Shopping at Goodwill Saves Loads of Money

by Nicole Humphrey | More from this Blogger

12 Jun 2008 08:01 PM

Many people who hear the words Goodwill, immediately think donations. And those that realize there are Goodwill stores think they are filled with leftovers and hand-me-downs. They are. But you might be surprised at the bargains and other savings you will get from shopping at a Goodwill store.

For years Goodwill was known as a place to drop off your unwanted items. Everything from clothing to bedding and toys. And it still is very much open to your unwanted items, so next time you go through a de-clutter or size change in clothing, consider donating.

Enter a Goodwill store and those very items are available for anyone in the world to purchase. You can find so many awesome things at Goodwill, you will be shocked.

Another really cool feature about Goodwill stores is that every three weeks they get new items in. Let me explain how this works. Each item of clothing and many items available on shelves are specially tagged with a colored label. These are not indicators of price. Each color represents to the employees, how long the item has been in the store. Every single week they go through and pull the items that have been in that store for three weeks. Those items are then sent to a neighboring Goodwill store and put back on the racks or shelves for three weeks. And this entire process continues over and over again.

This means, that if you visit your local Goodwill store, you are probably going to see different items every three weeks or so. How cool is that?

The items available at Goodwill are in good working order, have no horrendous rips, stains or tears, but almost everything is used. Some items do have some small stains that might actually wash out and for the most part we didn't see anything with any holes or tears. They do value their items they offer and are not going to sell something that nobody would want to use or wear.

A Goodwill store is like a small Discount Department store selling used items. It is certainly a place that you should be proud to find some amazing deals at!

More on our experience at Goodwill following.

Nicole Humphrey writes articles for the Scrapbooking Blog and for the Frugal Blog. She also guest blogs on a variety of topics. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

More Great Frugal Articles:

Paycheck to Paycheck

Finding Extra Cash in New Ways

Pinching Pennies Has Its Benefits

What Happens When You Aren't Being Frugal

Frugal Lifestyle: Simply Adapted

Learn more about Nicole Humphrey

Nicole Humphrey is a freelance writer, consultant for CTMH and a Sr. Blogger for families.com. She resides in St. Charles, Missouri with Mike and their five children and two furbabies.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger

Tashi (1013) 14 Jun 2008 10:05 AM

I've loved Goodwill for years. I've found some awesome things, from beautiful, unique dishes, to quirky or religious knicknacks, to designer/very nice clothing and purses. They also have great books, picture frames, and artwork. You can always swap out the artwork for something else, if you're still loving the frame. A couple of helpful hints, though: 1) Go forth & shop with a positive outlook.. 2) Have an open mind to many options. 3) Have patience, as many as you can muster. :-) 4) Like Nicole mentioned, when considering an item, think about if all you need to do to improve it, is safely launder it, make a small repair it, or alter it to suit you. I've fixed up plenty of items easily, good as new.

Tashi (1013) 14 Jun 2008 11:53 AM

I forgot one thing -- try www.shopgoodwill.com. It's Goodwill items from all over the country available for purchase via bidding. I haven't bought anything yet, but hope to soon. The browsing, at least, is a lot of fun. Like the stores, the stock changes frequently.

george2 (35) 22 Jun 2008 03:17 PM

When I was in middle school, there used to be a Goodwill branch right near the school grounds One of my favorite things to do was to go there and browse the books on sale, 50 cents for paperbacks and $1 for hardcovers. This was perfect for a student with little money. $5 would buy a good deal more than 5 hours of reading (aka The Dollar Rule). Also, if you're any sort of bibliophile, you'd find many interesting period books from say the 1940's, to early editions of novels or sci-fi, or old photography books, and many other books that bookstores and the library simply wouldn't have.

Nicole Humphrey (15757) 24 Jun 2008 07:57 AM

Tashi thanks for the tip about the online site. I had visited once but couldn't find anything that captured my attention. I will go back and check it out again. :)

Nicole Humphrey (15757) 24 Jun 2008 08:06 AM

george2 - I was amazed at the book selection when we went. There were so many and there were some classics and older books that not only looked great to read, but would be so pretty on a coffee table or something. We were excited to think of Goodwill as another used bookstore. With five avid reader children and two avid reader adults, we tend to look for books everywhere and this was the perfect opportunity.

savvyshopper67 (15) 24 Jun 2008 09:16 AM

Goodwill has some great deals, but i also really enjoy shopping at another store. I am a huge fan of this store called Susie's Deals! They carry clothes for everyone, men's, women's, and kids too. I always know that I can walk in to one of their stores a come out with a big bag of really cute stylish stuff for $25! Everything in the store is sold for $5.99 or less and you can even find things that are 2 for $5.99! I urge you to check them out, because you only have one store on your site that carries clothing and this store appeals to everyone! And they have a web site where you can also shop online or snatch an e-coupon to use at the store, and if you spend $50 the shipping is FREE which is a definite plus!Their web site is http://www.susiesdeals.com they have store in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah too.

doctorshop44 (5) 15 Jul 2008 10:35 AM

Yah, I have shopped at that store. I have bought some great medical scrubs that still are in great condition. My sister also buys great fashionable clothing. I highly recommend it.

Memartha (306) 25 Oct 2008 07:35 AM

We couldn't live without thrift stores, Goodwill included. Know what they do with clothing that passes through three-week cycles unsold? It all goes to Third World countries, where a Goodwill dress can be high fashion! Isn't that cool!