Essex County Co-Op — Local services in Topsfield

I absolutely L O V E this store. My husband cringes when I go because chances are i’ve spent past my budget. :D Ha ha ha! If you’re a bird lover, their selection of feeders and seed is second to none! For gardening, I can’t blab enough about their seed selection. Top quality distributors and quantities for large scale gardening or small. The staff has always been very helpful & informative & when inquirinb about organic alternatives to whatever you may use, they’re happy to direct you to their best offerings or they’ll look into ordering. If you’re also looking for locally made gifts, they also have a great little selection of candles, soaps, unique little toys for kids.... again, a little of everything (including animal feed, canning, boots, etc!) And contrary to other reviewers, they are not expensive. Their prices are comparable to any quality store that carries the same or similar products and by shopping there you’re supporting a small business, not some uncaring, faceless corporate conglomerate. Shop local. Cheers! (P.S. I’m currently not a shareholder but will be in the future because I strongly support these types of...

Very bad experience during my visit. I wanted to buy a small amount of loam to repair my lawn. They first sold it to me, then when I went to pick it up, the Bulldozer driver told me that it is illegal for him to put half yard of loam on the side so that I can pick it up. I went back to the store and they told me that it is a liability issue for them as I might hurt myself when putting the loam in bags and loading it into my SUV. This is when people were loading bags of garden soil into their cars. Very strange. Fortunately, there are alternatives nearby: Dawson ACE hardware store at Topsfield center, Tractor Supply Store and Wolf Garden Center at Ipswich further up on Rte 1. They have better selection, better prices and are not as confused...

Great selection of products, very clean but overpriced and (while friendly) staff is hard to find/not proactive in helping. Granted it was chick pick-up day which is madness, but I stood at the brooder for 7 minutes with 4 other people waiting for help. One of the two employees at the register just kept staring at us. No question of we needed help, just took a "well, they will come to me" approach. When someone got frustrated and found someone to help us, they helped him first instead of going by whom had been there the longest. Not the end of the world, but a more proactive customer-centric approach would have been appreciated. Will definitely return, just with better managed...