NLB Thrift Store & Donation Center - Woodstock — Local services in Woodstock

This is a review close to my heart that I am conflicted writing. I started coming here YEARS ago & regret I didn’t write a review when I was in a more positive headspace w/this establishment. Let me first say this is one of THE MOST clean, well organized, fair priced thrift shops I frequent…& I know them all within a 25 mile radius. They have a very interesting variety of items…many small European trinkets/fabrics, etc as well as clothes & furniture. Their mission is close to my heart as well bc as someone who specializes in addiction medicine, I am well aware of the urgency upon us to take all necessary steps to help those who suffer & the families who suffer alongside them. #WeDoRecover I have been happy to support this establishment for many years but I am done after tonight.

•Your store hours are posted on your front door. Most are aware. I understand people get carried away in a store like that and forget about time so gentle reminders make sense to me. What doesn’t make sense to me is receiving a personal update starting at 7:00 pm and continuing every 5 to 10 minutes until 7:50 pm at which point you are basically told to get out. DO YOU CLOSE AT 8:00 PM OR AT 7:55 PM? Does a restaurant with an 8pm closing time yank your plate out from under you at 7:50? Do they give you incessant reminders to chew faster? Do they let you know you are hampering their leaving process and to please finish as rapidly as possible? Think on that. Obviously, there are differences and I understand that but hopefully my point is clear. I want to mention their ancillary staff because they are kind hearted men and women. The young lady who helped me tonight was very helpful and graceful. You sir, are a tyrant. I work & I am anxious to get home as well. However, I also understand it is rude and obnoxious to remind people continuously of a time that they are already likely aware of. I got so pissed off tonight that I left all of my things just to get out before I opened my mouth & said something I’d regret. However, it is important to me to let you know how I’ve felt many times over many years and that is: rushed, frazzled, pocket-watched & entirely uncomfortable. Tonight crossed all boundaries with me & it was just total exasperation, borderline embarrassment/humiliation at being spoken to like a toddler, and intolerance.Therefore, tonight was my last trip to NLB. I don’t expect my absence to affect you in any way shape or form, but I hope I’ve made my feelings clear. To you, “sir”…I don’t know if you are the owner or the manager or what?! (older tall gentleman who does all the “you ain’t gotta go home, but you can’t stay here“ BS….your sly, sideways remarks are unnecessary. I had $70 worth of items I was about to purchase at 7:53 PM. Instead, your comments about how I should’ve checked out and been out the door already, infuriated me. You don’t need my money & I don’t need you. Your attitude has reeked of arrogance as long as I’ve come there and your consistent displays of silly “authority” are beyond off-putting. I hope other people read this because I know I’m not the only one to feel this way. I watched several other people TONIGHT walk out of there with that same exasperated look on their face after they had been told five times that U were closing in the next few minutes. You’re rude. Maybe reconsider your business strategy for the closing process so that customers do not feel so small. After all, you exist because of us. The $70 I was going to spend was obviously nothing to you, neither is it to me to go spend it somewhere else. I hope you made it home safely and on time.

Side note ** Pls save any disingenuous, condescending remarks u may offer. I’ve given this place so many chances as far as that behavior goes. I’ve sucked it up. I’ve never said anything and tonight was just the end of it. Just think on all that maybe. Best of...

Been going since they opened and always loved going because Wednesday is senior discount day, so I would go every Wednesday for years. Recently everything was changed around. Nothing wrong with change, so I adjusted, even though they took the color tag clothing sales away and crammed all the clothing upstairs and it's impossible to get down the aisle and you literally become trapped in the middle if other people are looking as well. I just decided to make the best of the situation each time because I've enjoyed this store so much over the years. I noticed immediately that the staff all seemed to have an attitude and just overall mad because they gotta be there, again still trying to adapt, but this last time......was the last straw. I approached the glass case at the register and was looking at a bottle of perfume or cologne. I couldn't tell if it was men or women's. I asked the lady behind the counter if it was perfume or cologne and she looked at me and just started shaking her head as if I had just asked her the most absurd question ever and like how in the hell should she know. When she finally gets over her initial shock she says, I have no idea and kept looking at something else, so I asked....oh I'm sorry...do you not work here? She responded with yeah I work here, and gets the bottle out of the case, doesn't look at it and sits it down in front of me and walks away, clearly annoyed. I was the only one at the counter at the time. So I decided to purchase the what I now know is perfume, and purchasing it was no better, met with same attitude. I'm done with the hateful workers in there, that was the last straw. I'm sad because that was the highlight of my week but they had to go and change everything and hire a staff of hateful workers who don't want to be there. Farewell to the good ole days of NLB when Craig was still there! They are doing to much and ruined a good thing....

I want to support this cause /store BUT recently August 2025 I purchased 2 items tagged as sterling silver and one tagged as antique sterling. Nope! Got them home and all 3 were thinly silver plated over alloy. Whoever is tagging the stuff in the case DOESN'T know diddly squat about metals. They must just be be looking at the stamps stand going off that. Deff inaccurate as there's so much stamped that's not real. Extremely annoyed that I paid so much for throw away stuff that as soon as I got home and deep cleaned were revealed as plated. The allow under metal began to show through and is now litteraly garbage. My entire family donates a lot here but now that I know they mismark items to upcharge or they flat out just don't have a clue in any case we will look for another shop to take...