Goodwill Bins in Vancouver

"My fiance and I love driving down to go to the bins and have found a lot of great deals. We also donate a lot to Goodwill Industries. However, the pricing inconsistencies on heavy furniture items and poor customer service has negatively impacted our experience. Yesterday, when checking out I had two heavier items that I brought to the younger female cashiers attention (with brunette hair) that was checking us out. Both items did not have a sticker price on them but definitely should have because they were both found in the seperate furniture section. The first item was was a used beat up walmart skateboard my son wanted with loose wheels and the second heavy metal foot stool with white velvet top. My fiancé went up to the cashier before me because he only had a small plastic tote filled with some misc toys and electrical cords. She was plesant with him and let him seperate the electrical items and even pulled out one of the a toys he had and started looking at it and commented that it was cool because it was real lego and was plesant with him. However, when it was my turn her demeanor changed and she did not say a single word to me. When I let her know that I had a couple heavy items that were found in the furniture section that I believe should be marked but I couldn't find a price sticker, her response was "should have been marked, and marked are two totally different things and if it doesn't have a price sticker than it doesn't matter if it's a heavy item because it will just be counted as regular weight." After her response, I politely asked her weigh the footstool just by itself so I could decide at the over 25lbs discounted rate since I knew I likely had met the over the 25lbs threshold since my cart was pretty full. The cashier then weighed the of the foot stool and the price for the footstool was a little over $10 (even with the weight discount for buying over 25lb). I let her know I did not want to purchase it due to how heavy the item was and she rudely told me I could just return it to the bin where I got it which would be all the way across the store. I just set it down by the register in an open space because the line behind me was so long and would require me squeezing through all the people with their carts with my disabled autism adult son which would be incredibly challenging so I just let her know that I would be leaving it down in the open space. After checking out, I was was still in shock that the foot stool I passed on for a customer just wanting to buy just the foot stool be closer to $20 (if they did not have over 25lbs for the discounted rate) which is incredibly inconsistent with their other furniture prices considering they have solid wood tables for $10 and solid wood oak chairs priced between $4-6 and a heavy duty iron pendulum I picked up from that section that was priced at $4. I was debating on writing this review because I didn't want to be a "karen." However, I am hoping that my review can help management make some changes to policy because at the end of the days these items are donated by people (like myself ) in hopes that my donated items can be upcycled to a new home at a reasonable and affordable price. Based on the cashiers response, I do believe that not calling a manager or supervisor to take a look most likely is just part of their new policy and likely not personal. It is unfortunate that cashiers cannot be trusted to use their own professional judgement to price heavy donated items. I definitely think upper management should reconsider this policy."

"This is one of my favorite places to go! Even if I'm not looking for anything in particular I always find treasures in the bins. It might take some digging, but there are some near-new stuff in there. Yes, it's got a funky smell at times, and there's legit junk, but it's mostly salvageable. Be careful digging because I've come away with some decent cuts on my hands from sharp stuff like broken glass or pieces of metal or plastic. Gloves are recommended."

"I shop here when ever I'm in the area. Lots of fun to dig through the bins, looking for little treasures. Almost everything is pay by pound, can usually find seriously good deals on large assortment of random items, like (alot of brand new looking & brand name) clothing/shoes for adults & children, electronics, craft/sewing supplies, paper products, books, containers, and much more. Staff mostly helpful & enthusiastic, store clean and bright. I always leave with full cart & a smile. :) Highly recommend!"

"I always go to the Milwaukie bins but I discovered this place while running errands when I was spending a day in Vancouver and WOW. I was so pleasantly surprised. If you like to dig, this place is a real treasure! Well worth the drive for me. I can't wait to return again."