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I thrift and sell mens shirts on eBay. I travel around to different Goodwills, Salvation armys, Local consignment shops etc. And I am to the point that I have stopped going to Goodwill. Last Time I was in one about a week ago, Every Under Armour brand T shirt was priced at $9.50. It Didn’t matter if it was stained, ripped etc. Saw a pair of flip flops priced $3 that still had the original New price tag of $1. I asked if it was a mistake just to see the response, and they said no, they were $3, and wouldn’t budge. Lastly I find an under armour hoodie with a nice stain and a few holes marked at…$30. Also everything polo was marked up to $8 and up. Left and went to Salvation Army and picked up 2 faconnable shirts for $2 each, a Thomas Pink for a few dollars, then some under armour T shirts for $1 each. Anyone else noticing this trend at Goodwill? Do you think this will hurt them in the long run? Over the last few years It has just gotten worse. I have seen the prices shoot up. Ties were $1 now they are $3.50 and up, Shirts are $4.95 and up pants are $6.95 and up etc. etc. The racks are so packed at my Goodwills that you can barely look through them, and the stock rarely changes.
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Yeah, some of the Goodwill retail stores have gotten ridiculous over the past several years. Can’t waste energy on the why and how. Just have to cross them off your list and move on. They won’t be going out of business any time soon. Look on the bright side – if buyers get used to seeing high prices at Goodwill, they’ll pay more for our stuff on eBay.
Since you do clothing, you should try the Goodwill Outlet (aka “the bins” or “pound store”) if you have not already. You can get a lot of shirts at .99 a pound. Your nearest is probably New Castle DE. The clientele can be a bit aggressive at the bins, though. Your professional skills will come in handy. 🙂
Please excuse the unsolicited advice but it seems to me it would be difficult to stick to a narrow niche like men’s shirts when you’re a bit of a hike from major metro areas for a good supply of better brands. If it were me, I’d be looking for things that are in relative abundance for decent prices in my immediate area, say a 45 minute radius. The auctions in rural areas can be gold mines, too, like in your area Dixon’s in Crumpton or Wilson’s in Dover.
Welcome to the forum!
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Thanks for the tips! Not being off most weekends sucks when it comes to a lot of auctions. Sometimes I can get to Foxwell auctions in Cambridge and have done pretty good there with some Case Knives, Shotgun reloading equipment etc. I mostly do shirts, because I can find them at decent prices, and in Dover do surprisingly well on some high dollar brands. Lots of Dupont Execs in Delaware, as well as a lot of vintage wool from LL bean, Eddie Bauer etc. because it is still a hunting area. I am surprised at some of the deals I have gotten. 2 Thomas pink shirts for $2 each, Psycho Bunny Shirt for $1 Faconnable shirts for $1. I always look for other things, I just mostly do shirts. Easy to ship, and dont break during shipping as well, and If something happens, I am out a buck or 2. I also have been grabbing some high dollar clothes NWT at some thrift stores too. Got a Brooks Brother lambs wool herringbone sweater last week with a tag for $148, cost me $1.50.
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I think the issue isn’t so much prices, but the quality of items they sell at Goodwill near us has plummeted. We stop in every now and again if we’re near a GW, but often only find one or two things worth buying. Most of their inventory is low dollar junk + cheap clothes and shoes.
One hypothesis is that Goodwill has jumped on the online selling train so skim off the good stuff before it hits the floor. Or more people are selling online now so the good stuff disappears quickly.
Ten years ago, we would shop at Goodwills at least once a week and buy trash bags of shoes and winter coats. Prices were about the same but the quality was much much better.
As Temudgin said, there’s plenty of other places to scavenge, especially if you’re in the NOVA region. There are regular estate sales during the week in your area. That’s where I’d go.
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I find that some stores (any store – just not Goodwill) will overprice things, and underprice other things.
At the end of the day, the goal is to buy items you can profit on – and the stores can charge whatever they like – they are there to make money also. I’ve seen many stores go through cycles of being expensive, sales drop, they then lower prices, sales increase, and they get greedy again on price. Happens in every business – not just thrift stores.
Even at stores that have crazy pricing on some items, they don’t catch everything or know every item intimately – I’ve had some of my best finds at these “overpriced” stores as they may slap a $9.99 price on every polo shirt – whether it be George from Walmart, or some high end brand from Saks.
At the end of the day, the stores aren’t doing anything personal – they are just running a business, just like we are, and trying to get top dollar for their stuff. If you don’t like the price, just move on to the next item until you find something that works.
I personally enjoy finding crazy priced things – they give me a chuckle. I also like the “auction” or “display cases” that some stores have — and when I find a “golden” $100+ item in the same store for 99 cents in a junkpile…
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I can tell you from experience that these stores do not catch everything. Not even close. You have to improve your game and stay a step ahead. I routinely find plenty of high quality items in our Gucci Goodwills. Am I ever going to find high dollar electronics or very well known recent Buckle jeans there for cheap again? Nope. I push myself to have a better eye for quality in brands or vintage items that are not well known.
And bottom line, if the numbers make sense the price isn’t really a factor for me. If the item costs $20 but I can sell it within a few months for $100, then I’ll take it.
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They never catch everything, or they just dont have a clue, which is what makes it fun. Did Great yesterday at salvation army. They had half off all clothes. I got 29 Items for $67. 1 shirt I got will cover the whole trip and the rest is just cake. Ended up with 2 Hilo Hattie Vintage Hawaiian shirts, the last one identical to one of them sold for $79 Also got a pendleton shirt, 2 patagonia shirts, A Lacoste Flannel shirt, a Vintage LL bean wool lined mountain parka, a NWT Rodd & Gunn Shirt, 2 patagonia polos, 4 Under armour polos, a NWT Peter Millar Under shirt, a NWT Vineyard vines long sleeve polo, a foot joy polo, A tricots st laurent wool sweater, a few other 80s wool sweaters, a lambswool Brooks brothers vest, A Rockmount Ranch Denim shirt in Perfect condition, and a few Ralph Lauren Polo shirts. Amazing the deals you can find, when you know what to look for. A month ago I would have passed right over that rockmount shirt that I got for $2 and will most likely get $40 to $60 for.
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I live near a fancy Goodwill with very knowledgeable managers who have been there forever, and even they don’t catch everything. They don’t differentiate between Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Ralph Lauren Purple Label, but I sure do. They also overlook esoteric brands that have a strong following – I’ve found everything from Dries van Noten to Arabia of Finland priced like regular junk.
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Nobody can know everything. One of our local thrifts routinely marks up Gap, Chico’s, and Talbot’s items but misses more obscure high-end designers. Another one puts high prices on former collectibles like Haeger vases, common Nippon items, and carnival glass, but has missed some fantastic studio art pottery. And who knows what I’ve left behind because I was too ignorant to buy it. Keep looking, keep learning. Don’t let the $3 flip flops get you down.
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I like the Goodwill Outlet/Bargain Barn in North Port Florida. Clothing is $1.58 per pound and other items are cheap too. Just bought a Javits brand hat for 50 cents – quick Ebay sale for $50. Some Outlets are better than others, but they’re worth checking out.
I’ve also gotten quality clothes from places that don’t normally do clothes. Habitat for Humanity in my area gets clothing donations they want to sell quickly. Got a $5 Coogi sweater – sold for $85.
I’ll go in just about anyplace once and sometimes I get lucky.
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Goodwill here seems like the Amazon of thrifting – you are paying higher prices for convenience. Goodwill has the most convenient location, hours and acceptance of donations in my town. The independent thrifts have better prices but the limited hours are an issue for me. Luckily, my local Goodwill employees only know of the items on the list they get from higher ups to send off for online or put on the $19.99 clothing racks. So, a fair amount of bread and butter stuff falls through the cracks.
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My local goodwills start their coats off at $39.99 + up, shirts at $8.99 + up, etc,. Still, I see long lines of people with overflowing carts. Resellers are still making bank if they’re stocking up at those prices. If there are still plenty of eager buyers at increased pricing levels, there’s no need for them to lower their prices.
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They opened a new Goodwill by me, and the first weekend was amazing! T shirts 2 bucks, all regular shirts $4.99 I got Ralph lauren polo shirts with the tags for $5 Footjoy shirts NWT, Found a $600 Charvet Shirt, and 2 $600 Brioni Shirts etc. Did Awesome! Went back 2 weeks later to see if they had gotten anything new as I basically stripped it out on opening day. Nothing. All that was left was things that didnt sell the first week, and now it was all marked up lol.
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Seems to be a trend lots of folks talk about.
Thankfully it hasn’t yet gotten too bad here in the Carolinas.
With but a few exceptions of items they keep under glass, the clothes are all the same price. They recently upped the price of men’s long sleeve shirts to $4.99 from $3.99, which was frustrating. Moreso because they specifically say “Men’s dress shirts” are the new higher price without understanding the difference between dress shirts and casual shirts. To them, a plaid flannel long sleeve shirt is still a “dress shirt”. LOL.There are currently two, and soon to be three, Goodwills within 15 minutes of me. There are another 4 within 30 minutes. I’ve really fallen in love with the local charity shops though. When all the clothes are $1.50, I can be a little more open minded about certain brands that I wouldn’t touch at Goodwill. I recently found a pair of Levi’s vintage collection jeans at one of these places and flipped it for $85 in a day. I probably underpriced in hindsight.
I did have to laugh at the VCR Goodwill had priced at $99. It was trash and not even a DVD combo.
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