Once Upon A Child - Syracuse, NY

Marisa

2024-02

Love the store. It's nice to get some money back for used kids clothes and stuff instead of donating it or wasting time on Marketplace. It's always a quick and easy process to sell. I love to browse the store while they sort my clothes and I get a text when it's done. You can then use the money you get for your things towards another purchase. Their selection and seasonal merchandise are both very good. I seriously feel lucky to have them so close!

Nunayo Bin-Ezz

2023-12

Buying here is good. Selection for younger kids is great. Once you hit 3T, the selection drops off significantly. Selling here isn't worth the effort. I brought in probably 50 pieces of clothing ranging from 6m - 2T. No rips, stains, or visible wear, and well washed. They took 2 pieces of those for an amazing $3. I go back each season to buy clothes, but when outgrown they are donated. Store's staff has always been pleasant and helpful. The one time we needed to use the bathroom, it was clean, had a good diaper changing station, a toilet shorter/younger kids could get on with minimal help, and a good amount of toilet paper and soap (the public toilet details you never cared about until you had kids).

Nofar Elmer

2024-03

Went for toys for my 15 month old. Selection was decent, prices were a bit higher than I expected for some items but they were all in good condition. Staff was very friendly and welcoming. I didnt buy clothes, but it was organized and had a much bigger selection than I anticipated! Will be coming back here in the future.

Serena H.

2022-05

I went shopping at this particular location for the first time (10-27-21) an was very impressed! It's much bigger than the one in Henrietta and the aisles are wider, an the clothes are always in great shape. There was a great selection of shoes an toys. I got everything on my list an the cashiers were friendly an outstanding in courtesy. I will be back !!!

Bethany Walden

2024-03

You got to be careful when selling in this store.the staff is nit picky about everything,I was asked not to come back because I posted an honest review about my experience in the store I am no longer allowed to sell or shop here, wow smh. What happened to the second amendment freedom of speech?Then after I was asked not to come , I used to ride w a friend so they could sell there and when the lady see us together she told him he could no longer sell or buy here also.. wow like that was so rude of them .he didn't do anything wrong at all. Like I said this place will nit pick at all your items .they will claim they small smoke and u don't even smoke , wow, I used to wash the clothes take them strait out the dryer when I would pack my totes and u refused the items for no good reason . You will waste your time and gas money coming to once upon a child. It's a very sad situation the store it self is a great idea but not when u treat ppl the way you do. I am very disappointed at how the staff acts toward ppl.you are judged the second you walk in the door. It's almost like if your not one of there friends they most likely will turn your items down just because they can. I know everyone experience is different but you can read thru the reviews your self ..there are more bad reviews then there are good so sad you act the way you do to good people trying to make a honest living the same way you are. Thanks for reading my review..

Ticha B

2024-02

Hello, I am writing this message for the reason that today I passed by the store and received a very bad gesture from one of your cashiers. This did not look good at all. I gave her the money kindly in her hand and when she handed over the change she threw it at me. The counter was practically like that and he says thank you and leaves and leaves my hand outstretched but it was a very bad gesture in the attitude with which he did it seemed like a very racist gesture towards me. It is not the first time that I have said this to you like that and That's not good at all, sarcasm makes people feel very bad. I hope they can treat customers better.

Kasia Bogart

2023-05

This is the second time I’ve brought clothing to this location and they told me my clothing had pet hair on the items. The snow pants had been freshly laundered and the rain jacket was under 3 years old.Decent prices for a used store but their criteria for accepting gently used clothing is bogus! There is zero per hair on these items and as stated both are under 3 years old.

Shawn Surma

2023-11

Very nice store. Wish we could have used it when our kids were little. But now it’s great for the grandkids. Huge selection of just about anything that you could possibly want for kids. Clothes toys even shoes. Really really good prices.

Jenna Fleury

2022-05

Great store! They are always friendly, and try their best to be efficient. Wonderful design to extend the life of kids stuff

Todd Connor

2023-12

This place stole 8 BAGS of clothes, they lied and said it smelled like marijuana, they did not call or text like they say they will and said they “donated” 8 bags of clothes that smelled like marijuana. This place is horrible and I will NEVER give them anymore of my business! 0/10 do not recommend!

Bethany Strong

2023-05

Large and great quality selection. I've sold some of my stuff to them and got a good offer. They are picky but it's a business and they're trying to make money too. (Plus if they're picky buying, it makes me more confident I'm buying higher quality). If I could give 3.5/5 I would just because I felt like I was pulling teeth getting information when I had said I was new to the store (how it works, loyalty rewards, new mom's club) or when I came in a separate time saying I was new to selling to them. Maybe it's just me but if I say I'm new, just tell me everything. Other than that, it's great and I love the store and definitely recommend! Great prices, high quality, good offer for what I did sell to them, and large selection.

Sara L

2023-08

Horrible experience from the moment I arrived. I walked in door upon arriving after opening on Sunday to a girl that seemed bothered that there were customers to be waited on. I said good morning to her as I was not greeted & she didn’t respond to me but carried on conversations with other employees. The lady next to us clearly also had a negative customer service experience. I was told I could pickup my receipt & payment at 1130 so I came back at same time and was questioned if I had received a text so left again to receive text hour later. I was given $50 for bins of top brand & quality clothing that normally I would have received at least $200 for. HUGE waste of time & your workers need to work on manners for sure. It was embarrassing & I will never be back

Wamidh alobaidi

2024-01

Saturday I brought some stuff kids and I got good deal, It's fast service nice team, thank you so much.

Justine Cook

2023-07

I have spent a COUNTLESS amount of money here for my child and I really tried my best to enjoy the store as much as possible but as a BLACK woman I cannot ignore the racism this establishment gives off. The ignorance, the rudeness, it’s terrible. I went to sell some of my baby items, mostly BRAND NEW, or only worn once! Unopened items, name brand shoes, unworn clothes were all given back because they said the clothes had a “food smell”! In which there WAS NOT! But let’s just “say” there was, there were NO items that could be taken?? I’ve seen plenty of times black people trying to sell items that would ALL get denied but when a white person sells it, it’s taken. On top of that, MAJORITY of my items were BOUGHT FROM THEM!! So you bought this stuff before off someone else, but couldn’t buy it off of me? Cool. Definitely won’t be coming here.

Ann Grace

2023-05

I went in here because I just wanted some sweatpants for my granddaughter for camp and what they have the pricing on the sweatpants used I could buy the same sweatpants new at the store on sale. I was trying to sell them a pair of name brand sneakers and they wanted to give me $1.50 for them and they were brand new and I paid $40 that was a sale. I thought it was more of a place where they try to help people that can’t afford new clothes when the use clothes are probably more expensive than the new clothes. Definitely wouldn’t recommend this place you could go Walmart and get cheaper clothes, children’s place cheaper..

AJ

2023-07

I’ve heard several bad experiences of people trying to sell here. Thought I could avoid that if I spent a bit of extra time getting everything I wanted to sell ready based on their suggestions and calling ahead before I left, especially since it was a 30min drive. I arrived only to be told there was a 90minute wait to sell and that they can only take sales up until an hour before closing, which would give 15min to sell if I waited the 90min. The person on the phone could have easily told me there would be a wait when I called before making the drive there. They’ll say “the wait times can change so quickly” but there is no way they went from a zero wait to 90minutes. Lessoned learned is that I should have trusted the bad things I heard about this place and saved myself a wasted afternoon.

Sue

2023-05

I’ve tried so hard to love this store because it’s a great concept with how quickly kids, especially babies grow out of things. The selection and prices are great. However, the reason I won’t be returning is due to the staff. I’ve been to this location about 10 times, as I live and hour away. Every time I’ve been in the store the employees are extremely rude. Eye rolling, complaining to each other about what an awful day it is and how they can’t wait to clock out, giving dirty looks to a crying baby and just overall general rudeness. It’s just odd to me considering these people are aware they are working at a children’s store. So as much as I would love to keep coming to this store, the employees are why I will not return.

J Rilla

2023-05

I was in today and when I walked up to check out, the woman didn’t say anything to me. No hello, no how are you, just took my items and looked at me like I was stupid. When I asked her a question she replied to me as if I was stupid. The entire encounter was so rude and disgusting, I can not believe this woman is working for a business and represents them in this way. It’s not hard to atleast smile? A smile!!! I got nothing but disrespect. I am still in complete shock. I dont care what anyone says, if you go into a business and you get bad costumer service, it makes the business look horrible, there’s no better feeling than going in somewhere and spending your hard earned money and receiving great customer service. Just a smile and a hello how are you today goes such a long way. Usually when I go in this store I don’t see any of the girls smiling they all look miserable, but this encounter was absolutely ridiculous. Do better. Whoever this LN lady is who cashed me out made your business look absolutely horrible and I will be sharing my thoughts elsewhere. I never complain about anything, but I couldn’t hold this one back.

Laura Lamb

2023-05

I used to shop here a lot for clothes for my kiddos. I have a lot of nice, unstained girl clothes (and full outfits) that I wanted to sell. So, I called the store and asked what their rules were and what the process is. I explicitly followed the rules she stated. My husband and I took a lot of time to put all the outfits together and used a safety pin to make sure the pieces didn't get separated.I took my three children to the store and dragged in five bins of clothes. They rejected almost all of them citing some of them were more than 5 years old (never told me that was a rule to follow) and they couldn't accept anything with a safety pin which was almost everything. The store is not close to me, and they wasted many many hours of my time.I am so disappointed and upset. I will never shop here again and I will be sure to share this experience with my mom friends.

Emma Flint

2023-07

By far the best place to get children clothing, shoes and pretty much anything else! We hardly shop anywhere else anymore. Best prices and the best variety. I can always find what I’m looking for and usually end up with much more.

Maci Sly

2023-05

I try my absolute best to be a decent, respectful person to small business/customer service staff in general. We drove 1 hour & 15 minutes each way with my kids today after being told they would take toy trade ins. My excited 8 year old who’s spent the last day cleaning out his toys to bring in to exchange some of which are in mint condition; never used packed his cart up wheeled it in to the counter and was greeted by a dark hair lady with piercings clearly miserable to be there. No hello, how are you, how can I help you just annoyed glare & silence. I mistakenly forgot my physical id but had several clear back and front copies of my driver’s license, dependents id, credit card, social all with my first and last name. The lady rolls her eyes at me after I explain we came all the way from Watertown could she please see if a manger would honor my digital copies of identification. Again I got an eye roll and a no she won’t honor it. The $40 worth of toys my son was standing at the counter with could have been honored with my digital copies of nys identification. Instead they turned us away and I left with a disappointed child. I’m fine if a physical id is “nys policy” but the nasty attitude from your staff as soon as you step foot in the store is not pleasant.

Megan Howe

2021-05

I've had several great experiences shopping at this location. I love being able to find great deals on gently used name brands. Sometimes I find more than others but the staff is generally always friendly and helpful. My kids love shopping the book section. I've had great experiences with selling as well. I bring in whatever I'm ready to get rid of including clothes, toys, shoes, etc. and I find their offers to be very reasonable for how effortless it is for me to get the unwanted stuff out of my house. Whatever they don't buy, I donate.

Jennifer Etter

2023-05

Brought two bins in. They bought about a third of it. Made enough to cover my gas driving there and back. Plan was to buy pajamas and tank tops but they didn't have any pjs at all on my son's size and the tanks were all faded. Somewhat disappointed. Lots of dingey clothes on the racks but they passed on my new and barely worn clothing which was odd and then they said they had trouble getting boys clothes but again, they passed on mine. Ended up at Target buying ten sets of footed PJs. Thought as a third option I'd look through the holiday racks. Again, nothing for boys in 5 or 6. The OUAC in Florida where I used to go was much nicer IMO. This one is pretty reflective of it's location. Toy section is geared towards infants, not much for 4-7 year olds. Probably won't be back any time soon unless I'm already out that way and have nothing better to do.Edit--- since you cannot reply to their responses underneath them, I'll do it here.You passed on 2021 Gap, Janie and Jack, 2022 Cat and Jack, and surprisingly, 2022 Nordstroms. None of it was outside of three years old nor did anyone say that to me. And I DID bring the lack of selection to the attention of the cashier, who shrugged her shoulders and replied, "yeah, we have a hard time getting boys clothes," all the whole handing me back my bin. All in all, your store got about 200.00 worth of items (garage sale value, had I sold it at home) for twenty four dollars. It's just not a place I'd sell to again, as disappointing as my opinion may be for you. I think it might be more encouraging for whomever reads these reviews, had you accepted responsibility for the fact that you don't have what I was there to buy. A quick glance at the rack would have shown you that I wasn't lying. Apologies go a long way versus trying to say I brought in old clothes, which I did not, and suggesting that I left without mentioning anything which is also false. Again, reflective of my experience and an extension of it. Disappointing at best.

Amber T

2023-05

Absolutely terrible customer service! I have been to this location about 5 or 6 times and always have left disappointed! The women who work here are extremely rude! I’ve been a regular customer and have gone in to sell them items and each and every time have been completely disappointed and honestly have felt disrespected! I have been to multiple locations in multiple states and have never had a problem until I came to this location. I cannot remember one time I had a positive experience in there. I have went in to shop with my five-year-old and he has even pointed out how the people there don’t use manners and are rude! This is not only based off of my personal experience but also things that I have witnessed with other customers there. I have seen the women that work there be so rude to only certain people they go into that location and try to sell items! After my experiences at this store I will no longer be shopping at any of the locations!

Justina Conena

2023-05

I am extremely upset with once upon a child. DO NOT SELL YOUR CHILDS CLOTHES TO THEM. I brought in a bunch of clean and never worn 12 month old clothes on a Saturday morning. They we're extremely busy. They said they would text me/ call me whenever they were done. I was there for two hours waiting for them. So I left thinking that I would get a text or phone call when they were done. I never did. 5 days past I called for an update, they couldn't find me in the system..and then said they sent my clothes to the thrift store and that I was supposed to pick my clothes up before they closed that day. THEY DID NOT TELL ME THAT, the lady there wase EXTREMELY RUDE, AND ROLLED HER EYES AT ME. I would have picked those clothes up if they told me that and given them to my sister. THOSE WERE PERFECT CONDITION CLOTHES.They didn't make it right for me they just said "sorry". I went here all the time but now I won't. I feel like I was stolen from. You just lost a very good customer.

Rose Duffey

2022-05

I had never been into a Once Upon a Child before. I have no kids and didn't know a lot about this store. I came to the Syracuse store with my friend while in town, and my world is changed! I came in to shop for her daughter and to find myself a pair of boots (I wear kid sizes) as I was not prepared for the snow. I was totally surprised by the selection and the store. Books, shoes, clothes, toys and games! Everything was clean and nicely organized. This is a great place to shop for your little ones (which I hope will soon happen). I will be checking out my local stores and hopefully returning to this store when I am back in town.

Rebecca Alexander Carey

2023-05

I truly used to love this place. If I could give fewer than 1 star, I would. I echo what others have shared about rude unfriendly staff members; still, I brought my family here (child, husband), family from out of town, told everyone about what a wonderful store it was and looked past everything else. I figured, alright, it's tough finding good staff right now, everyone is overworked. I have worked in retail and service positions throughout my life, both full time and part time, so I do understand the difficulty navigating customer situations.That being said, I will never be back to this location after what I last experienced there. My family and I went to the store to get some items and take advantage of the labor day sale. After about an hour looking at toys, playing, selecting, and waiting on a long checkout line, the staff member ringing us up was very sweet (but it may have been her first day, she asked other staff questions during the sale). As we don't always get out to that part of town and due to having a child under 1, I brought two items we wanted to return because they were too small on our child - these were from July, I figured we might get store credit or maybe able to return - I thought I might've had the receipt in the bag, but I had forgotten it. We had purchased shoes and a small jacket for our son's baptism but ended up using something else. I asked the cashier to see whether we could still return the two items without a receipt (I think the shoes were $3.50 and the jacket was $4.00), and what appeared to be the store manager (a woman with dark hair, never smiled) said she would take a look. She scanned the tag from the shoes and came back to the register to tell me, "it's from July, and this tag was never marked as sold". I wasn't sure why she was telling me that, so I asked what did she mean, she then proceeded to tell me that I could-not return the item-she had to collect the item and not let it leave the store, because it was "never marked as sold"I asked what she was suggesting, did she think I had stolen the $3.50 shoes? She indicated no, and then another older woman with blonde hair said the person who rang me up probably forgot to scan it. I told them I remember the receipt had 3 shoes on it (I was only returning one pair). I asked how, then, was it my fault that their staff forgot to scan the product? They suggested that it indeed WAS my fault because I should have checked the receipt. I was astounded. I went back and forth several times with what appeared to be the manager, woman with dark hair, who continued to insist that I would not be able to bring the shoes out of the store. I told her I was a loyal customer for almost a year since my son had been born.No attempts were made on their end to apologize to me, no attempts were made on their end to rectify the situation, no attempts were made to escalate to another supervisor or the owner, or to move our conversation to another register or the side of the service counter to make the conversation a bit more private.I gave up, told them they could have the shoes but that they were losing a customer. Again, they made NO apologies. No attempts to maintain my business. When I handed the shoes back, the staff member said "good", and told me that I should bring in the receipt if I wanted the shoes back. Why would I bring the receipt in at this point?a- I didn't want the shoes and I was trying to RETURN themb- If I brought in the receipt, they didn't even assure me that they would set the shoes aside to make sure I would be compensated for them when I did bring the receipt inThe way that I see it is that this store stole from me and my family because they took something from us that we had purchased from their store, and completely embarrassed my family without any apology made. When I called the corporate office to report this incident, they told me they reached out to the store owner and I should expect a call.I don't expect a call. DO NOT shop here. I support female business owners, but they do NOT do things right here.

Portia

2023-05

The owner/ manager is terrible to her customers. If you bring items here expect to wait all day to pick them up the same day or they will toss everything in the trash. Went in yesterday and the manager Courtney Tousaw decided to go off on my husband and I, specifically because we asked for clarification on their policies. I will never go back here and will make sure all my parent friends know not to frequent here. The staff is absolutely terrified of Courtney and wouldn’t even give me her information without consulting her first. She’s makes a scene in front of kids and parents alike and they try to short you on the items you sell to them. $7 for 6 pairs of shoes 2 of which were like new. Then they go and sell them for twice as much.

Esther Nguyen

2023-05

My first time venturing into a OUAC store. The store at first seemed pretty organized, signs are clearly visible. But the aisles were sort of wide, not wide enough for multiple people to pass through with a cart. I normally don’t like to buy used clothes because the prices seem to be almost comparable to sales in a clothing store. And this visit proved me right.Prices for shirts for toddlers were in the $2.50 to $5 range from what I was able to gather. Many of the clothes (like 90%) in the store are gender specific. I will be having more kids in the future and like to reuse where I can. I try not to purchase too many gender specific clothes in the hopes of reusing in the future for either gender. Everything there was all gender specific. Nothing gender neutral. I found maybe three items in the size for my toddler and for my second. I didn’t even want to look in the shoes aisle because it was a complete disaster and there were so many people with their kids searching for what I assume are shoes for school.Toys section in the back are pretty much all plastic. I would liken them to daycare toys. If I ran a daycare this is where I would look for toys. I was just kind of off-put by how much gender specific clothes and items there were and the immense amount of clothes stuffed to the brim on the racks that I gave up.The prices were very comparable to, for example, a T-shirt for a toddler at Target. Target normally runs sales which puts the tops at around the $3-$5 mark. So the prices aren’t worth it for me. I understand that OUAC needs to make a profit from the clothes they buy from the public, and they also want a place where people who’d like to sell their used items can make a little money, but I don’t understand the hype.Needless to say I don’t think I’ll be back. I guess it’s nice for certain situations, like if you are all about thrifting and not buying new clothes for the environment and what not.

Ondraya Kunai

2022-05

I was a loyal customer since my daughter was born but sadly, I will not ever be returning. I am a single mother who depended on businesses like this to keep my child in clothes she prefers. I was told I couldn’t sell my clothes because of some comment I made to one of the workers and when I asked what did I say the owner said “we don’t take notes on this stuff.” I had a cart full of products and left because I do not feel comfortable doing business anymore. The owner of the store is named Erin, who I also tried to explain that I was a single mother. She just smiled in my face while I clearly in tears over this incident. One of the worst experiences I’ve ever had! I’ve been nothing but nice to these employees and only asked why they wouldn’t buy sandals my daughter never even put her foot in.