Ruby's Garden 5026 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609

"This place is poorly run. The employees I interacted with were rude and I have to speculate that they are racist as well. I am a black man who works in childcare. The family I work for gave me a bunch of clothes and asked me to consign what I could and to donate the rest. I was ignored when I walked into the store. When I was eventually seen to, I was reprimanded at length by an employee for having brought in more than one bag of clothing, after which time she directed me to move my things away from the counter and over to a seating area. I tried my best to remain polite, moved my things and sat patiently for about 15 minutes.After the wait, the annoyed employee came over and began going through the things I'd brought in, both complaining that the items were not acceptable in various ways and picking out some of the nicer winter clothing. Her tone was condescending, as if she thought I was stupid for not knowing the intricacies of her store's rules. (I had never been there before and will never return.) As she looked through my things, a few people entered the store and each person that walked in received a warm greeting and immediate attention. So I sat waiting for another 15 minutes. Finally she returns to my items, gathers the things she wants to buy, and carries them to the counter. While I gather the things she did not want to purchase, I overheard her tell another customer that the store only buys clothing for store credit. The family I work for has two sons ages 9 and 11 and Ruby's Garden appeared to contain a majority of what would traditionally be considered girls clothing. I had quite a bit of time to consider this as the employee who took my things placed them on the counter and just left me waiting again while she served another customer. I stand around for 5 minutes and receive a text from the mother of the boys, who confirms store credit would not be useful for her boys. I informed the nearest employee to me (not the person who began helping me and walked off) that I didn't want to make the sale. She looked at me incredulously and went to find the person who had started helping me initially. This initial employee then angrily threw my things on my box and complained about having wasted 20 minutes of her time. (It was actually 45 minutes, and it was she who wasted my time, failed to refold the clothes, and treated me as subhuman.) I left the store angry and offended. PLEASE DO NOT SUPPORT PREJUDICE."

"Cute store with friendly staff and great selection of cute toys and clothes!"

"Hands down one of the best children’s stores in the bay. It has really lovely, unique and practical items that seem to cover all the bases. They may not have seven generic options of (x) but they have three that you won’t necessarily find elsewhere and are perfect. The used section is so good! Well organized and everything is in great shape. But perhaps the best part is the book selection. It is an amazingly well curated library. Lots of diverse topics, beautiful art and fun writing. I haven’t found a dud yet."

"This store sells both new and "gently used" items. My husband and I especially liked the selection of gently used items ($3-$14). We enjoyed the employees' company, the music that was playing, and all the brands offered. We're planning to come back soon!"

"I didn't get her name but one of the employees was so very helpful. It was my son's first pair of real toddler shoes so I was looking to get a sturdy pair. She humored my questions and helped me figure out how to pick the right size. I was also able to find the same brand in the "gently used" section so I felt better about my purchase since I don't know how my son's foot will grow. And they were half the price in great condition."