Do you like to destroy books? Do you like to vandalize and ruin objects of art? Do you find pleasure in defacing vintage record albums, and otherwise ruining perfectly good items so that no one else can use them? If so, you should get a job here, because that's what they do. That's right, they actually DEFACE all the books, records, CDs, and other items they sell. I couldn't believe it, so I took photos and will upload them here in a second. They actually write on EVERY book, record album, etc., with unerasable marker. So the few new or nearly new books they have are ruined. The old antiquarian books they have are ruined. All the cool old records that people buy for the great album art? Ruined. I know that Volunteers of America is a chain but come on people, WHY are you destroying the things you are trying to sell? I mean, who is going to buy a CD with a huge red "90" over the cover? Come on, brains are for using, people!
Here's a constructive example, although something tells me they aren't open to improvement: most of the books in the store are priced between 90 cents and $2.90. These aren't high-dollar items. And, of course, they aren't going to sell very quickly since all of them have been defaced. What they should do instead is sell ALL books at the same price: maybe hardcovers $3 and paperbacks $1. CDs $1. Then change it once in a while, maybe have a sale where the books are two for one. That way, they don't RUIN the books, they sell more (because they AREN'T RUINED), people are happy, it's less labor for the workers, and hey they save money on ink!
Also, they don't sort clothing by size. They sort by color. That's right, if you are looking for a size 10 blouse or size 8 capris or a guy needing a size 38 jeans, well, forget it. Instead you have to look for, say, a "yellow blouse" or green capris or "white jeans" or whatever, and look through ALL of them to MAYBE find your size! This place is the most unbelievable thrift store I have ever seen.