Buffalo Exchange — Local services in Portland

If you are a shopper at this location, it is a good source of lightly used clothing, shoes, and accessories at alright (but definitely not low) prices. If you are attempting to SELL any items here, do yourself a favor and walk across the street for a beer. It's a much better and less stressful use of your time. I went to this location to try (keyword: TRY) to sell a few pairs of Dansko shoes.

I stood in line for nearly half an hour while two bored-looking employees gossiped and leisurely browsed through bags of clothing that the people at the front of the line brought in. It seriously took them five minutes to unpack two articles of clothing at a time. During this process, they would stop to check their phones, talk to each other, but never talk to the customer or even make eye contact. When it was finally my turn, they unpacked all the shoes and said they were in great condition, wanted to buy them from me, and offered $13.00 a pair. I was shocked. Dansko shoes retail at $150 per pair, I was prepared to accept at least $50 for each pair, but offering a fraction of even my lowest price was like a slap in the face. The employee assisting me waited until all my shoes were sprawled across the desk to inform me that they only pay 30% of the original price of the item or 50% in trade. Then proceeded to tell me outright that they planned on selling the shoes in their store for triple the price they were offering me. I grabbed all my items and got out of there as quickly as I could.

Every customer in that long line had similar frustrating and unprofessional experiences. A woman ahead of me waited with her sleepy toddler for twenty minutes just for an employee with scary eyebrows to tell her "we can't take any of this" and throw her entire bag in the donation cart.

To be more efficient, Buffalo Exchange on Hawthorne needs to be proactive and train their employees to be quicker and more polite to the customers that are making their jobs possible. I will never return to sell items there, and it frustrated me so much that I don't want to shop there ever again. I don't like writing negative reviews because it seems like a waste of energy, but I think people need to be warned about how difficult and aggravating the process is if they are trying to sell. Just post your stuff on Facebook Marketplace. Save yourself...

If i could rate them a zero, I would. These judge-y AF people basically steal. Now, Ive worked in a lot of retail, including buy/sell/trade and consignment situations, so I really do understand what goes into it. While, personally, I believe 25% cash (or 50% if in store credit - which seems fair) is a bit low, i firmly respect a stores ability to name their number and understand that process. However, I recently brought in a larger amount of clothing as a "hail mary" to see if I could make some cash before donating the rest. I had a rather rude interaction while asking if I should bring it all inside, i had a decent yet very uninformed interaction while setting up an account (long time shopper, first timer trader), and then had an almost non-existent, completely dismissive interaction when coming back to pick up unwanted items and cash. I brought in over 10 storage bins of items. I was paid $8 dollars. I brought, what i assumed was all those bins back outside, and assumed they had taken a few (up to ten, maybe?) things, and given the rest back. A bummer? Yes. But they get to decide. It wasnt until later in the evening i looked back. I was down three storage bin/totes. Buffalo exchange had taken 3 large plastic storage bins worth of things, plus the bins themselves, and paid me $8 dollars. Hoping if they didnt speak to me and made me feel in a rush and in the way that i wouldn't notice. And it worked! Everyone is rude. They are basically thieves. And the merchandise on the floor is never good enough for me to justify or tolerate being treated this way. Maybe Ill go back, find the items, do some math, and we'll see what that 25% should have looked like. Not to mention the storage bins. Those were just plain mine. Way to take advantage. Way to be too cool to be operate under any kindness or decency. News flash, youre a hipster in a hipster world (not even the good kind), and your parents still aren't...

I’m a very loyal customer & have been buying/trading primarily at this Buffalo for 20 years now. I even worked at the downtown location in college as a buyer for a year.

I usually make my way out to the Hawthorne location once a month to trade. This is how I get new clothes in my wardrobe primarily. I can’t tell you how many customers I have referred; even going through my friends items to help the buyers not have to look through things they would definitely not buy bc of condition.

For once I made it twice in a month & was thrown out of both stores just bc Christina put a hold on my account.

Last time I saw her she asked me why I had so many dresses, profiling me as a trans person (I am a very obvious trans masculine person). Offended & shocked, I just said the truth at the time — I bought for a tiny vintage boutique in Sellwood. Like I had a small rack that’s half of a wall.

She then told me I can only come in on Thursdays at a specific time window when I’m working.

So I came on a Friday again bc that’s my day off. I had two (not huge) totes of good, new items to sell, mostly from my personal wardrobe.

Got up to the counter finally & was shamed by Christina saying they couldn’t buy from me that day. I explained I actually have left my buying position at the boutique & she still wouldn’t help me.

When I went to the downtown location after I found she had called them to warn them of me. I pleaded my case, explaining I actually don’t buy any longer — I was still seen the door after one of the managers said they’d “call the regional manager & look into it.” Which I’ll believe when I see it happen.

I was treated like a criminal so unjustly.

This isn’t an issue of time as Christina says. This is unjust elitism. This is...