What the heck happened?

[Tammy]

Stopped off at one of the GW stores in Central IL  Saturday. The first item you see is necklaces which are normally priced at $1.99 and a bit more if it's fancier.  Almost all of them were mostly marked $10.00!   I asked 2 clerks if that was the right price and both quickly said we don't price that stuff and walked off. Jeans went up a dollar to $5.99.  Glasses that 2 weeks ago were averaging .79 are now $1.00 and up.  The prices were sky high and overly priced.  I just could not believe how much they are asking for things now compared to 2 weeks ago.  I'll stop back there in 2-3 weeks and see what prices are and also going to stop at the one by where I work tonight but if they're all going to start charging these inflated amounts I'll stick with the Salvation Army stores.  

[Tammy]

Another woman that was there commented about the prices and said after all the Goodwill Stores are really nothing more than fancier garage sales. 

[Jay2TheRescue]

Fancy garage sales?  Most stuff here still has the price tags from when people tried to sell it in their yard sale, and it didn't sell, so they donated it to Goodwill.  The bulk of what's in our local Goodwill has the overall feel of "what's left after 2PM at the yard sale"  Most stuff of value has been sold on Ebay or Craigslist, and the rare valuable items that they do get are usually sent to Goodwill's online auction site, so what's left in the stores is usually very junky, but since there's a Goodwill 1/2 mile from my house I do make the occasional stop and maybe once every couple of months I do find that rare item that has been overlooked by everyone else.

[FleaQueen]

What probably happened is that the store got a new manager. 

I'm in the same stores all the time and have been for years.  Now and then I'll notice some new development:  suddenly the prices go up or go down, or there's more quality old stuff out on the floor, or less quality old stuff out on the floor. 

What's telling is that for chain thrift stores (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. etc.) these changes aren't usually chain-wide, so I think the changes are generally due to who calls the shots in each store.

www.fullservicebohemian.blogspot.com

[Big Daddy Audio]

Well, there must be a new manager at the Goodwill on W Bell in Sun City West.  Prices there have just about ECLIPSED eBay.  There is now little room for any kind of profit. 

For instance - there was a beach cruiser type bike - nothing fancy - a big box store brand.  Price on it was $139.99.  There was minimal wear, but it was obviously NOT vintage.  But the deal is that you can scout the Sunday adverts and find a similar bike NEW at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc. for about $100.00 - maybe less.

The managers are obviously skewing prices higher, and there's a simple answer for that, and that simple answer is upper management.  Why do prices need to go up?  Goodwill is starting to advertise on television.

While it's still a place to try to find records or old videos, the Goodwills around me have priced themselves out of the market for bikes (almost completely) and for good quality stereo equipment (unless something sneaks through, almost completely as well).

It's going to be their loss in the long run.   

[Tammy]

At first I wondered if gas prices had anything to do with the drastic increase, but I know many items that get donated they pass through right back into the store.  Summer is coming so their heating bill goes down.  I really didn't see any
point in it.  What really irrates me and I know they have nothing to do with it, is the way employees, instead of trying to explain the increase, suddenly run the opposite way to avoid talking to you. 

[Sir Thrift-A-Lot]

Fancy garage sales?  Most stuff here still has the price tags from when people tried to sell it in their yard sale, and it didn't sell, so they donated it to Goodwill.  The bulk of what's in our local Goodwill has the overall feel of "what's left after 2PM at the yard sale"  Most stuff of value has been sold on Ebay or Craigslist, and the rare valuable items that they do get are usually sent to Goodwill's online auction site, so what's left in the stores is usually very junky, but since there's a Goodwill 1/2 mile from my house I do make the occasional stop and maybe once every couple of months I do find that rare item that has been overlooked by everyone else.

That sounds like a horrible shop!

Our Goodwill auctions off the valuable auctions in store. Everything's shipped in, they don't take any donations in store or near by.







Our Goodwill pricing has become plain bizarre:

$2.02
$3.03
$4.04
$5.05
etc.

No tax.