Uptown Cheapskate Lake Forest — Local services in Lake Forest

I only give this place one star because as someone who works retail and hardly comes by enough hours and pay to live off comfortably, the clothing is reasonably priced to shop. As far as the shopping experience though, I have never come across an employee who was genuinely helpful. They are rude or make me feel less than and unimportant which as a retail worker I feel is not the standard of service that anyone should receive ever. A retail worker is not your maid or your servant, however, they should still act as though they have some respect for you as a person especially if you treat them with respect. I don't feel respected here as a shopper. As far as selling goes, I give 0 stars. Last time I tried to sell a few years ago I was told my stuff was too old, not trendy enough. Granted they weren't wrong because although I am in my early twenties I have always preferred vintage styles but the service again was bad. I recently tried again with newer somewhat trendier items that were gently used, I had three full bags, and they took nothing. Told me they weren't taking sweaters at this time and that certain nicer fabrics they also weren't taking (I had also dresses and shirts and pants and gently used shoes and accessories, almost a full walk in closet worth of outfit choices that all my friends would take off my hands if they were the same size yet they found nothing... Okay, sure...). Upon lugging my bags out the door I noticed difficulty with items spilling out because they just threw things back into the bags carelessly. I sold some things at Buffalo Exchange and not only were they friendly and took the said fabrics that Uptown refused to take but they also were kind enough to take the time to attempt to refold items and place them into the bags nicely even though they had a line out the door. If you have things to sell, I recommend taking the drive to Costa Mesa because the service is better and you'll most likely make money. I was disappointed that I wasted my time and the few times I have been to Uptown I have always left extremely disappointed wether buying or selling. I don't understand how they have stayed in business honestly. I never write a bad review but I feel others should be aware of what they are getting into with this place before they decide for themselves if it's worth their...

I’m really confused with this store. I brought in a bin full of clothing and accessories to sell and 2 bags full of clothing from my daughter. They went through my daughter’s bags and not mine. They told me to look around because it will take 20 mins. When they called my name, I’m surprised that they did not go through my bin at all. Everything was arranged the same way as it was given to them. I asked them if they went through it and they said yes. But I know they didn’t, because it will take a while to go through it. In any case, It was full of gently used brand name clothes. Too bad, in the bin I have gently worn dresses from Calvin Klein, Banana Republic pants, shorts and skirt, Tahari skirt that still has a tag on it. I also have Express Jeans, Express dress, Express leather jacket and many more. Not including a Dooney and Bourke Purse, Forever 21 purse (still tag on it), Forever 21 shoes (never worn). But then again when I was looking around the store the only brand names they have are Brandi Melville and Forever 21 clothing. The shoe brands they have are mostly Qpids brands (never heard of it) they are all booties of every style and some Converse. So the store is really geared for teenagers. They are trying to be Brandi Meville store that’s why they went through my daughter’s bags and not mine. My clothes are geared towards women with known name brands. In any case, I’m glad they didn’t take it because I can probably sell it online for more. I don’t think I will shop here because it’s not my style. I’m 46 yrs old and not 16. For what it’s worth, it’s too expensive for used Brandi Melville clothing. The price difference between a new Brandi and an old Brandi clothing are very minimal. I’d rather go to the real Brandi Melville store for my daughter. It’s not worth selling or buying here. Not to mention, there is a certain smell in the store. Old clothes smell that has not...

Went to their fill a bag for $25 today and wanted to share my experience.

I’d recommend being there a little bit before it opens because a small line does form.

Things to note: -I think they said this was for charity which is nice! -You have to buy the bag first and then you can go fill it up (I thought it was the other way around) which means you don’t know what you’re gonna get before you pay. I personally didn’t like doing it like this because I didn’t find enough stuff to fill my bag and had I had the chance to look through I probably would not have bought a bag -The items that are part of this promotion are basically items that didn’t sell in their clearance section (they all have tags with $3 and $5 on them, maybe other ones but I couldn’t remember) -The promotion is not for items inside the store, they basically have bins outside and tables with the items up for grabs -A lot of the items are women and there’s a good variety of sizes (they aren’t sorted by sizes, gender, type, etc. so you’ll have to do some digging -Majority of the items I saw were fast fashion - SHEIN, Forever, HM, etc. I did see some brands like lululemon but it was more than gently used

I also went inside to shop for a bit and the items were a bit pricier but I understand that they buy these clothes so there has to be some profit margins.

Takeaway, I didn’t think the $25 bags were worth it considering the quality of clothes weren’t what I was looking for. If they allowed us to look through first and then pay for the bag after, I would definitely give it another try. Again, this is for charity which I...