Barnardo's - Sutton Coldfield

Barnardo's Thrift Store: A Comprehensive Guide to the Sutton Coldfield Branch

Barnardo's, a renowned charity dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable children and young people, operates a thrift store in the heart of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham. This comprehensive guide will delve into the main services, location, unique features, and practical information about the Barnardo's thrift store in Sutton Coldfield, ensuring visitors make the most of their shopping experience while supporting a worthy cause.

Main Services

• Thrift Store: The core service of this Barnardo's branch is its thrift store, offering a wide range of pre-loved items at affordable prices. You'll find clothing, footwear, accessories, toys, books, and more, all donated by the local community and ready for a new life.
• Delivery Services: For those unable to visit the store or prefer the convenience of online shopping, Barnardo's Sutton Coldfield offers a delivery service for selected items. This service ensures that everyone can access the charity's offerings and support its vital work.
• Volunteer Opportunities: While not a service for customers, volunteering at Barnardo's thrift store is an opportunity for the local community to get involved. Volunteers help with various tasks, such as sorting donations, serving customers, and maintaining the store's cleanliness.

Location and Access

The Barnardo's thrift store in Sutton Coldfield is situated within the Princess Alice Retail Park, making it easily accessible from various parts of the city.

• Address: Unit 1a, Barnardo's, Princess Alice Retail Park, Princess Alice Dr, The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield B73 6RB, United Kingdom
• Neighborhood: The store is located in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, a vibrant and historic area with a variety of shops, cafes, and parks nearby.
• Transportation:
  • By Car: The store is easily reached by car, with on-site parking available for customers.
  • By Public Transportation: Several bus routes serve the Princess Alice Retail Park, providing convenient access to the store for public transport users.

Featured Characteristics

Barnardo's Sutton Coldfield thrift store boasts several unique characteristics that set it apart from other shopping experiences.

• Wheelchair Accessibility: The store is fully wheelchair accessible, with a dedicated entrance and car park, ensuring that all customers can shop comfortably and conveniently.
• Sustainable Shopping: By shopping at Barnardo's, customers are not only supporting a vital charity but also contributing to a sustainable future. Thrift store shopping reduces waste, promotes recycling, and encourages a circular economy.
• Unique Finds: With a constant stream of new donations, Barnardo's thrift store offers a treasure trove of unique and unusual items. You never know what hidden gems you might discover on your visit.

Practical Information

To help visitors make the most of their visit to Barnardo's Sutton Coldfield thrift store, here's some essential practical information.

• Opening Hours: The store is open Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM, and Sunday, 10:30 AM - 4:30 PM. Please check the website for any updates or changes to opening hours.
• Contact Information:
  • Phone: 1213556665
  • Website: barnardos.org.uk
• Payment Methods: The store accepts cash, debit cards (including contactless), credit cards, and NFC mobile payments for customer convenience.
• Donations: Barnardo's welcomes donations of clean, good-quality items that are in a saleable condition. The store accepts clothing, footwear, accessories, toys, books, and more. Donations can be made during the store's opening hours.

Positive Aspects from Reviews

With an average opinion of 3/5 from 40 reviews on Google My Business, Barnardo's Sutton Coldfield thrift store receives praise for several aspects of its service.

• Variety of Stock: Many customers appreciate the wide range of items available, from clothing and accessories to books and toys, making it an excellent destination for bargain hunters.
• Affordable Prices: The store's competitive pricing receives positive feedback, with customers enjoying the opportunity to support a worthy cause while snapping up a bargain.
• Supporting Charity: Customers often comment on the sense of satisfaction they get from shopping at Barnardo's, knowing that their purchases directly support the charity's vital work with vulnerable children and young people.

Barnardo's thrift store in Sutton Coldfield offers a unique shopping experience, combining affordability, sustainability, and the opportunity to support a vital charity. With its wide range of stock, excellent accessibility, and commitment to recycling and reusing, the store caters to the needs of both customers and the environment. Whether you're seeking a bargain, looking to declutter, or simply want to support a worthy cause, a visit to Barnardo's Sutton Coldfield thrift store is a rewarding experience.

👍 Reviews of Barnardo's

DJ R. &. R.

1/5

Popped in today with my wife, who enjoys browsing the books and cups (she admittedly has a bit of a cup addiction !). She picked up a small silver-plated jug for our coffee machine marked up for £3.50 and took it to the downstairs counter to pay. The staff member said, “I need to check this,” and disappeared out back for about five minutes.

When she returned, she very abruptly said, “I can't sell you this.” My wife asked, “Why wouldn’t you?” and the reply was, “It was put out by mistake,” before the staff member walked off without another word.

Very strange interaction and left us feeling unwelcome. I'm not sure what’s going on, but we won’t be returning.

jennifer B.

1/5

I went on Monday with a car full of donations. I was rudely told that they couldn't take everything. This is the second time that this has happened. I understand that they might be overwhelmed with donations but they could refuse them in a pleasant manner. I doubt that I will bother donating to Barnardo's again. There are plenty of charity shops around with nice staff.

Sophie D.

5/5

Absolutely massive charity shop and they let the dog in too. The shop was neat and tidy, and the staff were friendly.

john C.

1/5

Visited a couple of times now and I'm surprised by the poor management of this store. Judging by all the reviews I'm not alone and it seems that Barnados are in no hurry to do anything about it.
The store is spread over 2 floors and is a total mess throughout.
Nowadays many charity shops are run and presented in the same way as other High Street chains and as a result enjoy a higher turn over of goods and a higher footfall. Most people today were just commenting on the mess and the fact that it looked like it was just a load of tat.

Barnados you are really missing a trick here. Big store great location and an opportunity to create a flagship store they would attract a lot more customers.

Instead of answering' We are sorry for your poor experience today blah blah' maybe have a re-think and do something about it.

Lexi

2/5

Went to have a look around but it's very untidy the displays of bric a brac and board games are messy and the rails could do with a tidy up as the sizes are all over the place. If items were kept neat it would look better. Also some of the prices are over the top. £8 for a primark jumper bit much £16 for a man's winter jumper. Who's working out the prices?

S M.

3/5

I don’t know what’s going on at this store lately but it’s an absolute mess. Always have enjoyed shopping here as they had such a nice variety of items and clean. It truly looks like dump now and no one really working. Today was our final visit.

John_rambo

1/5

Very rude staff especially when you take in donations went in a few weeks ago to donate some stuff for them to sell and make some money for their charity asked the assistant where shall I put them he looked at me and then totally ignored me 😞 thought maybe he’s having a bad day but there’s no need for he’s ignorant behaviour, then on Wednesday the 10th Jan 2024 this month took in 4 bags of donations at approximately 5.03pm to be stopped half way through the store by a very rude member of staff who refused my donations she rudely said no donations after 5pm 🕔 what absolutely disgusting behaviour from a charity shop member, to say I was shocked is an understatement. She’s not a volunteer but an actual paid member of staff. Absolutely unacceptable disgusting behaviour, I took my 4 bags of donations to cancer research in Perry Barr Birmingham instead who were absolutely grateful for my charitable donations. I will never shop here or donate anything ever again. If I couldn’t give any stars I would.

dennis H.

1/5

Awful shop at times, has been better of late on certain days so hit and miss! but a few members of staff, one I believe to be named Vicki is awfully rude and needs to treat people who donate with respect. Very bad customer service from her. Donated 26th April on morning and her sharpness has deterred me from ever donating again.

I'm now expecting the same as all your other replies to discruntled customers or those that donate."so sorry to hear you had a bad experience at our Sutton Coldfield branch of Barnardos" please call blah blah blah but you do nothing about it....

I've visited the store numerous times and you can't get your act together so don't bother with the usual reply you offer!! Just sort it!!

Dennis