I've talked about this before, but I wanted to bring it up again this week.
If you're not aware (from another country, maybe), Goodwill Thrift stores sell donated clothing and household goods. They receive so much merchandise every week that they can't possibly keep up in sales to match the volume of what is donated.
The stores color-code the price tags to indicate when donations were put out to sell and routinely cull the oldest-coded, unsold merchandise, to be sold at a steep discount elsewhere. All of this stuff goes to Goodwill Outlet stores.
As you can imagine, a lot of junk winds up in the outlet. But also, a lot of good stuff slips through without being sold in the main stores and ends up in the Outlet.
Instead of repricing each of these many, many items (which the labor to do so would drive up the price to the consumer), the Outlet sells everything except furniture by weight, with shoes, electronics, and hard goods less per pound and textiles slightly more. Clothing/textiles at our Goodwill Outlet is currently $1.79 per pound. The individual Outlet stores set their own price per pound, but the price per pound for all items ranges between $1 and $2 per pound across the country.
In case you haven't figure this out yet, buying high-value, but very lightweight items can be a steal. In 2019, I found a Calvin Klein summer dress that was lightweight. It was in excellent condition -- no stains, holes, or obvious wear. The price back then (even less per pound in 2019) was around 75 cents.
Clothing is not on racks, and most small hard items are not on shelves. Most everything is in large rolling bins. The employees roll out new bins periodically, removing the old ones to the back room. Shoppers descend on the "new" bins and begin digging through the piles. I'm not a huge fan of digging through bins, but my two daughters absolutely love to go to the Outlet. I sometimes think that they love a great bargain more than I do.
Saturday morning they got up and out to the Outlet when they first opened. And they brought me home a "goodie."
They found this beautiful autumnal Jones New York silk scarf -- great colors and pattern to go with my fall and winter wardrobe. And yes, I wear scarves often! The price for this lovely scarf? About 25 cents! It needs a good pressing, but otherwise looks beautiful.
I had no idea that Goodwill had outlet stores! It sounds like bargains are to be had there if one is willing to put in the effort.
ReplyDeleteHi Cat,
DeleteI suspect there are some resellers who frequent the Outlet, picking up real bargains and then listing them on Poshmark or other reselling sites. So, yes, if someone is willing to sift through everything, you can find great bargains. My sewing desk came from there two years ago. I think we paid $7.50 for it. Even when I don't find something I like, I do like just looking.
I had no idea that Goodwill had outlet stores, either. I looked it up and my state has only one, not close to me. That might be the reason for my ignorance. If you had the time and inclination, sounds like you could get some incredible bargains.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteYears ago I read about the Goodwill Outlet in Portland, OR. I remember thinking "if only we had one near us." As it turned out, the one near us was hiding in plain sight, just around the corner from the dance studio where both my daughters took dance classes for several years. I never noticed the Outlet right there on the same street.
That scarf is gorgeous! What a bargain!
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteThank you. I'm really happy with it and have just the outfit in mind with what I will wear it first.
I have worked with clients that work there for job rehab and before putting clothes out they put less attactive clothes in bales and sell them to companies that make rugs and stuffing. Mostly these are old tshirts and jeans but I think it is interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy,
DeleteInteresting. That makes sense. I'm glad places like Goodwill have a system to make sure everything can be sold for some use. I've seen bundles of mismatched towels for sale at our regular Goodwill. I always assumed these were for use as rags.
Amy, that’s good to know that they actually placed people with disabilities in the Goodwill near you. That is my pet peeve with the one here-no people with disabilities in training or otherwise. I supported people with disabilities for decades in my career so found it pretty hypocritical that they advertised themselves as supportive of people with disabilities, yet never hired them. Consequently I’m not a fan. I support our other thrift stores with a philanthropic mission.
DeleteThat is a lovely scarf! I do miss the Goodwill outlet in my area.
ReplyDelete