Goodwill - St. Paul Outlet — Attraction in Saint Paul

Unless one is a thrift-to-resell type of person who doesn't mind digging through dirty and smelly piles of clothing, I suggest not spending any time here. I also suggest reading through the other reviews and not simply judging based on number of stars. The written reviews, even many of the five star ones, tell a story not apparent from the number of stars alone.

As for myself, I've made very few purchases here over the years, but I have donated many times. It's the closest donation place to my house. Ten years ago, I could count on a pleasant-enough experience, but times have changed. Please know my review is an average of experiences over the last five years. I think that's a generous span of time to include in a review, plus I feel experiences over five years ago really aren't relevant anymore.

Clothing has always been piled up in bins here for as long as I can remember. That means the fabric has no air flow between layers, which can lead to smells and especially mold. Why does Goodwill get away with stocking moldy product when it's a health hazard that wouldn't be allowed anywhere else? Just remember that the donation area is exposed to our outdoor environment, which is often humid, and that creates the potential for mold. By the way, there are other Goodwill locations that do hang up clothing items, which is crucial to keeping them dry and in good condition. Anyway, I have purchased the occasional small piece of furniture here, and had no problems.

I, and I'm sure others, have an issue with one person in the donation area who is usually present. They definitely shouldn't be allowed to work in a public-facing position. They are definitely the most ill-mannered person I've interacted with in that their attitude doesn't stem from simply having a bad day. This is their usual state.

The clothing I donate has always consisted of good quality, nice items, and my standard practice is to wash, dry, and then neatly fold them in bags or containers. Around that 5-years-ago time frame, the donation procedure was that the people working the donation area would take the containers from donors, and neatly stack them into the gaylords (that's honestly what they're called; no laughing. Look it up!). But years ago, that practice changed into the customer/donor doing the work of sorting the items and placing them into the correct gaylords while the employees stand back and direct. The ill-mannered employee manages to do this 'nothing-but-directing' task while rudely barking orders at donors. Today, I had an even worse experience with them. They were even more unpleasant than usual. I was placing my freshly washed, neatly folded clothing into the gaylord (I didn't know the practice had changed) and they grabbed my tote bag right out of my hand, and said with an unquestionably imperative and rude tone, "This is how to do it!" They overturned the bag of folded clothing, and picked up each piece, one after another, destroying the neat folds and throwing each clothing item onto the messy pile to match the state of everything else in there. The handle of my reusable bag got ripped with this action. Note to anyone intending to purchase any of my items; Sorry, I did my best to keep them neat and clean!

I am also dismayed with the fact that Goodwill isn't actually a non-profit business. It just poses as one. I learned this just recently. After what I have learned about this business, I will do my best to donate my items to other, actually non-profit organizations. These organizations want clothing to be clean and neatly folded, and a few of them will even take the items right from my...

If you are expecting a retail store, shop elsewhere. This is a real outlet store.

Goodwill uses a color tag system to identify how long most items have been in their retail stores. After 3 or 4 weeks (depending on the store) items are put on sale for half price on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday they are marked down to 25% of the original price. Anything that doesn't sell after that is pulled from the shelves/racks and either discarded or dumped into pallet sized containers for shipment to the Outlet Store. Prices at the Outlet Store vary depending on the type of item. Most all prices are dirt cheap compared to the stores.

The Goodwill Outlet Store Staff does some minimal sorting. Materials may be loosely grouped into furniture, soft line (clothes/cloth accessories), hard think (think dishes, toys, seasonal, lamps), and shoes/luggage. Furniture items are brought onto the sales area one at a time, throughout the day. Most everything else is placed into giant waist high rolling trays called boats. The boats are brought out in "waves" of 6 to 10. The contents depend on what is received from the stores.

The sales floor is a hectic place. Staff navigate the 350+ boats a day through the sea of preoccupied customers who are digging for items or sorting through their carts. Rotation of new boats has its own set of "rules" and is not for the feint of heart. Here are the highlights for new customers. Staff begins by removing a group of older boats. Customers crowd around the empty space, strategically positioning themselves for first access. You can look but do not touch the new boats. Be ready. When staff gives the all clear, grab what you want and put an it in your bag or cart. You can put it back later if you decide against it. Yes, two people may want the same thing. Anyone who frequents thrift stores or garage sales has done this before, just at a much slower pace. People here are generally courteous, but in a hurry.

Finally, you will notice that regular customers find single shoes and later flip coins or otherwise trade/barter for the mate. It took me a while to figure that out.

Needless to say, everything is sold "as is". As others have said, bring gloves and be prepared to spend some time. The lighting could be better, but aside from that, I would highly recommend the Goodwill Outlet for some great deals if you are willing to...

The management at this location is the worst I’ve seen. Period. If I could rate negative stars I would. They don’t do anything and the only one that does, the red headed lady, is constantly abusing her power. Today she dumped out a ladies cart, who just for a second walked away from it. The cart had her purse and winter jacket inside of it and they would not let her get her personals back. The poor lady had to walk home in a literal blizzard without her jacket! I’ve been to MANY Goodwill Outlets all across the country, around 20 different locations, and none of them have treated me or fellow shoppers quite like this one. I’ve been a loyal customer, coming to this location specifically for 6 years now, and these past few months have been HORRENDOUS. The floor manager loves to lay down the law and treats the customers as if they are a problem she has to deal with. She makes everything “personal” and despises the regular shoppers, constantly trying to “make examples” out of them. She is constantly trying show her dominance over us rather than help us and allow us to have a pleasurable shopping experience. We shop in fear now, constantly looking over our shoulders (NO JOKE). She is trying to prove something but I don’t get why/what…. I would love to just shop in peace. Today she dumped out 3-4 customers things and took them into the back. I don’t see how this is good for business at all. I understand running a tight ship but this is ridiculous. It’s not that serious. Everyday she creates more problems than she does solve them. I could give ENDLESS examples. On top of management here they are understaffed and bring out new merchandise extremely slow. They also don’t have enough carts for everybody to use. A simple solution would be to stick poles on the carts so they can’t leave the store. That way they won’t get stolen. All in all I’ve had it with this location, specifically the current management. I along with others now come here less frequently, buy less things, and make sure to tell EVERYONE WE KNOW, to watch their backs and stay away. If you want a good experience at Goodwill Outlet I would suggest going to the Brooklyn Park location where they won’t police you and scare you with...