Purchasing clothes at goodwill

[Live And Learn]

I have made several donations, and several purchases, from Goodwill - generally clothing. I have to refrain from looking at the other items lest I start to reclutter my home !

[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Another little tip for the runners in the group: I'll go to a thrift store (and some are even much cheaper than Goodwill) occasionally and buy a number of sweatshirts and jackets to keep in a box at home. When you show up for an early morning race in cold weather, a good warm coverup is worth its weight in gold while you wait for the starting signal. Once you're on your way and starting to warm up, just shuck the sweatshirt and toss it to the sidewalk. Someone will pick it up and be glad to have it -- perfect recycling. I've done this for many years.

We've done that for many years too and I'm always surprised at the quality/quantity of shirts. At the San Antonio RNR marathon, they collect the discards and donate them back, they had hundreds and hundreds of bags, which was expected with 30,000 runners! I also saw college age kids rummaging thru the clothes at the start line. We also shop there for ugly Christmas sweater parties.

[LoneAspen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort If you ever want a bread machine, go to a charity thrift shop. One store I went to had seven bread machines that looked like they had never been used.

Funny you mentioned that, because I was looking around the house today and mentally picking out items that I'm going to give away to a thrift shop, and the bread machine was one of them (although I've used it several times).

My goal when I leave California and move back to Colorado is to not take anything I can't fit in the back of my Jeep, just like I had to do when I moved to California (couldn't afford movers). This time, I could afford movers, but I just don't want to deal with it. I just want to be able to pack up the Jeep one day, and hit the road.

With all the stuff I plan on giving away, it's probably going to amount to a tidy sum for them. Kitchen electrics, dishes, glasses, flatware, cookware, couple inkjet printers still in good condition, and a home theater room full of equipment, including a projector that cost $2000 new.

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.

[Gumby]

We often shop at Goodwill for clothing, housewares, books and LPs.

[Jay_Gatsby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby We often shop at Goodwill for clothing, housewares, books and LPs.

What's an LP? ;-)


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[Sarah in SC]

Janet, you know that a border collie will always select the best seat in the house!
So very very cute!

[pjm-7]

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.

[daylatedollarshort]

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.

[Backpacker]

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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[seraphim]

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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[imoldernu]

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.

[mickeyd]

Goodwill is my store of choice when shopping for jeans. At $3-$5 each for broken-in version, GW is tops.

[MBAustin]

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...

[mickeyd]

Quote:

And I've never bought underwear...

At Goodwill, or anywhere?

[photoguy]

What level of cleaning does goodwill do for clothes?

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[bikeknit]

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!

[FUEGO]

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).

[daylatedollarshort]

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.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort 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.

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!

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO 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!

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.