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February 2024 by Chaz Allen
Best Resale shop! so cool.Glassware selection is really unique and there are always treasures to find.
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February 2024 by Shah M
I am very sad to write this review as the Green Element has been one of my favorite places to thrift ever since moving to Edgewater back in 2022. I’ve been to this establishment over 20 times in the past two years. The owners know my face very well.Today, I brought my mom and sister visiting from New York City to visit Green Element. Twenty minutes into coming into store and looking at things, an employee and the owner came up to us saying my mom took off tags of a garment. My mom wears a hijab and does not speak English. I asked her if she did anything like that and she said no. At first, I did not think of it as racial profiling but once I demanded the video footage, they told us it wasn’t captured on video because of a “blind spot”. Apparently, the employee saw my mom and sister take off the tags. The employee clearly lied, and assumed it was them who took off the tag. The owners and other employees were very nice and apologized later on but they should not have taken the side of the lying employee at first. This was very disgusting and ruined our entire day.
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January 2024 by Ser L.
I am very sad to write this review as the Green Element has been one of my favorite places to thrift ever since moving to Edgewater back in 2022. I've been to this establishment over 20 times in the past two years. The owners know my face very well. Today, I brought my mom and sister visiting from New York City to visit Green Element. Twenty minutes into coming into store and looking at things, an employee and the owner came up to us saying my mom took off tags of a garment. My mom wears a hijab and does not speak English. I asked her if she did anything like that and she said no. At first, I did not think of it as racial profiling but once I demanded the video footage, they told us it wasn't captured on video because of a "blind spot". Apparently, the employee saw my mom and sister take off the tags. The employee clearly lied, and assumed it was us who took off the tag. The owners and other employees were very nice and apologized later on but they should not have taken the side of the lying employee at first. This was very disgusting and ruined our entire day.
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January 2024 by jeanette jones
Not a good selection of stuff. The wooden furniture is good but many of their chairs and cloth things smell like cat piss. When you go to the back of the store the pissy aroma engulfs your senses. They are not willing to sell majority of items for some reason. The elderly couple at the register are rude and impudent. Maybe I came on a bad day.
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December 2023 by Ryan H.
Avoid. Overpriced waste of time. They source items for free and price them absurdly high.
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December 2023 by FreddyAnz
Great store and prices-helpful friendly staff and they deliver the pieces if necessary at a reasonable rate -same day
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November 2023 by Roxanne Volkmann
The owner and his team are such an incredible part of our community. They are passionate about ensuring recyclable, beautiful items find a loving home rather than be refuse. The staff is from the community and as a whole, this small business gives back into the community and has helped so many families behind the scenes. I bought books for a song that recently came out, and the quality furniture makes me want to revisit my love of refinishing. Thanks Brian and the Green Element team. You are so appreciated!!!
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November 2023 by Larry Svabek
This business is a staple of the Edgewater community--fulfilling the vital work of processes no longer wanted items and finding them new homes. The staff is friendly and helpful. I've found more than one treasure here!
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September 2023 by Naomi Hicks
Great place for clothing. I don't find a gem everytime I go. I do often enough find something great to check out the racks here every few months.
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September 2023 by Nikhita Nalla
A lot of kitchen equipment (slow cookers/blender etc) are pretty overpriced, and they won’t negotiate for poor condition so there’s no real incentive to buy, especially because you can get better pieces at other stores for cheaper. The workers also create a less than friendly, sometimes hostile environment the moment you walk in the store. One lady was asked to check in her drink…what?
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September 2023 by Alex Bruno
If you are ready to pay for your items, do it before 6:59p otherwise you have to return the next day to get it. Even if you already have the money in hands by the register. So grumpy the guy from the front desk. Is a reason that I like more the brown elephant or out of closet, they are very friendly employees
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August 2023 by Matt Morrison
I really like the selection- tons of stuff in every category imaginable. Racks and racks of clothes, tons of smaller furniture, lots of glassware and dishes. A digger’s paradise. I’m less than thrilled with their pricing of some-not all- types of goods. For example, they always have the Anchor Hocking glass casserole bakers-the ones with a lid. Which are ultra common and go for $2-3 most places. Here it’ll cost you $10-12 consistently.Their furniture is also quite costly- I don’t think I’ve seen a single piece for less than $40. So I avoid buying bakeware, small kitchen appliances and furniture here because it’s overpriced. There’s also a $10 minimum to use a card, and I never use cash.A great place for dishes, glasses, home decor items and kitchen utensils. Just be aware that some things are over valued.
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August 2023 by S Hadzo
The old man at the front desk is bad for business. We donated here numerous times. Recently, my wife walked in to look for something, and the old man told her to leave her backpack at the counter. The thing is that this so-called backpack is so tiny it can barely fit her wallet, keys, sunglasses, and phone. She told him she doesn't feel comfortable leaving it at the counter. He told her that she must leave then, which she did. Now, we are moving out of the neighborhood and have a LOT of stuff to donate, but I don't want to come back here and need to look for other places to donate.
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June 2023 by Matthew Dominguez
Expect a measly $250,000.00 salary as an employee working for Greed Element ...a humble little nonprofitYour donation helps the environment ...'or was that; deception'?A percentage of the profit goes toward helping...blah blah blah ....We don't tell you that...[ .... it Reduces our taxable proceeds hahaha...]Paying Higher salaries means higher operating costs...which eats away from net profit.Less profits mean less has to go toward any actual charitable causeBecause;....To remain a humble lowly non profitA minimum of 5 % percent of proceeds after taxes and costs has to fund charitable causes.So we increase business costs to decrease the bottom line of a balance sheet.That's just credit /debit sales.The Cash sales are put in a shoebox everynight that's as big as monster boat (registered to aunt whatsername). She uses to pay for a monster boat. minus 10% we think to keep the IRS away.
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May 2023 by Keeley Shoup
This place is an absolute treasure trove!!! It's one of my favorite thrift stores in Chicago. There's always something new.This place is packed so I could walk in 5 times in one day and see something new each time. The furniture is priced a bit higher than traditional thrifting prices, but most other things are a bargain. They also resell things like used craft supplies, office supplies, old photographs, anything possible. It's great for finding props for shoes or costumes. You need something weird and don't know where to get it? Try here first.
