Comment on Goodwill is out of control
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
this is actually A Thing according to my dedicated thrifter wife
They realized they can make more money by pricing what professional resellers would charge, and have starting sloughing off more high end stuff to sell online, and adjusting pricing to be inline with the rest of the 2nd hand fashion reselling market.
I wanna say this has been going on for a while, but it really feels like they’ve cranked it up just recently. I was in a goodwill probably just a month or so ago and it felt like everything there was the same price you’d have gotten it new. It’s insane.
Stick to your local thrifters, people, chances are they have better shit anyway.
My friend frequents goodwill and one time, he came home super excited to show me the Husky mini socket set he bought. He excitedly told me “oh it was only $35!”, assuming he had gotten a great deal… that same socket set was also $35 brand new at Home Depot. It’s almost predatory because people just assume goodwill has better prices. That said… my friend should’ve been smart enough to double check that before buying it, lol
The goodwill near me wants $21 for a pair of jeans that are very obviously used and fairly thin. A thicker pair of jeans is $15.99 at the Walmart 3 miles down the road…
They actually sort items and send the stuff which has higher value to stores in wealthier areas.
mosiacmango@lemm.ee 4 days ago
Yeah, everyone has a phone now, including goodwill employees. They aren’t going to put a $300 northface coat out for $12.99 with it goes for $129 online.
Our local thrift stores price according to the real world too, and generally, I bet $35 is still a deal for this coat, just not the $3.50 that people want to see.
BigDaddySlim@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I went to a Savers (local thrift store chain) about a month ago and they had a boxed Wii console in the glass case. It was used, not sealed, and they wanted $350 for it. I asked the guy if that was a mistake and he told me it was indeed the listed price. “I know for a fact this will never sell at this price because it’s been here for over a year.”
Some of these employees are just putting crazy prices.
tektite@slrpnk.net 4 days ago
Savers is the same as Value Village and it’s a for-profit company that exists in three different countries. They’re not much better than Goodwill.
mosiacmango@lemm.ee 4 days ago
100% also happening. I bet they found boxed Wii online listed for $350 and did not check the “sold” prices.
Then again, “vintage” gaming is having a revival right now, so it’s fully possible it sold for $350 online, but the local customers aren’t the same as the global customers.
Hacksaw@lemmy.ca 4 days ago
I found dollarama products listed for $5+ at the local goodwill. Let’s not just make the blanket assumption that exploited goodwill workers are professional appraisers and that the customer is the problem.
mosiacmango@lemm.ee 4 days ago
Well, they deal with literally any object any store has ever sold ever, so yeah I expect they dobt know it all.
Still, I think it makes sense that they have some processes in place to get it right most of the time, or at least sometimes.
Hacksaw@lemmy.ca 4 days ago
This is a store where people GIVE away their stuff, out of the goodness of their hearts with the premise that it will be sold at a low price so that someone less fortunate can benefit. If goodwill has decided to sell the merchandise it gets for FREE at “fair market value” to the highest bidder in order to maximise profit then what’s the point of goodwill? Might as well use a consignment store and get a cut.
The exchange in “Goodwill” is that you’re donating in goodwill so your things can help others. That’s what goodwill MEANS.
Maggoty@lemmy.world 3 days ago
It’s actually subminimum. Goodwill gets to decide what they pay their workers thanks to a carve out in the Fair Wage act. They’ve been caught paying as little as 22 cents.
LordKitsuna@lemmy.world 3 days ago
If you go rural enough and you find the mom and pop Christian own thrift stores you can still get those kind of deals.
Just recently I went to such a place and I got five stainless steel large (4qt) spice jars and a bunch of silverware for like $7 total.same things woulda been like $15 each at goodwill
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 3 days ago
The nice thing about these thrift stores is they’re actual charities and if you are in a hard place they’ll often help you get the stuff you need for free rather than charging the $0.25 an item they might otherwise
Maggoty@lemmy.world 3 days ago
You mean it’s not the 3.50 that the working mom of 3 needs it to be in order to buy it.
mosiacmango@lemm.ee 3 days ago
More like its $31.50 that charities can use to help working moms that scalpers pay to get a coat they can sell for $130.
Maggoty@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Then they aren’t a thrift store and should stop deceptively marketing themselves as one. Furthermore their “programs” are shit. If they just paid their employees then they could afford the online courses without the administrative overhead.