Purchasing clothes at goodwill

I finally started shopping at thrift stores a couple of years ago. The local ARC has great deals. Most Saturdays are half price days. I purchase paperback books to read when I travel. When done reading I have had a few conversations while waiting for the next train. I have "paid it forward" by giving a book to someone else traveling.

I have purchased clothes that are new, some with tags some without but never washed (I used to sew and can tell if fabric is new and not laundered). It's nice to purchase clothes that can replace anything that is stained or worn out. I find a lot of Lands End, Eddie Bauer clothes that still have the folds. People must buy mail order items and just not bother to send it back if it's not what they wanted.
 
I like getting books at the thrift shop but also the library sales. Most of the books I have ever bought on Amazon for full price I have ended up finding at a library sale for 50 cent of a dollar or maybe even available during the $2 a bag closing time sales.
 
Still in the working world so need to wear the dreaded neck tie. I've gotten every tie at resale shops for the last decade. Best deal my DW found was a bag of 40 neckties all 100% silk for 8 bucks.

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I'm in the market for an old plaid suit coat - must be very visibly plaid. My son has his first professional lead in a musical, and the musical is 'Forever Plaid' lol. I want to wear the jacket opening night *grin*. Figured the local Goodwill might be an option...


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Goodwill for us is a once in a while, but we regularly go to less expensive resale stores.
If your sister or brother were to give you a shirt or blouse, would you throw it out because someone else had worn it? Frankly, we've been buying from resale store ever since we retired 25 years ago, and haven't caught any deadly disease or had our home contaminated with bugs... and I doubt that you'd notice that my Arnold Palmer shirt or or New Balance sneakers had ever (gasp) been worn by anyone else. My LL Bean jacket? forbid that anyone else might have worn it at one time.

All "used articles" stores are not alike, and what may be used, used in one town could be almost new, in another. it's not always easy to pick out the best stores. Our favorite is "The Closet" in the next town. It's an old "money" town, and there is a steady stream of merchandise that passes through... likely twice or three times the turnover of our Goodwill store. It's run by ladies from 7 different local churches and located in a 15,000 sf old Sears specialty store.

The secret of the success, and it IS a success... is low price. Clothing... Everything you can fit into a Walmart type wire handled basket for $5. Maximum 10 items, no hangers. That means, for me, a pair of sneakers, four shirts, a jacket and a sweatshirt. $5.

Tools, electronics, housewares, kids toys, furniture, CD's, DVD's, a huge library. and much jewelry.
Almost brand new blender $2, 4 handset wireless phone $3, Undercounter canopener B&D new condition $2.... and how about this... A ladies left hand golf bag and cart with 7 clubs, including a Callaway, a Ping and a Cobra putter... perfect condition... all for $20.

Yesterday I picked up a Koss headset for $1, and a kids National Geographic Microscope (retail $70) for $2 and the best RayOVac Workhorse flashlight ever made, for $.50.
A month ago they had a 26 piece set of Mikasa China for $15, the price of a single teacup.

But that's one of the best stores that we've found. None the less, some poking around will often find this kind of low margin/no margin high turnover store. our experience mostly has led us to small one or two day a week church operated stores as usually having the best values, but that varies. We have two local large stores that sponsor overnight shelters. There again, the public support in giving has been great, and both stores do a good business.

So, yes... we shop resale, and no one knows it, but you.
 
I'm wearing an LLBean shirt and Talbots shorts right now, both from Goodwill. Also bought much of the kitchen stuff for our RV at Goodwill (Corelle dishes, mixing bowl, measuring cups, etc.).

I would second the motion to avoid pillows, upholstered furniture, etc. due to the increasing bedbug threat. And I've never bought underwear...
 
What level of cleaning does goodwill do for clothes?

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I do this all the time. Sometimes when we are travelling, we realize that we need something we forgot - a pair of jeans (only shorts in the suitcase) or an extra t-shirt. The first thing we do is look for a thrift store. Though I do wash things before I wear them.

Depending on your body and what is available locally, some things work better than others. I wear a large shoe size but in narrow, so rarely can buy shoes. But tops, sweaters, jeans are usually plentiful and I can often buy better quality than I would buy new.

I have learned that some people are more squeamish about this than others. When my higher end friends compliment me on something I bought from a thrift store, I just say "thank you" and move on. A couple of people thought I must be in financial hardship when I told them where I bought something so I keep this info to myself with them.

Of course, others think it is great!
 
We buy a good bit of our kid's clothes at the thrift shop. In fact we haven't purchased anything for our 2 year old other than at the thrift shop. Most items are a buck or so, but often marked down. On our last visit all kids clothes were half off. I got six outfits (shirts and shorts) for the little guy for $5-6 I think. The older kids got maybe 10 more items for $10-15 total. And they sent us a $5 off $20 coupon.

And they give away 1-2 free stuffed animals or plush toys to kids who shop with parents. Once we got a talking Eeyore Disney doll for free (probably $20 or more brand new).

The kids also bought shoes there for $3-5.

I can't recall buying anything for myself, mostly because I buy clothes so infrequently (like maybe $50/yr for a few pair of shorts and a couple shirts).
 
I was at some thrift shops today looking for more first apartment stuff for one of the kids. One store only had 1 breadmaker this trip, but 4 ice cream makers (Cuisinart even) and 7 George Foreman grills. They had so much furniture they were turning people away trying to make donations.

It is kind of wild what you can buy for so little compared to even sale prices at the discount stores, and the money all goes to charity.
 
daylatedollarshort said:
It is kind of wild what you can buy for so little compared to even sale prices at the discount stores, and the money all goes to charity.
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When you see people lining up in droves to buy carloads of stuff at the mall and target and walmart and ikea, it's no surprise that the old stuff has to go somewhere. Most of us only have one house and they tend to fill up eventually! :D
 
FUEGO said:
When you see people lining up in droves to buy carloads of stuff at the mall and target and walmart and ikea, it's no surprise that the old stuff has to go somewhere. Most of us only have one house and they tend to fill up eventually! :D
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Vases, paintings, lamps, dining room tables, headboards, plates, silverware, plastic bowls - that stuff especially takes a long time to wear out. In this book I am reading now by a guy who settles estates for a living, he said the customers change but the merchandise stays the same.
 
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I was told to never buy shoes at a resale shop because theyhave been broken in to fit someone elses foot configuration (pressure points, etc). Other than that, we definitely use Goodwill. My son-in-law is a welder that goes through at least a pair of jeans a month. He'd go broke if he didn't buy them at Goodwill for a couple of dollars.
 
I don't hesitate to buy shoes at thrift stores; I don't think right now I have anything but thrift store/garage sale shoes. I look for like new with not wear on heals etc. I regularly find sneakers that look brand new.

A couple of weeks ago I snagged 4 pairs of the same sneaker for my brother. The store was having 1/2 off and they were $4/pair. For $16 he is set for a while. I think they were donations from a store.
 
Rushmore said:
A couple of weeks ago I snagged 4 pairs of the same sneaker for my brother. The store was having 1/2 off and they were $4/pair. For $16 he is set for a while. I think they were donations from a store.
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My kid bought a nice pair of boots for $5 and they were brand new. The soles were a foam-like material that would quickly show wear if worn, but these were brand new looking.

I asked the workers at our thrift shop about some of the stuff and they confirmed they do get donations of brand new stuff from stores. We bought a battery powered 4 wheeler for $25 and it was one of those brand new items.
 
I am convinced that we have bought things from re-sale shops used them for a month or 2 then re-donated them to same or different store. Hmmmmm can i take the write off at 15 bucks per "its deductible" if I only paid 4 bucks for it?
 
LoneAspen said:
I don't even care about getting a receipt or writing it off. I just want to dump it all off, and be done with it so I can hit the road.
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The easiest way out is then call an auctioneer and say "Make it all go away". No work for you and you'll even get a little bit of money for it.
 
FUEGO said:
My kid bought a nice pair of boots for $5 and they were brand new. The soles were a foam-like material that would quickly show wear if worn, but these were brand new looking.

I asked the workers at our thrift shop about some of the stuff and they confirmed they do get donations of brand new stuff from stores. We bought a battery powered 4 wheeler for $25 and it was one of those brand new items.
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OK, brand new or almost new shoes are a different story.
 
I've been buying most of my clothes from thrift stores for years. As someone said, much of the stuff there is in excellent shape, and you can't beat the price. I also get other things occasionally from thrift stores.......kitchen tools, other tools, bed linens, lamps, etc, etc.. I occasionally find something at a thrift store that is such a good deal it's hard to believe. For example, I bought a nearly-new Columbia fall jacket a while back for 4 bucks! I routinely buy nice mens shorts, almost like new, for 50 cents. I will never pay retail prices for most clothes again.
 
Just went by Goodwill today. I had read on some facebook groups that resell items on Ebay, etc. that Goodwill ( as opposed to Salvation Army and others) have recently increased pricing on their items - especially clothing. Well, I was shocked. They wanted 10 to 20 dollars for some items because they perceived the label as being high end. But the items were worn looking and a mess. And I was thinking that the people that need clothing at lower prices, would never be able to afford to shop here. Some brands that you can get at Ross or other discount stores at a better price and its not used! I was fairly shocked.

I have started selling a few items on Ebay and Etsy to help make nest egg last and keeps me active. I've collected vintage items as a hobby most of my life. It can be lucrative but also frustrating if you guess wrong on what has resale value.

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Purchased a sectional couch for a family member yesterday. It wasn't Goodwill but another charity that provides assistance to the homeless. Their selection ran a pretty wide range. The store was clean and well organized. I'd go back again.
 
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