Amvets Thrift Store

This place is a dump! I think they hired someone to price over EBay prices. Could not find anything that I would take for free, it’s that bad!

Love this place! They have awesome stuff. The staff is always helpful and kind. They have good sales almost everyday of the week.

Just wanted to stop in and take a look and I must say I was not impressed! The store is dirty and all the items were dirty. I honestly thought there was nothing worth buying there! If you go to a thrift store check out Goodwill in Santee it’s pretty nice!

This store is not bad but not great either. Parking is convenient and they have plenty of shopping carts. The prices are kind of high for the quality of the items. They staple the clothing instead of the labels so they put holes in there clothes. Not good. Kind of shady neighborhood.

Ladies and gentlemen the rules have changed all thanks to the people who decide to cheat and get an even lower price then it already is. From now on if it doesn’t have a price they won’t «price» it for you right then and there at the register. Now you gotta wait the next day and hope you get it before someone else does lol. Still love this store and their discounts. For every dollar you spend you get a point, get to 100 you get a $ 10 credit

I used to enjoy coming here. They had SOME good finds, if you dig. I can find more good stuff at Rock Thrift, Goodwill and Plato’s Closet, but my full time job involves helping veterans, so I like the cause.
I went yesterday to get a drawer set for our guest room and it will be my LAST time here. First issue was some ratchet girl who cut me in line and when I politely pointed it out to her, she said «well, I didn’t see you, so sucks for you» and continued to talk crap about me to the person she was with. That’s ghetto, and the girl at the register didn’t interject, but whatever.
Then, I bring the drawers home, after carrying them all the way up a flight of stairs, and IT’S CRAWLING WITH BUGS. Are you kidding me? That was in my CAR and in my APARTMENT! I hauled it out of there outside my door and used a whole can of bug killer in my new car and in my apartment after vacuuming and doing a load of laundry due to being grossed out.
I called them and asked if I could exchange the item for something not infested with bugs, since I don’t want them to give me the money back since it goes to help veterans. The legit response I got back «Um, yeah, you’re kinda stuck with it.» No sorry, no professional response, no offer to retrieve a manager. I said «Okay, then you will want to tell your manager to tell the guys who bring in donated items to check them thoroughly because that’s disgusting and unacceptable.» The response I get «…okay.» Hangs up.
This store is a horrible excuse for a veterans organization and I will not shop here again. DO NOT buy furniture here, unless you don’t mind bugs and mostly broken items.

Finally a thirt store I can donate to and feel good about who they are serving. Met Justin at a drop location. He’s the real deal. DONATE HERE! AMVETS!

This use to be the place to go to a few years ago but now sad to say it’s gone down hill. the parking lot use to be filled with lines of people waiting to get inside now it’s empty .it’s just not how it used to be back in the day .at first I like some of the changes but the new owners or manager took a great thrift store and tried to turn it into a goodwill and it didn’t work. I use to come here twice a week and now I come here twice a year.

I have been here several times. I have been here in El Cajon for a while now. While I understand that thrift stores are a hit or miss proposition this one is a consistent miss. It is very dirty and not well organized. I found baby furniture for sale with mold on it and the prices are high for what they offer. Many items are beyond there useful life where wear is concerned. Was looking for a crock pot, found several, all looked dirty and overpriced. Clothes are not well sorted and if there were maternity clothes I could not find any. Clerks were not overly helpful and just seem overwhelmed and overworked. With the lack of organization and lack of cleanliness who could blame them? I started out saying 2 stars I have seen better but the truth is, I can’t think of any thrift store I have been in that is worse where cleanliness is concerned.

Always find the best treasures here. Employees are always helpful too!
They have a huge amount of clothing and books.

This use to be the place to find wonderful deals on just about everything. Not anymore since they have changed management. But the one thing that is very off putting is the parents who bring their children in and just let them run wild. I was hit in the ankles by a kid who was pushing the shopping cart and his mother was totally oblivious to it since she was too busy talking on her cell phone. I also had other customers in the store try to take items out of my shopping cart that they wanted but hadn’t bothered to find…
Go to Goodwill in Santee, it is clean and the prices are decent.

[Thank you Amvets workers if you are reading this; every time I visit I’m treated with kindness & respect, and you workers always contribute to the brighter part of my day! So, thanks!]…I live 9 miles away, and the 9 mile trip is always worth going!!! Great thrift store for anything you need or want. PRICES: GOOD!!! MULTIPLE DEALS: EVEN BETTER!!!

I’m sure this is a «hit or miss» place!
Little messy when we were in on 6-​10-​2014
Clothing prices seem to be a little high. Don’t know if they offer any special sales days or senior discounts either?
Staff is friendly and one employee showed my daughter a very cute pair of Van’s she was just putting out on the shelf. We ended up taking them!
Best Of Luck in your adventure to find treasures.

For very limited budget but in need some furniture, adult or kids clothes, records or books, linen, shoes, kitchen tools, this is the place for you. Store is large, bright.

Used to be one if my favs according to price and selection. However the gals that work her are awesome! They love my daughter and well that’s freaking awesome. If I go in and she’s not along with me they always ask about her. That’s great customer service! Thanks team Amvets!

Dirty dusty and made my lungs hurt with my asthma for days after I came here. I seriously felt something was horribly wrong with my lungs. No dressing room and there is only a mirror to try things on and you have to dodge the guys leering at you. At least they dropped some of the ridiculous prices down (that’s why they get one star from me). I remember when everything was$ 4.99 just about even for a plain top. Also I experienced a rude employee and her name was Cherevas and as I was getting out my dollar bills and it wasn’t that long she said «Hurry up we have customers in the back of you, they are gonna think you are here for a reunion» She said it really rude and rolled her eyes as she said it. I won’t be coming back.

Amvets is wonderful; they’re a great organization and their thrift stores are a cut above larger chain thrift stores (I.e. Salvation Army and goodwill)
Amvets offers a huge selection of typical thrift store items: clothing, shoes, furniture, toys, electronics, books videotapes, housewares, bric a brac and even an odd assortment of new things (hello bras and lip gloss)
As mentioned earlier, the store houses a huge array of merchandise. For the most part, the store is organized incredibly well and it’s pretty navigate to and through the section you are looking for. Most of the items are of relative newness and from my experience finding vintage or even really dated clothing is a long shot.
My favorite selection was the book department. Books here are organized by category and the dig isn’t too bad. I found there to be a pretty good selection of books that I’d actually read and best of all, they were ten for a dollar. Can’t beat that!
Prices are hit or miss. I’ve found the clothing to be a bit pricier but most of the items to be very well priced. This Amvets (like many other Amvets) receives a ton of random overstock and although most of the stuff is pretty undesirable, the discounts are deep– and sometimes you get lucky.
The staff at this location (like all the other Amvets I’ve visited) were super upbeat and helpful.
There’s plentiful parking. Also, bring cash!
If you don’t enjoy carousing thrift stores and are looking for a one stop shop you might want to check out this Amvets; there is nothing stellar about this place but it does the job.

Thrift stores are becoming more and more popular.
This is a great one. There is always a treasure to find at a great deal.
Be careful with what you bring in. My daughter’s hat was confiscated once. I had to pay to retrive back :) I am serious. My five year old was crying and manager did not care. However this has become a great story between my daughter s and I .
Yes management is shady and there are suspicious deals wth the regulars or employess. All I have to say about this is I WISH I WAS their FRIEND to be in on it!
The store is clean as thift stores go. DO NOT expect friendly service. THis is not that kind of place. Remember you are going for the deals. New stuff is always coming in.

This place is pretty dirty, and despite being really big, a lot of the stuff they have is really crappy and overpriced. Why would I spend $ 12 on shoes that are worn out and falling apart? I could go half a mile down the road to ten dollar mall or that other $ 10 shoe store and get a brand new pair for less.
I LOVE thrifting, and I’m not especially particular about clean and fancy a thrift store is. But this place is yucky.

This is not my first time at this store. I would love to tell you that this is the cleanest Thrift Store I have even been to. The lines are never too long and they have great deals. It is very clear that they understand the idea of a Thrift Store. Their prices are always very reasonable and never over priced from what I have noticed. I came back today to look for some cool things for my Grandson. I left here today with a small outside lounge chair ($ 2.95) for Hummingbird Watching and a pair of roller skates ($ 12.00) that were high quality. I also found a really nice shoe stretching mechanism for $ 2.95. I came here a month or so ago and found some awesome living room curtains a set of four for the sliding glass door of my home for only $ 19.99. Their employees are very nice and the manager is amazing. I don’t remember his name but I think he may have been African.
Thank you Amvets!