Stuff Etc — Local services in Ankeny

I have been consigning to Stuff Ankeny going on two years now and appreciate the service, recycling unwanted or unused items. I do find it very hit and miss for wait time when I bring in items for a bin, but this has never bothered me. It was my recent visit that lead me to post this review and give a rating of 2 (and actually most people reading this might find that generous…). I actually read through their newsletters and keep track of calendar dates so that I am not wasting anyone’s time bringing in off season items when they aren’t being accepted, which lead to the problem.

I received the emailed newsletter from “hi, it’s stuff etc, ankeny” dated December 23 and read through it specifically searching for the calendar dates for accepting summer items which I had set aside. I noticed on the calendar January 2 “now accepting spring and summer items.” I had some non seasonal items as well I wanted to consign so I took in a box on January 2 with some office items as well as summer items (mostly workout shorts & tank tops). The young woman began filling the allowed bin with the office supplies and added as many summer clothing items as would fit. When the bin was filled she told me “please bring back the additional items tomorrow as they won’t fit today.”

I went back the next day (January 3) with the remaining summer clothing items and was told by the woman there (a different young woman but one I have dealt with before) that they are not accepting summer items until March 1. I mentioned that I had been in the day prior and summer items were accepted then and I was told to come back to bring the rest the next day. I also pulled up the email which showed their calendar of important dates with January 2 “now accepting spring and summer items” and pointed it out to her. She actually argued with me and said although it says Ankeny, corporate sends out those emails. Then in an effort to prove her point, asked me to scroll to March 1 where she said it would say “first day to accept summer items”. It did not… she said the calendar was wrong and should say summer items beginning March 1. I did point out that there is a note on March 4 that says “now would be the perfect time to consign all things summer”… very different than “this is when we begin accepting summer items” it seems more a reminder that summer is being accepted.

I was quite frustrated at this point and told her it seems they need to send something out to get things corrected if they don’t accept until March 1 so that people aren’t wasting their time; and as a courtesy because of what I had been told and the email information they sent out and I showed her… should do the RIGHT thing and honor it - admitting their mistake rather than arguing with a customer.

I actually read the newsletters and totally wasted my afternoon driving 30 minutes (each way) then waiting my turn (about 15 minutes) to drop off summer items which I had been told one day prior to bring back the next day because the bin was full… AND this woman said she wouldn’t take them because they aren’t accepting summer until March 1… and after I showed her their email, she continued to argue with me and was rude about it. Totally unacceptable situation on their end.

The photos I included are 1) a portion of the newsletter received which gives dates closed mentioning Ankeny and has a tab to select with”important dates”. 2) the first section of the important dates calendar shoeing where Jan 2 states “now accepting spring and summer” 3) the next section of the calendar with no March 1 post about “now accepting summer” but shows March 4 “now is the perfect time to consign all...

I am so disappointed by recent consignment with Stuff Store. I have been there since the inception of this store and used to have excellent experiences. A few years have gone by and I decided to use them again - instead of many other avenues. My items were taken in and put in a container. Weeks later, they still hadn’t been priced and emailed to me. Was told a manger would call the next day. Nothing. A week later called again. Was told they were priced but not linked to my account. Fixed that. Still weeks later, I get an email telling me my items were going on the floor. A week later - “JUST” in time for their JULY CLEARANCE SALE! Yep! My items hadn’t been on the floor to sell until the sale. So, I did not get 40% of the sales. I got maybe 20%. I basically boosted their racks, just in time for the sale and that is that! Got hung up on twice by their staff on Saturday,, August 2. Called a third time (and yes, I have all of their names) and told the clerk all I wanted to do was voice my disappointment. But, even my gratitude and spoken loyalty got me hung up on twice and a third clerk who was condescending at best. I trusted them to help me replace name brand clothing items to purchase new items that fit. There are a ton of other consignment places just in this town! So, I will never, ever take anything to this store in the future, nor will I ever shop there again. A garage sale at my home, even with the labor and time of setup, would have yielded better results. Hard lesson to learn.

UPDATE: I’ve attempted to call Sara, Owner of Stuff Store, as she requested in her response to my review. (I was nervous to call. I’m still not sure what we would accomplish in the call. However, I did appreciate Sara’s willingness to speak to me.) Both times it rang and rang and then disconnected - stating the call had failed. I would call the local store number, but that was part of the nightmare that created the negative review. I will try again on Monday. This update is from 8/15/2025.

UPDATE NO. 2: it is 9/5/25. Went back into my Stuff Store account after not being able to contact Sara - Owner of Ankeny store. I had to make sure I had used the correct telephone number she had posted. Yep. Just tried again, almost a month later - rings and rings and then says CALL FAILED on the screen and disconnects. Truth is, if she really cared about how her employees treated me (hung up on me three times in a row, 3 different employees…not once did I raise my voice) and the fault of her staff by losing my tote until RIGHT BEFORE their summer clearance sale, she could have looked up my name on her end - found my telephone number and CONTACTED ME. Sure, prices are nice when you’re the shopper. BUT, BEWARE IF YOU CONSIGN WITH THEM! If they act this shady with customers calling the store, what is stopping them from being dishonest about how they manage the items they sell for you? I am in total shock, still, by how I was treated. They listed my 23 items and showed a pending payout of $175.60. But, because I my tote was lost until THE DAY OF THEIR CLEARANCE SALE, my profit was $41.01!...

I love this store so much and I intend to continue to begrudgingly consign and shop there, but I constantly leave that store frustrated because of how poor their customer service is, particularly at the consignment desk. I frequently walk up to the desk and have to wait 2-3 minutes for the staff at the desk to finish their conversation before I'm even acknowledged. Consigners are treated like a bueden, almost like they're irritated that we're there, when we're the ones providing the inventory to fund their paychecks! I worked retail for 8 years and that would NEVER have been acceptable. A simple smile or an "I'll be right with you" would go a long way towards leaving a better impression with consigners and customers alike. Customers tend to get impatient when they are being ignored.

It's a problem on the shopper side too. I was in the middle of checking out last week and one of the other employees walked over, interrupted the cashier while she was speaking with me, and had a long unrelated conversation that could have waited two minutes for me to check out. To the cashier's credit, she looked supremely uncomfortable at how the other employee was forcing her to ignore me in the middle of a transaction.

I love the concept of the store - secondhand shopping is environmentally friendly and better for the bank account - but this store would benefit from getting back to customer service basics so their customers (and consigners) don't leave...