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The Goodwill Store has gotten expensive

S

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
I love Goodwill, but it's getting crazy I was in there just a few days ago. It seems their markup is pretty high

$8 for a used shovel
$5 for a pack of socks
$125 for a 100% wool suit jacket

The prices are more/less close to ebay now!
 
Too many trendy youths shopping at thrift stores these days to keep prices low. I'm one of them admittedly but I mostly just shop for CDs and games. Haven't had much luck lately, especially since it seems like thefts are getting worse there.
 
Used to shop at Goodwill when I was younger. 'Course back then they used to call it 'Good-heel'. Used to have to catch the ferry to get there. I needed a new heel for m'shoe, so, I decided to catch the ferry to Morganville. Which is what they used to call Shelbyville. Which is where the Good-heel store was. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, course in those days nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. "Give me five bees for a quarter," you'd say. Back then it was only a nickel to ride the ferry. Or one bee. Which was a nickel back in the day.

The important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones. They cost a nickel. Which we used to call 'bees' because they had pictures of bumbleebees on them. Used to say "Give me 5 bees for a quartery". Course that's when I had an onion on my belt.
 
madoka said:
I recently got a Nintendo DS for $5. Not too shabby.
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I went to three Goodwill stores today. One had a Gameboy Advance SP with no charger. Strangely, it still had enough charge remaining to turn on but the screen had strange artifacts near the top. $10

Bought a Sega Genesis AC adapter instead. Can't recall what it cost but it was in the random cables bin.
 
CZroe said:
I went to three Goodwill stores today. One had a Gameboy Advance SP with no charger. Strangely, it still had enough charge remaining to turn on but the screen had strange artifacts near the top. $10
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I suppose I got lucky. It had one of those rom copy devices in it, so the workers thought it was broken. 😀
 
Goodwill sucks. I went there yesterday, and had a brand new bluetooth keyboard for $30. problem is I literally bought the same thing yesterday from meh.com for $5, and it could be had from Amazon for $14.

Pretty much all their stuff is like that. It's not always that badly priced, but you always have to make a thoughtful cost/benefit analysis. It's usually comparable to buying new with depreciation, eg no real deals.
 
Used to go to Goodwill all the time to look for vintage computer stuff, which I was big into collecting at the time. I was able to get some pretty cool things (like a scanner in the original box) but it went downhill shortly after....couldn't find anything.

I'm convinced a lot of people fill up cartloads of stuff just to resell on eBay.
 
lxskllr said:
Goodwill sucks. I went there yesterday, and had a brand new bluetooth keyboard for $30. problem is I literally bought the same thing yesterday from meh.com for $5, and it could be had from Amazon for $14.

Pretty much all their stuff is like that. It's not always that badly priced, but you always have to make a thoughtful cost/benefit analysis. It's usually comparable to buying new with depreciation, eg no real deals.
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You know you can actually say something is overpriced and they'll ask you what you think it's worth. At least the stores near me do that.
 
Fritzo said:
You know you can actually say something is overpriced and they'll ask you what you think it's worth. At least the stores near me do that.
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I never thought to try that. I'm suspicious of it working at the one near me. The employees don't look like decision makers.

In any case, I have other good thrift shops I can go to, as well as consignment/pawn shops. Goodwill doesn't offer anything that isn't available elsewhere.
 
Puppies04 said:
Best goodwill find ever! (click at the bottom to load the other pictures)

http://imgur.com/gallery/Yz8sT
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In the early Gameboy Advance era I actually did find a Gameboy Color case that was stuffed full of games and priced as a case (few bucks, tops).

A couple years earlier I found a wooden Nintendo Entertainment System organizer that was full of ~25 *good* games (this kid had taste!) with sleeves and manuals for $17. The top drawer even had the kid's old Metroid passwords.

The Mustang beats it though.
 
Mixolydian said:
Used to go to Goodwill all the time to look for vintage computer stuff, which I was big into collecting at the time. I was able to get some pretty cool things (like a scanner in the original box) but it went downhill shortly after....couldn't find anything.

I'm convinced a lot of people fill up cartloads of stuff just to resell on eBay.
Click to expand...

Same here, I used to know everybody in thecomputer store and was allowed to snoop the back storage rooms and make offers on stuff. The store I went to was at the main distribution center, with a building just for computer stuff, and big covered open air spot with auctions by the bin (think of a pallet with a wire frame six feet high piled full) three times a week. About half the computer stuff went directly into bins reserved for a local computer recycler who made a fortune parting stuff out.

What has I won't say ruined, but greatly reduced the bargains, is that many resellers buy regularly in volume and sell via ebay, swap meet, or even retail stores. They come in and check the stuff several times a week, and eventually GW has a clue on what has substantial value and puts in special boutique stores or sells on ebay.
 
The Salvation Army in my town doesn't want computer stuff, maybe they got burned with CRTs and Zip drives.
 
Of course goodwill has a high markup, how do you expect all of those executives to get their 1 to 5 million a year salary.
 
I went to GoodWill in November looking for snow boots - not something you see a lot of in Tallahassee. Found a pair of Totes boots - in my size - looked brand new - retailed for $60, for $9. Thought that was really reasonable for something that, as often as I need snow boots, should last the rest of my life and perhaps all of my next life as well.
 
HamburgerBoy said:
Too many trendy youths shopping at thrift stores these days to keep prices low. I'm one of them admittedly but I mostly just shop for CDs and games. Haven't had much luck lately, especially since it seems like thefts are getting worse there.
Click to expand...
HamburgerBoy called me a trendy youth! :wub: :wub: :wub:
 
allisolm said:
I went to GoodWill in November looking for snow boots - not something you see a lot of in Tallahassee. Found a pair of Totes boots - in my size - looked brand new - retailed for $60, for $9. Thought that was really reasonable for something that, as often as I need snow boots, should last the rest of my life and perhaps all of my next life as well.
Click to expand...

nice, yep there are still some deals to be had there

just not as many as their used to be
 
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