation area and a guy working out there said to go on through the double doors...I followed his instruction and I was very rudely yelled at by the man working inside that the donation period had ended 10 min earlier (i didnt see a time posted) and I shouldnt be in there. I said I was sorry but the guy outside had sent me in and I didnt know, The guy inside yelled at me AGAIn and said thar guy did not know anything and was just a driver. I replied thar as a customer, I didnt know who worked at that location and so there was no cause to yell and the guy yelled at me a third time and said "well now you know!" and then yanked the bags from my hand. At that point I started to walk through to the retail area of the store and he yelled at me a FOURTH time to walk around to the front. While I understand everyone has bad days and it may be frustrating to have people trying to donate outside of hours or having the delivery driver undermine you, I was treated with such aggression and rudeness that will never donate at this location again. read more

The prices on some things are just too high. Sometimes the place is empty and sometimes the customer service is kind of meh. Lower the price of the video games please because some of the games in the goodwill are cheaper on eBay.... and that's not right.. read more

Goodwill here is of average size -mostly men's and women's clothes, little else. saw some gap t-shirts, a glancing look didn't find a tag -some ceraminc, glassware, dvd's, electronics. -very few books(3.99), mostly paperbooks. shopping notes: -lots of parking here. read more

This store is a mess. I couldn't believe how small it was and the limited selection. I guess I had high hopes since the location is in Albany. I have driven to many Goodwill locations and I drove just about 40 miles to get to this location Such a disappointment. read more