Good Sammy Wanneroo: The preloved department store

You’d be hard pressed to find a Perth op shopper who doesn’t know of Good Sammy Wanneroo. The store, located in the Drover’s Marketplace on Wanneroo Road, is proudly the largest second-hand store in WA, packed with everything an op shopper could wish for –  even furniture!

Good Sammy Wanneroo is often described as a preloved department store due to its size and layout, with abundance of quality items, beautifully curated displays, and a team who is friendly and welcoming.

The team, which includes eleven employees with disability and 19 volunteers, are allocated different ‘departments’ to take care of, and they put in a lot of time and effort to ensure their areas are presentable and well-maintained.

Look around the store and you’ll undoubtedly see members of the team busying themselves by organising racks, dusting shelves, tidying displays, sweeping the floors, or helping customers find things in each department. It doesn’t go unnoticed either. The store has over 50 five-star reviews on Google, with many mentioning how well-presented and organised it is, among other things. One reviewer writes, “I really enjoy this store. It consistently has a high standard each time I visit, from staff to presentation. I commend the hardworking team there. I also love watching management training the staff with disabilities. There’s such love and patience and it’s truly heart-warming.”

Alex, the Store Manager, has nothing but admiration for her team’s high standards. “We have the best team of truly dedicated workers that put so much effort into everything they do,” she says. “They all take so much care and pride in our store and our core mission, to create employment opportunities for people with disability. The store has a great vibe because of the team within it.” The Google reviews are a testament to this, with the staff often being praised for their excellent customer service and friendly, helpful manner.

Good Sammy Wanneroo has a huge range of women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, but what it specialises in is sundries. The store’s books, toys, homewares and bric-a-brac are all quality-controlled and displayed nicely. There are two volunteers who are allocated to displays only, and they rotate the displays every week to keep things fresh. These volunteers have a real knack for visual merchandising and their displays often receive glowing feedback from customers.

Alex tries to allocate tasks based on her team’s skills and interests, and it pays off. The store does very well in book sales, largely due to the hard work of one volunteer. She has earned the nickname “the librarian” for the way she meticulously arranges the books into genres, and alphabetical order and keeps the shelves spotless. One Google reviewer calls Good Sammy Wanneroo her favourite store for books. She writes, “The book section in this store is absolutely AMAZING! Thank you to the lovely lady who gives up her time to make it look so beautiful. It’s so tidy and organised, and everything is where it should be.” Wanneroo’s book department has become so popular that their librarian now has an assistant to help her keep up with sorting on her days off.

Good Sammy Wanneroo is always on the lookout for volunteers to help with various tasks. If you’d like to offer your time, Alex and the team would be happy to hear from you.

The majority of Wanneroo’s clothing has now been sorted by size. Items have also been arranged by colour within their size sections, so it’s now easier than ever to hunt for pre-loved treasure – no matter what your budget. The store’s Gold Seal section is stocked with brands such as Alannah Hill, Calvin Klein, Country Road, Forever New, Gorman, Kookai, Review, Sass & Bide, Seed and many more. If you have an eye for labels, quality brands can also be found in the standard-priced racks, or, if you’re lucky, the long clearance rack, making for a true treasure hunting experience.

Visit the Wanneroo store on a Sunday and you’ll come across the Sunday clearance rack, where you can score five items for $2. Craziness! This Perth op shopper was thrilled with her recent dress haul, which cost less than a cup of coffee.

Alex encourages op shoppers from all over Perth to visit Good Sammy Wanneroo – whether that be on a Sunday or any other day of the week. After reading this, do you really need any more convincing to visit this preloved department store? It’s a beautifully-presented and well-thought out op shop full of quality bargains for every taste and budget, and the people who work there are renowned for their work ethic and excellent customer service. It really ticks all the boxes. So, don’t put it off; plan your visit today and make sure you have a lot of time to spare. Oh, and it might be worth taking a packed lunch, too.

Best for:

Clothing

• women’s
• men’s
• kids
• Gold Seal
• clearance

Sundries

• books
• toys
• homewares
• bric-a-brac
• furniture