GW compared to Sal Army

[Tammy]

These are the 2 largest thrifts in our area that I hit the most.  Some of the Goodwills I don't even go into as their prices are so high.  But I've noticed that while the GW's keep raising their prices, sometimes very noticeable, othertimes just a quarter or so, the SA stores go back and forth.  We can go into one and prices have jumped up to the silly stage but then several weeks later, prices have gone back down to the YEAH! look how cheap price. 

So anybody else who hits these 2 stores seem to notice a trend in them going higher, or back and forth prices? 

[Big Daddy Audio]

I usually shop in GW stores.  This is because the stores in my region put coupons online, so any time I have a sale $10.00 or over, I get a 20% discount with the coupon.

What I have noticed is complete inconsistency in pricing.  Some stores, on one hand, seem to have processors who know what stuff should go for, and things are priced accordingly (these are the best places to shop).  Other stores (on the other hand) have processors who wouldn't know a Hey-Wake end table from a Wal-Mart end table (or in my case, wouldn't know Nakamichi from Tamagotchi), and price accordingly.  Other shops (on the third hand) have processors who think like Antiques Roadshow - everything (and I mean everything!) is worth thousands to the right buyer, and things are priced accordingly.

Just the other day, I saw a bunch of blank VHS tapes in a GW priced at $4.99 each.  $4.99!  They were of better quality, but still.  Since it was such an obviously wrong price (they should be no higher than $1.99 at the absolute most, and should more likely be $.99), I brought it to the attention of one of the customer service managers.

1) "Oh, I can't change the prices once somethings comes on the floor."
2) "Even if it's so obviously mis-priced?"
3) See line 1

I shrugged and walked out.

The sad thing is that some ignoramus might actually pay $4.99 for them.  I guess that's what they're hoping for.

See you next time
bye for now
 

[dukek9]

Well, our local Salvation Army has higher prices than the nearby big city Salvation Army.  Just 50 cents to a dollar higher, but oddly enough the quality and selection is mot as good as at the lower priced store.  Anyway, all the Salvation Army thrift stores I go to have very inconsistent] prices among them.

Good will--I mostly go to one in a small city south of here.  It's located in a dying mall with Family Dollar and a really nice Big Lots.  I think that helps keep prices down there because they have to compete with the discount stores.

One thing that does irritate me is how the stores will have a set price for an item and they have that price on all items, regardless of quality. For example, say the store's price is 3.99 for dvd's.  So a good feature film will be $3.99 but also a freebie promotional dvd or a movie from the dollar bins at regular stores will also be priced at 3.99.

The local Salvation Army recently had those originally a dollar dvd's priced for 3.99.  I pointed out that they were available for $1.00 at Wal-Mart new.  The clerk did thank me for that information and I did here her relay the information to her manager. Well, the next time I went in, the dvd's were still there, but had been priced lower: to $1.49!

So someone could get them for $1.00 new or $1.49 used!  Must be some logic there, but I sure don't know what it is!
Dee

[AlienEeeter]

Goodwills around here are priced higher, as far as clothes go--everything is priced the same, regardless of style or condition (all the jeans are priced the same, all the t-shirts, ect).  The SA will price according to each individual piece.  I think GW is cheaper furniture wise, dishes are about the same...

Both places charge outrageous (1.00 and 1.49) for books, so I just go to the Village for those.

I tend to prefer the Goodwill Outlet over everything else.  you cant beat 1.29 a *pound* for clothes, and the books are cheap there too.  I've found Doc Marten shoes in good condition there for a dollar, and all kinds of funky weird things like betamax tapes or huge piles of greeting cards for a quarter each.  And if for any reason you need a bowling ball, they usually have about 50 of them. 

[genuineimitation]

i don't go to our local goodwill much  - but i just got a pair of weird 80's black and pink boots with spike heels from hospice. the lady said "all boots $1.99, unless otherwise marked! oh, and look! they're new - still have the price tag on the bottom!"

turns out the price tag was from Salvation army! where they were sold for $12.99!!!!!
so, yes, i think that salvation army does have some high prices. but they are just like any other store - whoever is doing the marking can't always get the pricing right. i bought a pair of keen shoes at sal. army for $5.00, so it's really irrational..

[goodaim]

Here. GW has standard pricing for clothing - everything in a category is priced the same, no matter what the brand.

It has a better selection of books than our SA, and they're priced lower. It also sewing and craft supplies, which our SA used to carry but no longer does.

The SA prices clothes by condition and often by brand, which makes sense to me. Every day a different color is featured - any item in the store with that color tag is half off. On Saturday evenings, any item of clothing with a particular color tag is 49 cents.

To my surprise, a few weeks ago our SA had a promotion going: spend x amount dollars (I think it was 25 or 50 dollars) to be entered into a drawing. The prizes were mostly gift certificates to local restaurants. Has anyone else's SA done something like this?

For me, each store has its pluses and minuses. I try to focus on the strength of each store.

goodaim

[SeSo_Says_So]

goodaim, I totally agree re: focusing on the strength of each store. Knowing this in advance can save a lot of time and frustration for me.

For example, 99.9% of the thrifts I visit have lousy clothes (for me), so I don't waste my time looking for clothes, since that's what I will be doing--wasting my time. Their strengths are in the housewares, handbags, scarves, possibly,so that's where I put my focus. I might breeze through the clothes at the end of my visit, but only after I put the focus of my energy on the store's strengths (and what I am particulary interested in).

One of the thrifts I frequent has had incredible books that I would never have thought I would find here. So when I'm in that store, I do check the books out very thoroughly at that store.

MY GW is the best place for clothes for me, but that's not saying much, lol. We no longer have an SA, it closed suddenly. When it was open, though, I found lots of interesting pieces in housewares Many I had to leave behind because I had no use for them. 

[valleythriftshopper]

The SA prices clothes by condition and often by brand, which makes sense to me. Every day a different color is featured - any item in the store with that color tag is half off. On Saturday evenings, any item of clothing with a particular color tag is 49 cents.

To my surprise, a few weeks ago our SA had a promotion going: spend x amount dollars (I think it was 25 or 50 dollars) to be entered into a drawing. The prizes were mostly gift certificates to local restaurants. Has anyone else's SA done something like this?

goodaim

My local SA's use the same color coded system you mentioned so you can tell what is the new merchandise & what is older.  They have 50% off a particular color daily and on Wednesdays every color except the newest is 50% off.  We don't have the .49 cent sales on Saturdays though, it would be pretty crowed in there if we did!

The manager at one SA makes up gift baskets at holidays with new holiday items (one for kids and one for adults).  If you buy anything you can write your name & number on the back of the receipt & enter a chance to win a basket.  The Survival Center thrift store enters your name in a drawing to win a 25.00 gift certificate to their store if you spend $10.00 or more, which I rarely do because everything is so cheap there. 

[Zed Simon]

If I had to choose, I'd lean towards Sally. A lot of Goodwill's stuff is too new (like the furniture donated from Target), and new things are not what I look for when I thrift.

[Big Daddy Audio]

I slammed GW for their non-sensical price policy in my first entry in this topic, so now it's SA's turn.

The Salvation Army stores around the Phoenix area have this assinine policy of "grouping" electronic components into "systems" and charging stupid high prices for them.  I've had this work to my benefit once.  Most of the time (getting pretty close to the statistical "all the time"), the store will lump real garbage onto a piece that has some value.  The store will then tag the prices for this "system" at $129.95, $149.95, $189.95, $249.95 (and I've even seen one "system" with crappy surround sound speakers, crappy CD player and crappy tape deck with a good AV Receiver for $349.95!).  Pretty much everything except the receiver would (in this case) be considered typical Chinese "throw-away quality" (when you get rid of it, you throw it away - don't bother donating it, for pete's sake - it just clogs up the stores!).  I've seen some good stuff lumped in with these so-called "systems" that just kills me, because certain pieces will be high quality, but the tacked-on garbage kills any type of value that you might achieve.  My purchasing would go up tremendously at SA is they just scrapped this "Let's make a system" policy for electronics.

The Salvation Army stores around me also charge $1.00 per cassette tape while GW charges $.49.  Savers also charges $.99 (and they collect sales tax, too, so it's a double whammy).

See you next time
Bye for now