Goodwill Retail Store and Donation Center

Reviews

• AA

  Amila

  Jun 27, 2026
  3.0
  Store is clean and quiet, but the selection wasn’t that great. The store is small and the stock is low. Women’s clothing was lacking. Largely older women’s clothing, so if you’re a teen-30s it’s really difficult to find much. I’ll be back to check out new inventory, but I left without a single purchase.
• DS

  Desireé Schurter

  Jun 1, 2026
  4.0
  Can be a hit or a miss for finding things. Often, I don't get a big haul from here and if you frequent this location, you'll see a lot of the same items there for a while.
• DR

  David Rader

  May 22, 2026
  5.0
  Well organized, great selection, a bit pricey but still cheaper than new. LOTS of clothes.
• PE

  Paul Eliasson

  May 19, 2026
  1.0
  Donor beware. My experience with Goodwill Industries and their contracted movers, Bulk Brothers, was one of the most frustrating and uncomfortable service experiences I have had and was very much a bait-and-switch. I called Goodwill for donation to the Ellicott City location. Before scheduling, I fully disclosed the condition of the furniture over the phone. I explained there was minor cosmetic wear, an older dresser with press-fit joints, and a bookcase with a repaired shelf. I was specifically told that minor cosmetic wear was acceptable and the items were approved for pickup. However, Goodwill’s process contains a major flaw that consumers should understand before scheduling. While Goodwill will approve and coordinate the pickup, they also disclose that the movers have complete latitude upon arrival to disapprove items for donation and instead convert the appointment into a paid junk haul/recycling service. At that point: - you no longer receive a donation receipt, - the cost increases substantially, - and you are effectively put on the spot in your own home after - - already committing your time and preparing the items. As you can imagine, this process is very loosely controlled and creates a clear financial incentive for movers to reject furniture for donation. They can collect significantly more money through junk hauling, avoid transporting items to Goodwill, and still recover value from usable furniture themselves. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened to me. Items that had already been verbally approved suddenly became “unacceptable” once the movers arrived, and the cost jumped significantly because everything supposedly had to be recycled instead. The operational side of this was also chaotic. My original appointment was rescheduled once without any notification at all. On the actual pickup day, the pickup windows kept changing repeatedly with little regard for my schedule or time. The most inappropriate part of the experience involved tipping. When the Goodwill payment system prompted for tipping through the official app, the movers, part of a business called Bulk Brothers, immediately pressured me to send them money directly through Venmo instead. Being pressured for off-platform payments by two movers standing inside my home was highly inappropriate and extremely unprofessional. No customer should be put in that position. I reached out afterward to Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake multiple times asking them to address the flaws in this process and the conduct of their contractor. I received no meaningful response. This entire experience seriously damaged my trust in both Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake and Bulk Brothers.
• MR

  Megan Rudolph

  Apr 9, 2026
  3.0
  I visited this Goodwill on Wednesday, April 8th, 2026. Overall the Goodwill was okay. One of the things I found surprising was how disorganized the women's clothing was (at least to me). In visiting other Goodwill stores before, usually you can tell what type of clothing the rack is for: women's tank tops, women's sweaters, women's pants, etc.. It felt as if all the racks were completely mixed with different apparel. After digging through a few racks, I wasn't impressed with the pricing either. Other Goodwills that fall under the Chesapeake label have somewhat cheaper pricing. I did notice there was a greater supply of "nice" brands, such as Columbia, J Jill, Ann Taylor. A shoutout to the specific management of this store is that those "nice" branded items didn't have as much of a price increase from the "regular brand" clothing items compared to other Goodwills I have visited. The location of the store being in Ellicott City may contribute to all of the things I just mentioned. The disorganization that I mentioned in the women's clothing section seemed to carry over into other parts of the store, like their books and household items. Now I will say there was not a ton of storage or space for these items to be displayed, but the books were especially unorganized. Several Goodwills I have visited have made attempts at organizing their books by genre, which makes it a much easier and more enjoyable experience for consumers who are browsing. They also did not have much in the way of kitchen items or cookware. However, a big highlight of this store is the furniture quality and pricing. If you need nice quality furniture that looks good on a tight budget, then this Goodwill is the spot for you. I saw multiple tables for sale at $20, couches and chairs fairly priced in good condition, desks for as low as $5. I hope that the store management continues this pricing practice. Finally, another big highlight of this store are the automatic front doors. When you're carrying a lot of items or lugging out furniture, the automatic doors make things so much easier! It also makes this Goodwill very wheelchair accessible.

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