How cheap is your Goodwill store?

[Cindy B]

I've just about given up on my Goodwill store.

The prices are too high to even contemplate reselling.

They have fixed price for shirts/blouses at $2.99. All kids clothes are $2.99 per piece . So if I find an outfit its $6! For the Goodwill. I would consider paying that for a brand name or a good resale name, but its usually Target/Kmart, or older brands.

I am disappointed because I feel that I could do better at Target clearance (constantly finding new things at $2/3 per piece).

And housewares are high too.. older pyrex is going for about $5 a piece... so any resale would be out the window as well.

 

[disneymom3]

I have wondered about this too. I have read of people finding stuff at goodwill to resell and from looking at our store, have pretty much figured they must have really good luck or know much better than I what to look for. Overall I would say that ours has fairly high priced junk that I wouldn't want to take a chance on!

However, a woman in my husband's church band is constantly finding name brand shirts and stuff for everyone in the group. Maybe I need to switch to her goodwill!!

 

[ceecee]

I stopped by Goodwill to check on Boy's undershirts (new hanes) for our Brownie Troop to Tye Dye. They had new undershirts and underwear and girl's panties for .69 (hanes her way). While there I spotted a Mickey sweatshirt (not even from Disney World) it was $8.00!!! They mark up "name brand" stuff higher than like Kmart or Walmart or Target things. But just because it had Mickey on it does not in my opinion make it "name brand" So all in all I was not overly impressed with the store. I got what I went in for though so I am happy.

 

[Cindy B]

Two goodwill stores by me have this fixed price policy.

The goodwill near my SIL is better. Some days there are 10 cent days or 25 cent days...

I've been told that rummage sales at churches are good, I am going to my first one Wednesday night for a little bit.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I gave up on our local Goodwill cause the stuff was trash and the prices way too high, if I could even find anything I wanted. Some friends introduced me to another GW store in Indpls and it is awesome. Prices not that low but lots of variety and good things. Not for resell but I keep needing smaller and smaller sizes so I am able to pick up some items to fill in my wardrobe.

We have another place called San Souci that offers an $8 bag of clothes and occasionally you can get two bags for that price.

I get better prices at yard sales but it is very time consuming. I furnished my house from auctions and yardsales through the years. It is a lot of fun and quite a challenge. When I get tired of something I can usually sell it for what I paid for it or even more. So much goes to waste in this country and I am trying to do my part. LOL

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[disneysteve]

Same story here. Clothes at Goodwill are too high IMO. There are some independent thrift shops that are better. As for household items, also too high, even for items I wanted for myself. They charge $.99 for a mug that would be $.25 at a yard sale.

Steve

 

[Cindy B]

I thought my Goodwill was the only HIGH one!

Occasionally I will see a "deal", but many things are just nasty junk. For example I found a Williams /Sonoma whirly pop with accessories there, all for $3. At the Williams/Sonoma you will pay about $35 for the same thing.

One goodwill near me must be near a bridal store, because it always has non used bridal gowns in there. There are some with small rips/ buttons missing or things like that, but if you were willing to be adventerous, or could sew up the rip, you would be good to go. These "second" gowns go for about $50, so I guess you could call it a material investment, if you were even making your own dress/veil!

I've lucked out at some clothing exchanges (a take a bag, get a bag no cost place) but I haven't gone in a LONG time.

 

[kadaten]

Our Goodwill has fixed prices but they're pretty reasonable..

--all kids clothes 99 cents!!!!
--adult stuff ranges 1.99 to 4.99 (suit pants, jackets, dresses are the 4.99 items)
--coats are always differently priced...I think kid's are 2.99 or 3.99 for heavy winter coats usually

We have other thrifts here in town who DO mark up their prices, though.....Salvation Army is bad about it, and so is our local Children's Hospital thrift store. I think the pricers are "impressed" by the brands (Gap, Old Navy, Tommy Hilfiger) so mark them up, but forget that a lot of people shop at thrifts because they NEED to and can't pay the higher price.

I, too, have found that they don't know what things go on sale for at retail stores....I find Target clothes marked more than their original sale price all the time.....they're usually still there the next time, so they end up being marked down eventually.... Funny thing is, they don't know real good stuff when they see it! Common brands, yes (Gap, etc.) but high-end dept. store brands, imported brands, etc.....completely lost on them....they don't look for quality, just the "Tommy" or other label....

Salvation Army does, though, always have a 1/2 price tag color....they have 4 or 5 different colored price tags.....every day one color is 1/2 price!! Always check what the color of the day is before I start looking

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

The main thing that irks me about Goodwill is that other such places give items to the needy but I have been told that they do not. I think the monies go to train and employ people who need jobs though. Would be interesting to see how much the managers and such are paid though. Many charities exist to support the higher ups in high style instead of giving their all to worthwhile things IMHO. If I am incorrect about GW I stand to be corrected. I am not always right, never always wrong either. LOL

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[disneysteve]

Another problem at our Goodwill is they are very inconsistent in pricing. We needed a dress for a costume for my daughter recently. They had 2 identical dresses on the rack (store closeout, I suspect). 1 was 2.99, the other was 4.99. We spoke to the manager and she said they were probably priced by different people - she did adjust the price and give us both for the 2.99 price (we needed 2 for material to alter).

Steve

 

[disneysnowflake]

Our Goodwill stinks.

I was in there last week getting used childrens' books for my sister. She hands them out as rewards to the students in her class.

My son and nephew noticed an entire rack of used mens' tshirts. Most were stained and had decals that were cracked and just plain gross. They were for sale for $1.99 each. Who is going to buy those? Goodness, you can go to Walmart and buy a brand new man's Fruit of the Loom tshirt for $3.

They also are really into "collectibles". I collect Coleco Cabbage Patch Kids. Right now I can't even buy one at Goodwill. The older ones that are dirty with no clothes sell for a minimum of $20. I used to buy them for $1 until they decided they were "collectible". The newer all plastic baby doll sell for a minimum of $12. All stuffed animals start at $3. Single unclothed Barbie dolls sell for $3 each. If those Barbies have decent hair, then they sell for $5 and up each. It's insane.

Beanie Babies.. which aren't even really hot anymore.. sell for a minimum of $7 for McDonalds Teenie Beanies up to $100 for a little zebra from 1998 with no tag.

They also have a "rare" Holly Hobbie plate that has a crack in it and was glued back together for $30. That same plate I saw on ebay still sealed in it's 1970s package for less than $5.

Womens' jeans start at $8 each. Used jeans!! Why buy used jeans (and not name brand) for $8 when you can go to Walmart and buy a new pair of jeans for $10.97.

Now, the books are a good deal. They are 25 cents each. There are a lot of newer books kids bought from the school book clubs. The kids in my sister's class like being able to choose books as rewards.

That's the only thing I've bought from Goodwill in over a year. The rest of their stuff is overpriced, and boy do my hands get grimy after going in there.

Whew. Guess I don't like my Goodwill.

 

[#1 DOUG Live Fan]

Oh my gosh! $2.99 for a top? I was just at one of our local GWs last week, and tops were marked $5.50. I didn't notice them marking certain brands higher, but it's possible I missed the pricing. I usually browse the rack by looking through the labels first, look over the garment for quality, and then check the price. I have only been shopping on 50% off days. Don't they do that in your town? It really helps. They have them here at least once a month, sometimes twice.

Liz

 

[HaleyB]

Our Goodwill is the same way, but it is because people are buying to resell. Try other thrift stores, we have afew church run ones that are both cheaper and have better selection. Garage sales are the real way to find things to resell on ebay, look for ones in older neighborhoods.

 

[skiwee1]

Our Goodwill is too picky when it comes to donating items. I had a sofa I wanted to get rid of. It was a nice cream color with worm wood arms that were also cushioned. It cost $5000 new and was only 2 years old. It has sat in my unused living room for 2 years and we were moving and had no room for it. Well we called to have Goodwill pick it up and they asked all kinds of questions. It was obvious they wanted it in perfect condition. So we must have passed the inspection and they made a date to come get it. We then took it to our garage to store until they came to get it the next day. On the way to the garage the side of the sofa got hooked on the railing out front our house and put a 3 inch rip in it. It was down low and on the side so I didn't think it was a big deal. This sofa was beautiful! Anyway they came and turned it down! Said they don't have anyone to fix it. I said what about the person that you sell it to. Can't they fix it? Nope. They wouldn't take it! Since it was already in my garage I decided to put in the paper to sell. I got $2000 for that sofa the following week. Since then I do not deal with Goodwill. They seem to think they should have everything perfect.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by skiwee1
It cost $5000 new and was only 2 years old.

Just curious - what kind of sofa sells for $5000? Fine leather, I'm guessing.

Steve

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by disneysteve
Just curious - what kind of sofa sells for $5000? Fine leather, I'm guessing.

Steve

No leather. It was the hand carved worm wood on the arms of the sofa and along the top of the back. It was beautiful but too much for my newer home that only had one living room. At my other house we had a living room and family room. The newer one only had a living room where we hung out at. I didn't want to see it get messed up. I've sinced moved to another house that has a formal living room and wished I would have kept it!

 

[nana2tots]

There is an Awesome store in High Point ,n.c., it is called Carolina Thrift, Monday's are half price day, and on this day you can hardly get in the store, no matter what time of the day you go, it is still a great place Tues.- Sat. great deals, and they sell only the best clothing!!!!!!! I Love this place. disneykid

 

[nana2tots]

Forgot to mention, Goodwill, they are much too over- priced, i will never go back there since i found Carolina Thrift, about 4- yrs. ago. disneykid (example) brand new pair of Tommy shorts, still had tag on them $3.99, what a deal !!!!!!!disneykid

 

[pjlla]

Not sure what is up with the GW stores around here, but two beautiful new ones opened up about the same time (one was brand new and the other was a "relocated" store). They both closed within about 6 months. So now the only GW is 45 minutes north. I do go in on occasion, but find very few real "bargains". Did hit a good clearance bin a few months ago and got a girl's winter coat for .25!!! But unfortunately those bargains are few and far between. I usually just browse through when I am stopping to make a donation.

The Salvation Army near us is overpriced and DARK. It's hard to see what you are shopping for it is so dark!! And so overcrowded you can hardly stand it. But I have found a few "bargains" there as well. But you really have to hunt.

I find I do just as well at rummage sales and yard sales..........P

 

[Belle0101]

Hi #1 DOUG Live Fan! We live in Nappanee so I bet we've shopped in some of the same GW!!

I started shopping in GW about 2 years ago and I definitely feel that prices have gone up.

Gone also are the colors of the week. For example, all white ticketed merchandise would be 75% all week and green merchandise would be 50% off all week. Instead it's a color, clothing only, that is $1.00 Sunday through Wednesday. Sometimes the individual stores will run that past Wednesday though.

There is one around here that runs really good manager's specials - like yesterday I shopped in one that had buy 1 toy, puzzle or stuffed animal and get one free.

I think you just have to be conscious of how much the same item would cost new at retail level and is it really a good buy - sometimes it is and sometimes it's not.