A network of friends, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a Catholic lay organization that encourages people to join together in spiritual growth by offering person-to-person services to the needy and suffering in the tradition of its founder, Blessed Frederic Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul. Our volunteers serve as advocates for the poor, seeking to discover the root causes of poverty and to remedy its effects.
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What clients say about Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Garden City Park (NY)
Never in my life would I think the furniture we were donating would not have been taken. The driver and refused a raymour and Flanagan sofa chair in MINT condition bc there were a couple stray hairs underneath it? Underneath it! It was in my basement, do you think it’s going to be wrapped in plastic and completely dust free? They also refused a dresser bc of a paint chip. I agree with the other reviews that these drivers are looking for something they can resell and make a profit on and not for furniture for someone in need. Too bad for them because I was prepared to tip them well for their deeds.
Not a good place to shop. The prices are high and the stuff is junky .I walked around the entire store and the front desk associate never greeted me once nor did ANYONE working in the store. They look you dead in the eye and turn around.
An organization having LAZY pick up drivers with no personality looking for excuses NOT to take certain items. They are only seeking near perfect donated furniture to flip for profit.
Any very good condition furniture, that may have a stain or minor scratch, won't qualify. This leads me to strongly believe any items they accept are getting resold and NOT donated to a family in need.
SHAME on your organization for using a Saints name to gain profits over charity!
Horrible experience!!!!
We had two beautiful (expensive, like new) glass desks with metal bases for donation. In addition we had a glass tv stand also in perfect condition. These pieces were in a spare room and never used. They refused pick up and called them “ikea furniture” despite neither being from ikea. They told us at time of pick up, not on the phone when I scheduled that they only basically accept expensive, wood furniture. This would have been nice to know before we wrapped it in bubble wrap for easy transport and lugged it out on our porch.
I used to go to this place when I was younger with my mom. She used to buy so many pieces of furniture. The prices were unbeatable. There was a different store manager then. Now that i’m older i started to go. The prices was not the best but ok, I guess. That was several years ago. I was considering going today to look for a desk. After reading the comments I won’t even waste my time. The responders to the comments need to stop making excuses and DO better. You guys are really ruining a place of comfort for those in need. $700+ for dishes?? Come on! Who needs St Vincent de Paul when you have Walmart, Target, JC Penny, or Khol’s, etc
We donated a chair that was in very good condition. The manager had to come check it out- he was so unbelievably rude. He acted as if our donation was bothersome and taking up his time. He never even said thank you and just walked away, leaving us wondering if they were even going to take it. The guys at the loading dock were really kind and helpful, I feel terrible they need to work with someone like that. Will be donating elsewhere from now on, the values of the society are definitely lost.
As a dedicated Roman Catholic, I am so disappointed with the society of St. Vincent de Paul. First, they promised to provide burial assistance for my mother because we are low income, family, and have an outstanding balance for the burial. My mother‘s last wishes was to be buried with her husband, who happens to be buried in New York. The chapter in Florida denied the assistance because she was buried with her husband in New York rather than in the state of Florida. She has been a resident of Florida the majority of her life. If there was a word for this type of discrimination, I would expand on the fact , that it does not matter where you are laid to rest, but what matters is that she was part of the Roman Catholic society in Broward County Florida for decades. She should not be punished, and neither should her family be punished by taking back money that was Originally offered a month Contributing to the remaining balance of the burial. Restrictions for the dead and their families should not exist who seen a Roman Cosic organization. It’s shameful. It’s disrespectful. I would never recommend this charity for anyone who is seeking financial assistance because there’s always a catch when it comes to money even with the Catholic Church.
Sometimes there are good deals to be found. It’s a hit or miss if you’re looking for something specific. About the hours, although the hours are 10 am -6 pm, a sign on the door states they lock the doors at 5:50 pm, but they actually lock them at 5:45. The old white-haired Mgr said he would change the sign but he never did. If you live far and just wanted a quick look around, it’s annoying. I don’t know any other business that actually locks its doors 15 minutes before the posted closing time.
Greed has overcome this supposed "Charity". Gaudy prices for USED items. It's not inflation folks, just greed. Someone needs to look into their finances to see where the money truly goes. The snobby manager thinks he's running Tiffany's and acts like he is. The rest of the staff deserve 5 stars - all courteous and helpful.
Dropped off a donation box which contained, among other things, colognes. The man on the loading dock asked what was in the box and insisted I open it. He rummaged through the box, taking out certain items. He put the box to the side and called over another man who opened the cologne boxes, uncapped the bottles and smelled the fragrances, putting some off to the side. I’ve donated here many times and have never experienced anything like what happened today. I WILL NOT be donating here ever again. I’m sorry I didn’t take a video.
Reply to Society of St. Vincent de Paul: Your employees could have told me that colognes weren’t accepted and could have returned them to me. There are many deserving places to donate. To me, SVdP is no longer one of them.
My husband and I (I am Vanessa Pero MD) came in almost at closing time yesterday evening, and were greeted warmly, not at all rushed and in spite of my multiple questions about a variety of items, I was treated with courtesy and patience - and was even directed to areas of the store where particular discounts were being offered! We are usually on the donating end of our transactions, and I wish that I had photos and/or names of the personnel as I cannot praise them highly enough. Actually, the entire staff was wonderful! So donate, make purchases, I am sure that you won't be disappointed with these lovely people!
ZERO STAR please Donate somewhere else The Spanish female with glasses that works at the cashier is rude and uncooperative. She looks unhappy to assist because she ringing up people and have people around her-waiting for her to assist the customers. Which I understand because the rule for this store is so stupid.The keep talking in Spanish you feel like you are in south America.My advise to people is Don't go here or donate to the store.This is like a mirgant shelter.This is New York
The rate this thrift store 1 star because I had a bad customer experience! I come this this store every week and I decided to give a bad rating because of the bad experience I keep getting every time I go there. Here are the following reasons. :(
1)I personally think that it's very stupid that we as customers are not able to look through the bags ourselves when the cashier is present! It is beyond annoying to keep asking the cashier which bags we want to see that are on display behind the register.
2)A female with glasses that works at the cashier is rude and uncooperative. She looks unhappy to assist because she ringing up people and have people around her-waiting for her to assist the customers. Which I understand because the rule for this store is so stupid.
! ! ! ! ! If you guys are worry about theft, ask for our belongings and keep them while we look at items in the store like the NYC thrift stores ! ! ! ! !
3) I came into the store and the cashier was ringing up a customer and had no other customers at the register. I came to the register and !!!!I am the 2nd customer to assist!!!! I waited patiently while she run up the customer. When she was done, she saw that I was waiting at the register. She is suppose to assist me next since I'm the next customer waiting at the register. What she does, she decided to help a gentleman that was looking at furniture that was not even at the register. That was rude and unprofessional. She not considerate of my time and patience at all.
If a customer is ready to pay AT THE REGISTER and then assist them immediately. Otherwise don't have me waiting unfairly.
If I could give zero stars, I would. We decided to donate our love seat and couch, which has a pull out mattress to an organization that would help those in need and may not have the funds to afford new furniture. When we called to schedule the furniture pick up, Charlene Bell was nothing but rude and curt from the beginning. When the men arrived to take the furniture, they immediately said the couch had stains, which it did not and refused to take it. They took the loveseat and while removing it from the house, hit the door frame in the process. So my furniture that was in good shape, was now banged up by the terrible movers. They put the furniture in the truck and just left. When I called to report my experience, Charlene was again rude and hung up on me. A horrible experience all around and not a charitable organization. Please close this store and truly help the people that need it.
If I could give a negative number, I would. I used their delivery service and when they arrived, they made 1 attempt to go through the door, and stopped saying it wouldn’t fit. My husband repeatedly asked to try again, maybe standing up? They said no. Forward to the store, where we asked for a refund for both the sofa + delivery, the manager, Howie, said, since WE CANCELLED ???, I would get a store credit only. We are talking $800
Truly horrible thrift shop. The staff is rude and the prices are insane. They use online prices to justify it but don't understand how online pricing works. Those people list the items high and then they usually sell for much less. For those prices, the store is dingy and dirty! I wouldn't be surprised if there were bedbugs or other nasty critters. It's just heartbreaking to see a RELIGIOUS organization be this greedy and unkind to their community. They should be reported to the church or something. If you're donating, go elsewhere. Your items will be of more use and you'll probably encounter nicer people. If you're shopping, go to literally any other shop. I guarantee you the prices will be better.
This place is ridiculously overpriced. They print out eBay asking prices for items and attach them. They don’t seem to understand that they have to check “sold” listings to get the true value. Save yourself the trip and just buy on ebay then. I picked up an item to buy but nobody came to the register upstairs to check me out, so i left. The Huntington location is better. This one is a joke.
Not the best thrift store in Garden City (or non-profit for that matter); probably ranks the lowest in customer service, variety of clothes, donation intakes, and item prices. I suggest y’all go to The Savers in Garden City and The Salvation Army in Hempstead —- they have more variety, fair prices, and genuinely take in any donations instead of being picky like this thrift store. The woman I talked to was short with me, rude, and not informative about the store. I will not be returning. Please do not support this corrupt organization.
This is not a legitimate thrift store in the traditional sense. The prices are not structured to provide the population they claim to serve access to affordability. They don't actually want used/gently used items. They only accept new/newish furniture that's retail store quality. Think Bassett/Ethan Allen showroom quality or better. They should be upfront about this and amend the language of their "Right to refuse" clause. It wastes our time and wastes gas on their part. When did giving back to those in need become so complicated? Oh that's right, end stage capitalism. Who knew?!
I used to go to St. Vincent’s as well as donate furniture to them. Today I walked in to see everything at insane prices. No joke I saw dishes for $700+. I thought the point of this place was so that people could get good used furniture at an affordable price. It’s more affordable for me to go to target in comparison to St. Vincent’s and at least it’s new when I get it. I can’t express how disappointed I am. I saw a woman walking around like me who looked at this place as somewhere that could help her during this time of insane inflation and she literally started saying to anyone who would listen “I can’t afford anything out there and now I can’t afford anything in here. What am I gonna do?” I’m just so disappointed in St. Vincent’s. I’ll probably return once more a year from now to see if you guys return to your old ways, but if you remain the same i won’t be donating anymore and I won’t be purchasing.
Not a good place to donate items. To picky only want what they want and turn away good quality items. Recently went with new in the box bathroom hardware, puzzles still sealed, other household items and the man looked at the box quickly and said we don't accept those items, you can leave it and I'll throw it out for you. Better off giving to the veterans or Lupus foundation they come and pick up items on scheduled dates and don't turn their noses up to anything. Took my items and the rest of things in my truck and said " with that kind of attitude I'll take it all home and call someone else more deserving.
Disgusting customer service. A blonde lady with glasses and in the basement clothing section the cashier, was targeting my 8 year old for just touching USED items. She seemed
Super racist! She was following him and when I reached there she said I told him three times
Not to touch. How dare she! I left the store on the spot, she has no right to yell at any kid, just for touching. My son was so shocked and scared after we left. NEVER EVER GOING BACK, The prices are ridiculous on the furniture anyways! This place is racist, DONT GO!
My wife and I recently went to the thrift shop to make donations of quality home furnishings and clothing one two separate occasions. The deliveries are received in the rear of the shop where a loading dock is located. The manager of the loading dock is a middle aged man who is rude and lazy. Instead of being greeted with a smile and a kind word, you will be greeted with an attitude which conveys the sense that you are an annoyance and a bother It's ironic that this organization stands for "good will.' It would be nice if their loading dock manager can be taught what "good will" means. I will no longer be making any more donations to this organization.
Very HIGH end thrift Store-- Definitely not a place for folks in need. Great finds-- if you have the time to look! Found a sterling silver Snoopy pendant hiding in plain sight in one of curio cabinets that holds (more than a few) pieces of jewelry.
My husband had a huge amount of quality items to donate after a death in the family. Given that St. Vincent seemed to be the only donation site that would accept furniture day-of along with all our boxes of clothes and shoes, we went with that as the one option we had. Upon arriving from Queens, several pieces of furniture were turned down by the manager for small flaws. I can't imagine that a customer who's not got much money to work with would say "no" to an inexpensive end table just because of a small paint bubble on the top (and whatever profit came from it would be doing good for the greater outreach purposes of St. Vincent). But the manager turned items down for such small flaws.
The manager also-- after my husband had made the long drive from Queens-- denied him entry to go to the bathroom! My husband had just made a huge donation of really worthwhile clothes and shoes along with a whole household of other useful items, and the manager couldn't do him the courtesy of using their bathroom?
All of this struck me as a terribly rude, thankless experience that left us feeling that we should have donated anywhere else but there. It also felt as though there was a racial component to the whole exchange between a Black donor and a white manager.
I know St. Vincent de Paul is a charity that does worthwhile things, but this donation site does not seem to strive to do good based the experience had with the the manager today. It's sad to say. Hopefully anyone reading this will find a more worthy site than this to donate items to in order to help others in need.
We bought bedroom set coffee table side table and desk from here. The headboard of the bedroom set was completely different when delivered from the one shown to us in the store. We did not like the headboard at all. When I had asked in the store to pull out the headboard in the store so that I can see it completely, they said it is tucked behind the furniture so can not be pulled out. And all of sudden I get completely different headboard delivered. The person showing us the furniture ( I think her name was Blanca) seemed so desperate to make a sale, just sold us the whole thing and now they say that the headboard we picked in the store did not even match with the rest of the bedroom set. First of all, we are buying it and will be using it. So we are fine with whatever we pick. Also, if the headboard we picked and was not part of the set , we should have been told so in the store itself that another piece is the part of the set. If we didn’t like it, we wouldn’t have purchased it. I think it was very deceitful of them to put us through the whole hassle just because they wouldn’t deliver what they show you in the store.
Not a great place to donate, they throw very good items out all the time! You will be upset to know your beautiful hand crocheted Grandmothers blanket, in fantastic condition was tossed in the trash! A friend of mine worked there and I saw them throwing lovely new blankets out because they were not in plastic, and they still had the tags on...Know their policies, they are not the way they were 15 years ago giving incredible deals on vintage items. They still have decent prices, but donate to "My Unique" instead, they give to the poor and do not throw as much out, they really take in a lot and have huge discount days.
Neat and well organized store, nice stuff. Manager John was very nice, helpful and friendly. staff was nice too. There was a tough customer but the girl name Ingrid at the register was very polite and patient. she handled is so well that the customer thanked her again and again. it was a nice experience over all.
Oct 30, 2018
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