America's Thrift Stores & Donation Center — Local services in Bessemer

I will start off by staying that the young lady that is the assistant manager saved the day. I asked for 2 Halloween lights that had price tags to be taken down so I can purchase them. The young man was all for helping me but the two women who were supposed to be helping were in the office so I knocked on the door. The woman came out told me the lights were not for sale because they were using them in a Halloween picture. I pointed out the price tags so immediately she says another customer was in line for them first. Well they weren't there I was and she called the store manager. She made me out to be some awful woman which I'm far from. I said that was fine I did just what they thought I wouldn't do and called corporate. Everything for sale is donated items and if it has a price tag it cam be purchased per corporate policy. She seriously demanded to speak to the lady from corporate so I put her on speaker and she heard it for herself. So then she decides to violate my rights and get her personal cell phone out and started video recording me. I was still on the phone with corporate and they heard me let her have it that she has no right to record me and to turn it off me immediately. I was still nice and never raised my voice but I let it be known I was not ok with it. The assistant manager comes in and I was so frazzled with being recorded etc I was going to just leave but she listened to me saw the price tags and got the lights down for me. It was never an issue she smiled and apologized for the actions of the woman which as I was checking put that woman comes right over and said I wasn't video recording you I was taking a picture which was a bold faced lie she followed me through the store with it and the light was on. That was freaky enough because who else and what else is she recording. I let it be known I won't be back until she is gone because my daughter was with me who's to say she wasn't some kind of pervert being so quick with the phone... Again the young lady that was the assistant manager should be highly commended for just taking care of the issue unlike the manager and they truly need to look at who is the face of their company! Oh and I posted a pic of the light with the price tag on it so...

Although this place has some good selections. I'm a personal fan of the grab bags for the kitchen, cosmetic bags, office supplies and arts. They are often grossly overpriced for what is being sold and particularly for the manner in which it is acquired ( it's free!).

Charging $14.99 for a pair of men's jeans simply because it's American eagle with the tags on is ridiculous because the tags are on because they were ugly 15 years ago when they were purchased and then discarded to go to the thrift store. I think that the thrift store is supposed to be a institution serving the community in which it resides, it is not supposed to be a means of getting rich. Thus a pair of jeans should be a fixed price for a pair of women's jeans and a fixed price for a pair of men's jeans regardless of brand. That's just my humble opinion.

It's also ridiculous that only clothes are returnable and the staff is surly and unfriendly if not outright rude most of the time. I tried to kill them with kindness but when you ask if they would like you to put your bag behind the counter and they respond with, " that bag needs to go behind the counter!" As though you were trying to sneak by with it not bring it to their attention and put it behind the counter so as not to have any confusion. Then people are just trying to be difficult. I once asked this and then asked to purchase two drinks and a snack right away because my diabetic boyfriend needed something to eat immediately. The woman rolled her eyes and said sure that would be fine, as though she were being put out like no other. I spent $8 off the rip before even shopping and I got the attitude. That's just another day in the life at America's Thrift where the employees think they're better than you because they WORK at the thrift store in which you...

Way too many rows of clothes making it difficult to look around. The pictures I've seen posted here of furniture were not at all the quality of the furniture in this store. The things we looked at were definitely not priced to sell. So high prices for a thrift store, not a very clean organized place, odd items. Such as bags of off brand candy at the cash register that appeared to be melted, mashed bags. Also an unfinished half painted item I took a picture of, am including here, that should have been thrown out but was priced at $2. I don't live in the area so I was just killing time at the Thrift Store. Don't have to worry about going back. But I don't...