Minor Face Punch Moment at Goodwill

[oinkette]

Preface: I know that I am going to get a major face punch from a lot of you for this one, but I'm willing to own up to my stupidity on this front until now.

I have shopped at Goodwill before, mostly for things I didn't feel like investing a whole lot of money in. Need more glasses for visiting family or friends? $2 a pop.   I'd also occasionally browse their $1 book shelves to see if there was anything of interest. Occasionally I'd by throw-on weekend wear if needed.

Rewind to last year when I went searching for the perfect black pencil work skirt to "invest in" since my old one had tragically been the victim of an un=repairable tear. I spent $75 at Ann Taylor for one.  Fast forward to this weekend where I went to Goodwill to buy a weekend skirt since an old one was on it's last legs. Instead, what to my wandering eyes should appear...an Ann Taylor black pencil skirt (slightly different but the same genre)!  All their skirts are $6.99.  Sigh!  I also one from Banana Republic.

I'm no longer "investing in" pieces at the mall...at least not until I have thoroughly browsed all my local Goodwills!

[choppingwood]

Now you know.

[Frankies Girl]

Yeah, it's fun finding nice stuff at the goodwill... thrift stores in the ritzy areas tend to yield fancy designer labels that look brand new. I used to get compliments on shirts or stuff at work and get looked at weird when I'd talk about how it was $6 bucks at Goodwill!! What? We're not supposed to be proud of ourselves finding something awesome for pennies on the dollar? Pfft! Whatever... 

Just picked up some fancy brand name dress shirts and two sport jackets for less than $40 for the husband. Found the jackets at one, and just saw another thrift shop while out in another area and popped in and found huge amounts of men's dress clothes (they're near a very expensive area with both business and residential - so marked that one down to visit again if ever in need for men's stuff).

[MrsPfennig]

I found a nice brandname wallet at Goodwill in 2009/10 ish. It still Looks like new today. I spent around $20 back then. Unfortunately, in the area where we live now are no good stores.

[maryofdoom]

I love Goodwill! One of my friends finds all kinds of awesome stuff at Goodwill, and to get around any stigma from obtaining items there, she'll say she picked it up "in Paris" if someone asks. We like to ask her if she's found anything good at Paris lately.

I've earned almost $4,000 from picking up books at Goodwill and selling them on Amazon. In the process, I've also found tons of great books for my own collection, perked up my wardrobe, and even snagged a lovely set of vintage Blue Onion china.

Goodwill is the best!

[jsternitzky]

I love Goodwill! One of my friends finds all kinds of awesome stuff at Goodwill, and to get around any stigma from obtaining items there, she'll say she picked it up "in Paris" if someone asks. We like to ask her if she's found anything good at Paris lately.

I've earned almost $4,000 from picking up books at Goodwill and selling them on Amazon. In the process, I've also found tons of great books for my own collection, perked up my wardrobe, and even snagged a lovely set of vintage Blue Onion china.

Goodwill is the best!

Which ones sell the best? Technical? Financial? Textbooks?

There is a thrift store near me that he a book stock pile that rivals that of a small library. Maybe I can cash in a little and make some tax free income

[maryofdoom]

Which ones sell the best? Technical? Financial? Textbooks?

There is a thrift store near me that he a book stock pile that rivals that of a small library. Maybe I can cash in a little and make some tax free income

Oof. That is a complicated question, because it all varies depending on what sells on Amazon. If this is something you want to do, I would get a subscription to a listing service (I use ASellerTool when I'm doing this; my enterprise is currently on hold) and update the listing data right before you go to the Goodwill.

I have had good luck with obscure, graduate-level textbooks and works of non-fiction; non-fiction trade paperbacks; weird or old art books; books on practical subjects, like hunting or internal combustion engines; and "creepy Jesus books," which are mostly works that are Bible-adjacent and still bear stickers from Family Christian Stores. I would avoid almost all hardback novels, romance novels, anything financial, and pretty much all mass-market paperbacks.

I spent about $200 for start-up costs, which were for a Dell Axim x51 pocket PC and a barcode scanner that plugs into the top of it. Then I mapped one of the buttons to trigger the scanner and set my buying criteria within the program. ASellerTool has a lot of good information on how to do this for yourself; if you're at all interested, I'd check out their website and see if it's an option you want to pursue.

You'll also need a way to ship the books to their intended recipients; I use mostly #1 and #5 poly bubble mailers from ValueMailers.com. Amazon lets you print postage directly from their system, and if you do that, you don't even need to stand in line at the post office.

I treat this side hustle mostly as a way to enhance my own library, since I usually find at least a few books on each trip that I want to read, and selling the "good" books that I find more than makes up for the $3 or $4 I'd spend on books that I want to read. Plus, once I'm done with my own selections, I can cart the ones I don't want to keep up to Half-Price Books and get even more cash back for them! And then, of course, comes the thrill of finding something that sells for a LOT of money. I found a calculus book once that I bought for $2 and sold for $60 within 24 hours. A book on internal combustion was acquired for $2 and went for $120; I bought one on quantum physics for $1 and sold it for $80; and the best one was a book about Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry that I had picked up on clearance at Barnes and Noble, but went for $225 to someone in Australia.

I call it "book-hunting" and it's a blast. I always go for the books first when I go to a thrift store, I have a weakness for them. The only thing is, now I have a problem with paying full price for a new book. I guess that's not entirely bad, though!

[partgypsy]

I had a lucky find where there was a number of pieces of ann taylor loft and Talbots all at the same time at a particular store. whoever dropped them off was slightly larger than me so some I couldn't use some I could (shirts) and I snagged them. I am thinking one particular person who dropped off all those pieces.  Gone back 2 more times since then but slim pickings.

[Rosy]

There is a free site called www.bookscouter.com where you simply scan in the ISBN # of any book and it tells you which bookseller will take the book at what price, including amazon and they facilitate the process. If you are out and about you can look up their site on your smart phone to check before you even buy the book. Just found out about this and I intend to give this a shot to see if it would be worth my while.

I like Goodwill, but the closest one in my area is a zoo:) kinda like the funny stories you hear about Walmart. They are literally overrun every day and especially when they have their 50% off clothing or senior day or whatever.

 Lots of retirees and poor people in my area, being Florida, but I am always impressed by the people furnishing their snow bird condos or beach house with Goodwill purchases. Last time I went a couple from Germany pieced together an entire set of heavy, antique silverware incl the serving pieces - at 25 cents a piece. Why do I comment on this?, because they were on vacation and could sell it for enough to finance their trip!

The best part about Goodwill is that it feels like a treasure hunt and back when I had absolutely no money to spend, but maybe a dollar if I was lucky, it became my entertainment and kitchen budget saver for a while - still own and proudly use several pieces from that time. (a handmade teak and copper tray for 3.99 and a new coffeegrinder for 99cents..). 
The worst part is that it can become addictive and you end up buying things you really don't need, so I stopped going altogether for a long time.

Now I either go in with a list or head straight to the book section. Recently the one near me revamped the store and their book selection is abysmal now - boo. I never see anything I like or even fits in the clothing racks and the stores around here are so cheap you can easily find $5-$7 clothing if that's what you are intent upon. 

[maryofdoom]

There is a free site called www.bookscouter.com where you simply scan in the ISBN # of any book and it tells you which bookseller will take the book at what price, including amazon and they facilitate the process. If you are out and about you can look up their site on your smart phone to check before you even buy the book. Just found out about this and I intend to give this a shot to see if it would be worth my while.

That's a good idea, too. I have limited data on my phone and the reception inside my local Goodwill is TERRIBLE, as I've found when trying to look stuff up while there before. As a result, I prefer an offline solution (and I've made more than enough money bookhunting to justify the expense of a separate device + scanner) but this could be a great option for someone who wants to give this a shot!

[laughing_paddler]

Yeah, it's fun finding nice stuff at the goodwill... thrift stores in the ritzy areas tend to yield fancy designer labels that look brand new. I used to get compliments on shirts or stuff at work and get looked at weird when I'd talk about how it was $6 bucks at Goodwill!! What? We're not supposed to be proud of ourselves finding something awesome for pennies on the dollar? Pfft! Whatever... 

that used to happen to me all the time- I had summer job boss (north woods outfitter, so we weren't fancy) who would poke fun at me when I mentioned various items of awesome/quality clothing I got for next to nothing at thrift stores. Now that I think about it, I've probably stopped talking about 'good deals' over the years... so there was a little bit of social shaming going on there that I was apparently not immune to. Now thanks to the MMMforum- i can go back to being proud (and loud)!

[cripzychiken]

I'd also occasionally browse their $1 book shelves to see if there was anything of interest.

I shop the books there for gifts.  $1.25 for hardbacks at my goodwill and you can find some really nice coffee table picture books.  Especially if you know military people - I see ones for ships, planes, monuments etc.  People love those more than the other stuff they get.

Main thing is shop for them every time you stop by and save for Christmas/birthdays.  There's never anything good around Christmas, but the rest of the year, there's always cool stuff.

[zephyr911]

I'm no longer "investing in" pieces at the mall...at least not until I have thoroughly browsed all my local Goodwills!

Live and learn, right!?

I was, in a sense, fortunate to first enter corporate America flat broke, and making less than I had made in the military. Thus, I started out buying all my business and business casual as cheaply as possible from thrift stores, and only occasionally deviated as time went on. Nine years in, I've probably topped $1000 but not by much.

Also worthy of note, if you're near one: unclaimed baggage. I live about an hour from one (Scottsboro AL)( and I've been postponing my dress shoe replacements till the next time I pass through there. 20-30 cents on the dollar is common for fairly new stuff.

[Elle 8]

Yeah, it's fun finding nice stuff at the goodwill... thrift stores in the ritzy areas tend to yield fancy designer labels that look brand new. I used to get compliments on shirts or stuff at work and get looked at weird when I'd talk about how it was $6 bucks at Goodwill!! What? We're not supposed to be proud of ourselves finding something awesome for pennies on the dollar? Pfft! Whatever... 

Everyone at work knows I bring my lunch every day and have a super cheap cell phone plan.  But I just can't bring myself to tell them about my thrift store shopping.  If someone compliments me on something bought at a thrift store, I usually say that I just found it at the back of my closet.  I'm already known as the office cheapskate!  I look for Ann Taylor, Loft, Jones New York, LL Bean… and anything wool or cashmere.  I just machine wash and hang dry and if something gets ruined, hey, I only paid a few bucks anyway. 

[iris lily]

I've shopped Goodwill for years. Now that I'm retired there is no "work: wardrobe, so it's less pressing to find decent clothing.

But our Goodwills, while full of stock that I like, jams together on the racks all of the clothes until htey are impossible to look through. Hate that. They also continue to put out stock that is stained. I don't see the point of that.

[OneDollarAtATime]

I'm one of those guys who hates clothes shopping and rarely does it -- not just going shopping (which is boring), but the actual moment when I hand over my card to pay for things stings because I've never thought of clothes as 'important' enough to invest in (but we need to wear them, so whatever).

A friend turned me to Plato's Closet.  I went there the first time -- what a deal!  Not as good  pricing as Goodwill (I tried GW first, couldn't bear to buy anything that worked for me).  At Plato's, I got about 7 button down shirts, 4 workout shirts and 2 pairs of shorts for under $110.  This was my first clothes shopping trip in about 2 years.  Took the g/f on the 2nd trip (who has done great to break her old clothes shopping habits) and she walked in like 'who would buy this stuff that other people have worn?' and walked out with 4 workout tops, too.  She loved it.

See if there's a Plato's Closet in your area.  I'm sure there are other stores with similar names (consignment stores?) where you can load up on brand name / designer clothes for about 90% off the 'mall' price but this was a recent new 'YEAH!' find for me.

[Arktinkerer]

Best clothes bargain I ever got was freecycle--giant bag of large tshirts for free.  Working outside I may go thru 3-4 in a day since I peel them off every time I come inside for a break.

If you are a common size just hit the yard sales at the end of the day for clothes that are just about free.

This probably won't do for most office type work clothes but for day to day and physical labor clothes its great.

[WranglerBowman]

I visit multiple thrift stores every couple weeks to look for clothes for work.  It amazes me some of the stuff I find for super cheap.  I hate buying clothes cause I know I'm just going to ruin them and then donate or use as garage rags, so it's somewhat comforting when I only pay a couple bucks for an article of clothing.  A few weeks back I found some nice leather shoes that are made in Romania for $4.95, I wear those to meetings a fair amount and tell my wife how rich and trendy I am, she just rolls her eyes and laughs.