Has Goodwill lost their mind?

Call me crazy but.....I hit goodwill at least once a week.  Maybe more   But I enjoy finding the deals.  Yes they do overprice stuff but you can always find something if you are patient enough.  I have been collecting tea/saucers and crystal glass plates for a tea party bridal shower. I will not pay over a $1.  I have plenty now.  Just was patient.    It has become kinda a high for me when I feel I hit the jackpot. (Found a good deal)

After hearing that, I have been donating our clothes to my inlaws clothing bank at their church.  My fil helps in the clothing bank and I know the clothes are going to people who truly need them.  It makes me mad that the CEO of Goodwill is making so much money for clothes the CEO paid nothing for! 

People have been donating prom dresses to our old church and they have a cheap prom dress sale every spring.  It's very big in our area.  And no one makes money from it, but it enables people who can't afford dresses (which are ridiculously expensive) to buy dresses.  The members of the church volunteer and it is a great community service for the church. 

This is an interesting thread because I've lived in several states and areas within the US and notice a vast difference from location to location in how differently Goodwill stores are run and price things. I currently live in Monterey, CA which is an extremely high cost of living area. I expected that the stores here would be much higher priced but am happy to report that that is not the case at all. I also like that they usually don't speculate on what could be more valuable and try to mark it up. For example, all glasses cost $.99 or all ladies shirts cost $5.99. My experience in the past has been that the employees often overestimate the perceived value of what may be a "better" brand or item. Then the items just sit....even when they are half off.

That said, they do still overprice the Target salvage, in my opinion. I will rarely even look at this stuff now. One of my stores is a favorite because all of the employees are super friendly and just plain happy. There used to be a lady that worked there who would sing along with the radio all the time. She's not longer there and I miss her singing.

In general, I would think that thrift stores that take donations and likely receive vast amounts of them, would be more profitable but getting items in, sold quickly, and replaced by other items. Most stores are of limited size so floor space shouldn't be taken up by items that just sit. That's how I would run MY Goodwill store, anyway.

^^^ this is totally me, too! I don't go as regularly as once a week, but every few weeks I'll spend a Saturday thrifting, and hit two to four stores.  I don't mind going through every shirt on the rack to find one or two keepers, or spending three-four hours in one store... it's a treasure hunt for me. I really enjoy finding a perfectly good designer shirt or blouse for less than $5 knowing it would have been $30 or more in the store; or finding small home décor items like a Partylite candleholder for $2.99 or a random piece of Pyrex here or there to use in the kitchen. 

Thrifting is like a sport to me-- I get a high from it, too.  Part of the 'sport' aspect of it to me is "can I find something from the 50% off colored tag that I actually want / can use" or "can I find items on 50% off Saturday" so it's even LESS money.

It's really satisfying when I can wear clothes and know that my entire outfit (other than underthings, lol) has come from thrift stores / estate sales- like today: navy Liz Claiborne cardigan, white t-shirt, jeans, vintage Vera silk scarf (!), 1950s Sara Coventry brooch, and Doc Martens wing-tips (for $15!!).  Plus, it's my part for the environment; most of the clothes are perfectly fine and wearable.


(eta: one thing I like is when the people pricing things don't know the higher-end brands because they're younger than me- Coldwater Creek, J. Jill, etc... they're 'regular' prices, where some 'Juicy' item might be higher priced-- and I wouldn't want to spend $$ on that anyway, lol!)

A lot of YouTubers I follow post Goodwill hauls or Goodwill challenge videos and I am baffled....our store is TERRIBLE. Dirty, disorganized, and overpriced.

I finally stopped trying and now I get all my second hand stuff from Savers or consignment sales (for kid stuff). I love Savers so much...it is the dream thrift store to me. Clean, organized, always tons of good stuff and good prices. Plus you get a coupon every time you donate. I have a 30% off one in my wallet now from purging after Christmas and I'm dying to make a Savers trip and put it to good use!

^^^ I've tried to go thrifting with my BF once or twice, and he's just not into the thrill of the hunt' like I am; he's done with the whole store in about 10 minutes.

It's a LOT easier for me because I go by myself. And my BF doesn't (usually) text me till later in the day, when he might ask me if I'm close enough to his favorite Chinese restaurant to pick up some takeout, lol!

It's probably that and the huge trend of finding old out of date furniture and refurbishing it to sell. We have a local Facebook handmade page where people offer things for sale and it's full of redone out of date furniture turned beautiful and expensive looking. And they fetch a good price. Maybe some Goodwills know this and are cashing in on some of that money to be made?