Once Upon A Child

3 stars is about right. I’m not going to trash the staff because like anywhere else I’ve had really good experiences and some not so good experiences. For the most part selection is decent, clothes are in good shape, and face facts that’s the main part right there. It does seem to me like they have very high turn over because I seem to see new faces whenever we pop in there.
At the end of the day you’re in a 2^nd hand place, so naturally they’re going to buy your stuff at maximum ¼ of the price if you’re lucky, and sometimes it’s worth it, that or donate it. The store definitely needs some updating to make it a bit more modern and flow better, but that’s just me. If you’re in the market for 2^nd hand clothes, it is what it is.

They are horrible. Even though the prices might be good on some clothes but the staff treat customers bad and its crowded and most of the things are not in a great condition. I am disappointed! WORST STAFF EVER!

I do like this store. I sometimes forget about it though. They have a good selection of baby and kids stuff in good condition for good prices. I have shopped here to find stuff like changing pad covers or crib sheets without paying full price and found some cute clothes. I find more cute things for my infant daughter than my toddler son though as far as clothes. I like the fact than unlike other consignment shops you just drop stuff off any day and they will go through it and give you cash on the spot. They are picky about some of the stuff they will accept though but I like that they take all seasons. I would come here more except it’s a little bit of a drive for me and my son sways wants to go go go. The one negative I will say is with the dropping off clothes process, last time I dropped stuff off and was told it would be a few hours (it was about 5 which I understand getting busy etc) then get a call about 15 minutes before closing time. They give you only 1 day to pick up your stuff they didn’t want or they get rid of it. It takes me 30 minutes to drive there so obviously I had to go the next day but what if I had other stuff going on where I couldn’t get there they should of just called me the next morning with it being so late in the day.

Extremely rude employee. Talked to me in a sarcastic rude way. They don’t really care about the customer anyway.

Very very rude employees. If you don’t like your job get a different one. I don’t care if I am spending $ 5 or $ 50 on a t-​shirt for my daughter. I want polite customer services either way. Not a kiss my a$$ attitude. A customer is a customer. Not sure if this place needs new employees or a completely new management that has a clue how rude the employees are.

Worst staff at all the stores I’ve been to! I dropped off before 11 and they told me it would be a couple hours so I just browsed around the areas, at 2:30 I called them and they told me they were still working on yesterday’s drop off and it would still be a few more hours– I live 30 mins away from the store so I didn’t want to drive home and have to drive back– they finally called at 4:30 and told me it was ready. I go back and my basket is a mess, they had separated outfits –which I told them not to do, and we’re extremely rude and talking about previous customers negatively the entire time I was there. After all the negative– for two outfits and two onesies, out of an entire basket full of clothes my son wore maybe once with no stains and still in date appearance, I got a whopping $ 2.15! NEVER going back to this store!

First off I have to preface this with the most obvious reason I like this place. I hate, hate, hate buying children’s clothing new. I am a new mom, and I went through the phase of buying new clothes and quickly realized that there is no way that a pair of jeans for a 9 month old is worth 20 bucks. Okay, on with the review.
The Good:
Well organized, friendly staff, very good condition clothing, almost everything is sized properly, they carry things other than clothing like baby carriers, bassinets, strollers, and un-​used zippy cups, pacifiers, etc.
The Bad:
I’m a mother of a boy, two thirds of the clothes are for girls, the onesies are not organized by gender and most of them are newborn– 6 months. They only sell the seasonal clothes, so you can’t «upsize» for the next year unless you really want to take a gamble. They have a ton of somethings (like baby carriers, highchairs, strollers, and playsets) out in plain sight. but relegate the things I would probably consider a find (crib sheets, bibs, shoes, blankets) to big bins that are inconvenient to sort through. I know it’s a kid store but there is always some random kid running around seemingly unaccompanied (dude I get it, but there is an actual play area for them to go crazy in). The aisles are very narrow for a stroller so when you are shopping you usually have to shove your stroller into the clothes to have somebody pass. And back to the boys clothes, some of the stuff that is labeled 12 – 18 months is only in 18 months, while some of it is in 12 months, it just grinds my gears that I have to search through A TON OF 18 months jeans to find a pair of 12 – 18, why not have a 12 – 18 month section?
Overall, I would highly recommend this store to mothers of girls, and sort of recommend it to mothers of boys. I have found some good things here like high end items (Janie and Jack, Hanna Anderson, and Calvin Klien) I don’t come here as often as I would if they carried out of season things. Since becoming a mom, I always try to be one step ahead.

I was very pleased with this store. The staff were friendly and helpful. The prices were great and the place was clean and well organized. We have been twice and we are always pleased with what we find.

I’m a new mom on a budget which means I need stuff on the cheap. I scored a 10.00 Halloween costume and some super cute clothes with tags still attached, also cheap. I got a Baby Einstein DVD for 8.00 which seemed a little high but it’s supposed to guarantee a super smart baby, right?
The store was crowded and the aisles are narrow so probably best to hit it on a week day. Also, very organized and pretty clean. I’m impressed and plan to go back for more baby stuff.

Therese P. seems to misremember things. My longtime girlfriend is the owners sister and I spoke at length with them about Theresa’s issue today. Being a family owned, local business, we regularly check social media to provide feedback and reach out to our valued customers who make it possible for us to keep people employed and provide our fellow citizens with a quality service that we readily stand behind.
Therese did not speak with the owner, who happened to be working there all day today. In fact, the owner was standing right next to the employee who she was speaking with and heard one side of the conversation and was informed of what Therese had said directly after wards. That particular employee was neither rude nor curt with Therese, as this is something that we do not tolerate with employees at Once Upon a Child. Ms. P called to ask approximately how long it would take to process her buy. The employee responded, as is company policy, that she could not quote her an exact or approximate time. She informed Ms. P, who asked numerous times how long it would be, that because of the high volume of buys we process, «60 to 80» buys a day, that it could be anywhere from 2 hours to a day depending on how many people were in front of her. At that point Ms. P responded «Whatever.» and promptly hung up.
Therese,
Once Upon a Child apologizes for how you feel you were treated. Our goal is to provide a positive shopping (and selling!) experience for each and every customer. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the business, we cannot anticipate the number of buys we process each day, and as a result, do not quote customers an expected completion time. There are of course exceptions, but this is typically during our slow seasons (of which back to school is not) or in response to the presentation of large items like furniture or equipment. We understand that each customer has a certain level of expectation when they deal with a business and we acknowledge that yours was not met.
That being said, we invite you to patronize our establishment with the promise that you will receive the level of customer service you deserve. We simply ask that you keep an open mind when it comes to the time frame that we can complete your buy. Furthermore, I myself worked for Once Upon a Child, Plato’s Closet and Play it Again Sports, all Winmark franchises, and have had the pleasure of working with a number of the current employees at the Naperville location. I can personally vouch that they exhibit the professionalism that all customers expect from a front end retail employee and can assure you that if you enter our store you will experience a level of customer service not found at the likes of Wal Mart, Toys R US, or any of the big box stores.
We hope you will reconsider your decision to avoid our establishment. In these tough times we rely on customer loyalty to stay in business. Making sure our customers are 100% satisfied is a key requirement to ensuring that loyalty. Lastly we encourage you, and our customers, to donate whatever they can spare to a good cause. Whether or not it’s through us, the Salvation Army, Goodwill, your local Church or Mosque or Temple. So many families are in need of assistance these days and this is the basis on which we run our business. Thank you for your input in any case Therese, your constructive criticism is critical in ensuring that we uphold and maintain our high standards when it comes to customer service.
Once Upon a Child

Organized, Organized, Organized. Just what I like to see!
We no long have a OUAC in Streamwood, so this is probably the closest one to us, unfortunately.
My son and I came shopping here one day after a special lunch out. Everything here is well-​labeled, of higher quality than I am used to seeing, and it is really well-​priced. Pricier for name-​brand stuff (like Gap, Justice, Gymboree), but that’s to be expected!
Lots of toys and baby equipment (although we are SO not in the market for that stuff anymore) but there was a lot to choose from there, so that is good!

I called the store to ask if they had a certain item in and was treated like I was ruining her day. It was so awkward for me, I just hung up in the middle of the conversation. I have never been treated so poorly in my life, and to think this is a resale shop employee! NEVER again shop here!

Garage sale clothes priced much higher than you’d find at a garage sale. There were rows of girls’ shirts that looked like they were made in the late 90s selling for $ 4.50. There was a nice selection of strollers and baby toys, but I was disappointed in the clothes, and felt that they weren’t priced very well. When I tried to sell clothes and a double stroller, I didn’t feel I got a fair price, and so sold nearly everything on Craigslist – making $ 40 more on what Once Upond a Child had offered me for my nearly new double stroller. My advice is to sell your items on Craigslist, or in an old-​fashioned garage sale.

Be still my beating heart!
Aisles and aisles of great condition, used baby and kid’s clothes PLUS toys and baby gear– all priced fairly and organized by size and gender and type. Clean! Organized! Useful!
Chicago has this plague of «upscale» consignment shops where you can get Ralph Lauren shorts but you can’t get a damn onesie or sleeper. This place is pretty much the opposite– full of Carters and Jumping Beans and the like– basic, cotton baby stuff you need at about ¹⁄₃ the retail price. Lots of kid’s winter coats, jeans, and shoes, all so gently used that you won’t even notice it.
The last time I was in they were having a half price sale– any tag marked with highlighter was half price. For under $ 30 I got 8 baby outfits!

Was very disappointed that I was not able to sell the baby clothes I had simply because they were not in the «right» kind of bags. Their national website says that this is just fine but they wouldn’t budge. I can understand that this is their policy, however, their surly attitude made me decide to just go ahead and donate all the items instead.

They have gently used and new children’s items. Basically it reminds me of a Goodwill, but specifically for babies.
This location is very clean and organized compared to others that I have been to. The clothing prices seem to be much cheaper and I’ve found a much better selection of clothing at this store, but less furniture, car seats, and strollers.
Overall I have no complaints. Much like with any other thrifting it is better to go early and to go often, so just keep that in mind.

Nothing great! But not bad either. They have a lot of different name brand things. The owner is a really nice guy. They had some toys and books. I think that I would go back there to buy toys.

Not bad for buying clothes, but if you want to sell, try craigslist or ebay first, you’ll get a better price that way.

Gently-​used children’s stuff. They wear their clothes such a short time, it’s easy to find good quality used clothes here, plus winter coats, toys, and the bigger equipment. The shoes are usually worn, I pass on them. It’s a good place to sell the brand-​name things you no longer use.