CentrePeace — Local services in Benner Township

A BIG NEED FOR CORRECT PRICING ON OLDER ITEMS AND EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENTS TO ACTING MORE POSITIVE TO THE CUSTOMERS THAT COME IN. The upstairs household items can be, for the most part, priced fairly reasonably, but downstairs furniture is definitely way overpriced. Especially with the condition of some of the items. I think that the person who marks the prices there uses the Internet to help with pricing. Mainly Ebay. However, that person needs to realize that there is a difference between insurance pricing on older items and whether or not it is sellable at that price. They are not the same kind of thing, as I learned recently from an estate sale liquidation specialist. Thus, prices need to reflect what the current Fair Value Market price might be. And that isn't necessarily a price that is put on something by someone on Ebay. One needs to be a specialist in pricing for FMV. For example, if you have an old item at home and your home burnt down, then you have permanently lost that item, which is why it has an insurance value on it. But, if you sold that item on the market, and there are hundreds of those same items out there, or there isn't a demand for that item, then it is going to price for less than an insurance value. It also could price for more, if the demand is high for that item. In other words, prices need to reflect how things are selling overall on the market. Thus, older items need to be priced according to their condition and other additional factors, including the supply & demand for that item. I don't think the person at this place is a specialist that is trained in doing this correctly. I also think some of the workers there need attitude adjustments. I once went in with my daughter and 4 year old grandson, who were from out of town on a very busy day there. For that reason, I had to park on the left side of the building from the front. There is a door there that had no sign on it and I thought it was one of the entrances, so we went in. All we saw as a hallway with a bunch of closed doors and two very nice bathroom doors for men and women, with a water fountain. My grandson got a drink from the water fountain. And then we went through the door that went into the main floor where the furniture was. My daughter was behind me and when she went through, a woman had popped out of one of the hallway doors and yelled at her, asking why she was back there and told her she wasn't supposed to be back there. Later on, as we checked out, the volunteer who was the cashier that day was having issues with the credit card machine. She kept trying to call a woman from that back area to help her, but couldn't get a hold of her. I could tell she was very angry with the woman, as she was quite verbal about it and frustrated. She called the man that works there and couldn't get a hold of him. He finally showed up and the volunteer said something to him about how she couldn't reach "her" from the back. So, there is some animosity in this place. I also let the cashier know that I was not happy with someone yelling at my daughter for walking in from the side. The cashier said there was usually a sign on the door and I let her know there was no sign. I guess I also am not happy that there are much better bathrooms downstairs (a man and woman's bathroom to boot), with a water fountain, and they make customers go all the way upstairs to use the one there. With the office doors all closed in that hallway, there is no reason why customers couldn't use that side door or use the bathrooms down there, either, instead of having to use the elevator to go up the stairs to use the one bathroom there is for both men and women and where one would have to wait if it is being used. I don't know who the manager is of that place, but I believe there needs to be some changes made so it can seem more like a Center that is for Peace - giving an example to the inmates that are working there - as well as charity to others, instead of one that is in a disarray and full of...

This place gets worse every time I go in. I can say on a positive note that they did move to a bigger building which is nice considering all the stuff they have. HOWEVER they are way over pricing their merchandise, especially considering the stuff is donated to them. The people working there are just rude and I don't mean the "prayer mates" I mean the everyday people working there. Went in trying to look at the appliances in the appliance room a rather large women was blocking the pathway cleaning a microwave. We politely asked her to excuse us so we could get to the back of the room she got nasty with us. Unfortunately there was only one way back out of the back room which was through her again and the second time she got even nastier with us. We went to see the new building after they moved looked around downstairs, decided to go upstairs there was NO signs saying the upstairs wasn't open yet, but sure enough once we got up there three women come over barking at us to get out and leave because the upstairs wasn't open to the public yet and we had no right being there. I am in my thirties my mother in her fifties. The way we were treated was rude and uncalled for. Quite frankly I have no intentions of going back to this place nor do I recommend it to anyone else. If you want cheap furniture look online or go to yard sales. The high prices and rude staff don't make this place...

Centre Peace is a large, two story thrift/retail shop that specializes in furniture (mostly indoor but a few outdoor pieces), and housewares. Not long ago they expanded into a modern two story building. Proceeds from the store go to supporting families and inmates within the criminal justice system and programming at local prison (conflict resolution, etc). The prices are very very low and reasonable on almost everything.

The best deals, in my opinion, are on the second floor in the housewares section (dishes, small appliances, pots and pans, picture frames)--you can find sturdy quality stuff that will last you 10X longer than the Dollar Store and is probably cheaper than the dollar store.

They also have various monthly specials (i.e. 50% off all lighting) as well as a pretty comprehensive selection of Christmas and seasonal items which they'll bring out in November.

Parking is easy, and there's usually folks there who can help you lift/load any large pieces of furniture you buy. They're also good about holding purchases for a week or so should you need to come back with a...