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March 2025 by Ant Capri
Store was a bin store not really a display. Looks like chaos to me. At one point, they rolled out new bins and had people circle around the new bins and wasn't able to touch anything until the employee said go. Seemed like a power trip and treating people like dogs to eat. Threaten to kick people out if they touch something before she said go. I'm not a fan at this location sorry, as much as I love other goodwill stores, this one is not for me.
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January 2025 by Hannah Lyon
Had a great first experience. When I walked in an employee greeted me and gave me the low down on how things work. Bins switch out every hour or so and basically etiquette is don’t touch until the manager gives the go ahead. Everything was 1.79 a pound and I found 4.5 pounds worth of goodies! Surprisingly there weren’t too many people there. It didn’t feel crowded at least.
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January 2025 by Angela
If you are a timid loner who is fearful of the crazy bins experience rest assured this location offers a more peaceful experience. As someone mentioned what is unfortunate is that if you don’t know about the no touch rule it is not explicitly announced by staff. So just look up what that means at bins if it’s your first time. Otherwise it’s the kind of place that allows for good browsing and it does test your ability to be assertive like trying to find a good time to fit around a bin with a bunch of people. Overall it’s fun and stuff in life stops being fun when you take it too seriously anyways. :-)
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December 2024 by tasheka snipes
Dana is so rude and bad attitude the manger
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November 2024 by Amy Pagnozzi
This Hamden location is better staffed than other Goodwill locations with generally courteous, hardworking employees.
The biggest drawback -- and this applies to all Goodwill outlets -- is that there is no signage listing behavioral rules.
A newcomer would have no idea that you are not allowed to touch or even stand too close to the newly brought out bins of stuff until an employee says Now, or Ready or Go. Some employees voices are heavily accented or overly soft.
Elderly persons or neurodivergent people could easily miss the cue and find themselves at the center of a fracas.
I have watched Goodwill Outlet newbies get screamed at by both employees and regulars for getting too near the new carts (an offense for which a shopper may be permanently banned).
It would be SO easy to just post a sign about this rule and maybe even use red flags or some other easily visible symbol on the carts which might then be removed by the Goodwill employee to signal it's time to shop.
As others have said it is a good idea to wear a mask and vinyl gloves. There is a major cart shortage also so you might consider bringing a giant laundry bag for your finds. (But if you forget you can usually find a big bag or lightweight container to use while you shop)
One thing this location does right is that the by the pound rate remains the same whether you are buying one item or several cartloads. The old way really favored resellers, but why should they receive a better price than a low income person buying items they truly need for personal use?
I'm too old to actually relish the dirty digging it takes to find bargains here, but I still go from time to time because buying used items instead of new means less junk in the landfills. Plus, the older items are the less likely they are made from synthetics.
Thrifting isn't what it was in the sense that twenty years ago you could still find plenty of 100% cotton and 100% wool. More recently, the clothing is overwhemingly the detritus of plastic fast fashion.
On my most recent trip I still managed to find four 100% wool sweaters, a cotton man's shirt, cotton boot cut jeans, a lands end down jacket and two handwoven household storage baskets for $21 and change. (It did take two hours though, and the fact that I am small in stature meant I could find items to fit more easily than a larger person).
Everything needed a good wash and the Aran sweater needed a bit of darning. But given I still have the wool blankets I found here last year, without any further shopping I will stay warm this winter.
Despite the hassle it is still worth it. Especially if you are truly strapped. Even if you have literally no budget for clothing at all you can find one or two items to flip on Facebook Marketplace to finance your entire haul.
Just be aware though that the place is full of flippers who have been doing it for years and are fiercely good at it. As a newbie you are unlikely to generate more than a few extra bucks from the finds they overlook.
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July 2024 by Gabriela Zepeda
Great prices and good stuff
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July 2024 by Angela Sherrill
Always find great stuff here! I frequent this location OFTEN!
but a few things to be aware of, when they are bringing out new carts,u have to wait for them to say " ok " before you can dive right in
The "household" bins can have sharp things so please wear gloves and watch your fingers
The staff are just doing their jobs,
You pay by the pound for clothing and will always get your money's worth!
If your looking for furniture to rehab, this is a great place to look!
Always suggest to wear gloves in general
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June 2024 by Terence McTague
Love to look around for furniture or anything else you could possibly need. JUST DON'T TOUCH THE BINS UNTIL THEY SAY 'ALL SET'!!!!!
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April 2024 by Philip
This place sucks...no carts, on good items
Stores are a little bit better better but not that good
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February 2024 by Steven Ortiz
the bins are full of messy dirty cloths horrible staff members i see reviews to this place and yet nothing has changed there a little kids in here and there boxes of knifes and some on the floor of course i picked it up the staff members are incredibly rude and they treat the customers like garbage. customers have to wait for the staff to get items from the bins. this place is terrible the staff dont really care about there job there just trynna get a buck. this one lady said she was gonna kick me out because i touched the items in the bin without their permission even tho all the bins were together. i told her that i understand i wont touch the bins and she with this other employee just yelling at me causing a sence while im trying to calm the situation down. to be honest there life most be really boring to start yelling at me for touching the bin and all i really did was move a godzilla toy to see what was under it nothing. but the customer are amazing they we’re giving me stuff that i found useful and they were telling the employees are always rude for no reason. if the owners see this dont just write that im sorry for your experience actually do something go to your building and fire the bad employees make rules for it to be less dangerous cause there knifes on the floor while kids are there this is not a safe place to shop with your kids this is not a safe place to shop at all
and this is my experience
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December 2023 by Nicolette Zell
The Depopers and resellers are absolutely terrible. They are like vultures, they are there ALL the time. For the love of god get a real job.
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December 2023 by Kristin Brown
Amazing Deals !!! I could shop this outlet every day. You have to visit at least once.
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November 2023 by trolldan
I guess this is the last stop for Goodwill merchandise that hasn’t sold elsewhere. So if you’re lucky enough to find something you’re looking for, you’ll get a great price. Friendly staff.
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November 2023 by Nano Zell
The Depopers and resellers are absolutely terrible. They are like vultures, they are there ALL the time. For the love of god get a real job.
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November 2023 by Ricardo Galves
They literally acussed me of robing a simple
Bear that I payed and put in the cart
