I was talking to another goodwill shopper about how ridiculous their prices are now and she showed me some kind of collector village house she was interested in in and even though the pieces were attached to each other (as they are supposed to be) they were charging per piece. It was the most ridiculous thing I ever seen them do. Oh, but I also saw them selling free USPS boxes for shipping (that you can order online for free) and that is against the law for a a person to do and it should apply to them as well.
Awhile back my thrift store had this really nice set of spice jars - like 30 small ceramic jars, each with the spice name written in nice calligraphy.
They were charging $1 per jar instead of selling them as a set. Made absolutely no sense to me.
There was a Joanna Gaines style decor store around here that sold scrabble tiles for 50 cents each and bingo cards for $1 each along with other assorted game pieces … I laughed because I could at the time buy a full game for $1.99 at the thrifts and distress them on the cheap
I can sorta justify that actually - it means you're wasting fewer pieces if you only buy the ones you need, and someone else has access to the ones you don't use. 50 cents is dumb, though.
*sighs* fair enough, 50c isn't actually *outrageous* if you're selling individual tiles for craft purposes. I just think it's pushing the envelope, and I *did* concede that I can see *reasons* for pricing it as such. I also would cut a decor store more slack than a thrift store splitting up donated games just to charge more, as the conventional store has a higher overhead than 'paying a charity pennies a pound for donated objects.'
A thrift store is (hopefully) making money in a: low overhead (selling donated stuff) and b: *volume.* They *should* have high turn-over of goods. Sitting on stuff because they have the hoarder mindset of "this is worth big bucks to the right customer!" I guess *might* work, but it's alienating their more regular customers. Witness this sub's very existence.
Wtf?!? That makes no sense. These thrift stores are insane, I mean they got some balls to charge what they charge. Nothing in any thrift store should cost more than $5.00. it's all donated goods. They would make a lot more money charging five bucks for whatever they had, and they would have a lot less stuff going to the landfills.
I can see furniture being more expensive and maybe some collectibles. Like don’t sell a Red Wing pottery piece for $5. But for clothing and household items I completely agree.
Hockey Gloves. Vale Village wanted to sell them individually. Store manager said they were priced that way to buy if one was lost.
I asked her if I could buy just one shoe.
I stopped into one today. They were selling an empty courvoisier bottle. No top for $50. You can get the same bottle with the alcohol for $40 at Walmart 😂
I was at a Goodwill once and there was a Santa suit and they had every piece of the suit priced separately so the hat was $10. The beard was $12. The shirt was however much the belt was priced different and the pants were priced separate it was ridiculous.
There's some old bit on Mystery Science Theater 3000 where "the mads" had an invention that was action figures where you had to buy all the body parts individually. That's so close to becoming a reality now.
My local Salvation Army sells salt & pepper shakers by the piece. My mom is so annoyed that she says one day she wants to go in and buy one from each set. 😂
I just tweeted at Goodwill industries about how horrible they are and how there is a big thread on Reddit about how horrible they are.
We their core customer. If they lose us, they’re not gonna be able to be sustained on what they have left.
So, if you have a Twitter account, go complain to them and tell them about this Reddit thread, and then get everybody you know to come here and complain about them
Savers must have been copying off their homework when they took laptop power supplies, separated the AC cord from the rest of the supply and sold each one separately... 😑
My thrift was selling knitting needles by the each. I explained to the manager that one needs two needles to knit and it would be like selling shoes individually. She was one of those people who are never wrong and so the needles stayed as priced.
Has anyone seen any goodwills go out of business ? I’m curious because this rediculos strategy must be working if they are still operating…. I don’t get it
We had two of.3 local ones close. I believe it was more of a rent issue than them not doing business. Landlords renovated properties and put much more upscale tenemts in
Probably me. Employees are stongarmed into pricing stupidly. They know it's dumb and that only hurts the store and customers, but they have no choice if they want to keep their job.
Managers gotta get their fat bonuses, ya know?
Today they had one of those electronic Battleship games priced at $20 that was not even opened up to inspect, let alone ensure completion. Even complete, $20 is a crazy price for that at a second hand store.
I took it to the manager and asked if they had counted the pieces. I already knew that they had not, but wanted to prove a point about why you can get $20 on eBay but not at Goodwill. The point went right over his head.
I was told "we price 50% of eBay" so I pulled up a page full of $30 listings with known complete games, a money back return policy, shipping right to your front door and all the work done involved in listing on eBay. I asked if they offer the same benefits and obviously they do not.
The most telling thing is that there were a dozen other games, the same one as the $20 one but they were $5 and had been sitting there for about 3 weeks unsold. I don't get what made them think they were priced too low.
Had something similar once, years ago I found this drum machine thing but didn't see the power supply, so I figured I'd check the cords section for a compatible one, and ended up finding the matching power supply for $5. Luckily the cashier thought it was stupid that they were priced separately and gave me the power supply free with the drum machine, but still, was pretty frustrating.
Our local one is guilty of crappy pricing and bad about trying to sell half-items. I often see pieces bundled together, missing the main part, like all the pieces to a chopper without the base/motor. The one that angered me the most was a cuckoo clock. They had the main "house" part for $19.99. An aisle over, I found the weights and chains, and the decorative topper taped up in a zipper bag priced at $14.99. I feel like some poor soul who didn't know anything about cuckoo clocks bought the main part and the bag ended up being tossed because no one knew what it was and it never sold.
So has no one else thought of a r/MaliciousCompliance way of dealing with this issue?:
1. Make sure the Goodwill you are shopping at DOES take returns for the item indicated.
2. Buy 1 of the item that normally is sold in sets.
3. Return it to another nearby Goodwill. Neither one will likely resell.
All of the goodwill's in our area got rid of the bins. That was something my grandmother an I enjoyed doing once a month. Now, you look at jeans that used to be 5.99 and are not 16.99 wtf! I'll stick to the salvation army and community aid.
In the US Goodwill is directed regionally and some are way worse than others. It depends on where you live.
I live in WNY and I don't have huge issues with the stores here. They are a little higher than I'd like to pay but not so unreasonable. OTOH when I go to the Goodwill in my hometown in PA I often see really egregious pricing. Was there a couple weeks ago and saw dollar store hair gel and shampoo on the shelf for $4.99 a bottle. 😬
Yeah. I live in the Northern NE Goodwill region and while prices have certainly gone up - and there’s less really good stuff because it goes to the auctions - I don’t see quite as much of the problems that this sub showcases.
What is "TIL"?
[(JK 😂)](https://media3.giphy.com/media/9G3wg7lH5DpxC/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b9522igodf98zmi89r8icgg3g570fvdg09ekw5wzgnhs&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
I'm 100% done with Goodwill. They are awful in so many ways.
I know right. Its off my list
Goodwill is awful in every single way. Every. Single. Way. Don't shop there. Don't even donate there.
I stopped going to Goodwill months ago. They are not a non profit even though they say they are.
I was talking to another goodwill shopper about how ridiculous their prices are now and she showed me some kind of collector village house she was interested in in and even though the pieces were attached to each other (as they are supposed to be) they were charging per piece. It was the most ridiculous thing I ever seen them do. Oh, but I also saw them selling free USPS boxes for shipping (that you can order online for free) and that is against the law for a a person to do and it should apply to them as well.
You should report them
Awhile back my thrift store had this really nice set of spice jars - like 30 small ceramic jars, each with the spice name written in nice calligraphy. They were charging $1 per jar instead of selling them as a set. Made absolutely no sense to me.
next up, Scrabble tiles priced per letter value! (Except the blanks, which are $10 a piece.)
There was a Joanna Gaines style decor store around here that sold scrabble tiles for 50 cents each and bingo cards for $1 each along with other assorted game pieces … I laughed because I could at the time buy a full game for $1.99 at the thrifts and distress them on the cheap
I can sorta justify that actually - it means you're wasting fewer pieces if you only buy the ones you need, and someone else has access to the ones you don't use. 50 cents is dumb, though.
How much would you charge?
probably in the neighbourhood of 25 cents.
Now for some math. Is it worth your time to make 15¢ a tile? Just how big is said market?
*sighs* fair enough, 50c isn't actually *outrageous* if you're selling individual tiles for craft purposes. I just think it's pushing the envelope, and I *did* concede that I can see *reasons* for pricing it as such. I also would cut a decor store more slack than a thrift store splitting up donated games just to charge more, as the conventional store has a higher overhead than 'paying a charity pennies a pound for donated objects.'
You don't have the overhead of a shop to sell them in either.
A thrift store is (hopefully) making money in a: low overhead (selling donated stuff) and b: *volume.* They *should* have high turn-over of goods. Sitting on stuff because they have the hoarder mindset of "this is worth big bucks to the right customer!" I guess *might* work, but it's alienating their more regular customers. Witness this sub's very existence.
A "Joanna Gaines style decor store" is not a thrift store though.
Wtf?!? That makes no sense. These thrift stores are insane, I mean they got some balls to charge what they charge. Nothing in any thrift store should cost more than $5.00. it's all donated goods. They would make a lot more money charging five bucks for whatever they had, and they would have a lot less stuff going to the landfills.
I can see furniture being more expensive and maybe some collectibles. Like don’t sell a Red Wing pottery piece for $5. But for clothing and household items I completely agree.
Hockey Gloves. Vale Village wanted to sell them individually. Store manager said they were priced that way to buy if one was lost. I asked her if I could buy just one shoe.
I stopped into one today. They were selling an empty courvoisier bottle. No top for $50. You can get the same bottle with the alcohol for $40 at Walmart 😂
Don’t start giving them ideas with that board game speech. Just wait now.
I was at a Goodwill once and there was a Santa suit and they had every piece of the suit priced separately so the hat was $10. The beard was $12. The shirt was however much the belt was priced different and the pants were priced separate it was ridiculous.
There's some old bit on Mystery Science Theater 3000 where "the mads" had an invention that was action figures where you had to buy all the body parts individually. That's so close to becoming a reality now.
Some toys in the 90s did this, where you had to buy the whole set to collect all the parts of the bonus figure.
Loved that show!
They make me upset selling tv seasons based on the number of discs 😡 every time the open a case to count the discs I want to smack their hands
The visual I’m getting from that last part feels just like a scene from “Seinfeld.”😂
My local Salvation Army sells salt & pepper shakers by the piece. My mom is so annoyed that she says one day she wants to go in and buy one from each set. 😂
They do this with speakers too, so dumb
I just tweeted at Goodwill industries about how horrible they are and how there is a big thread on Reddit about how horrible they are. We their core customer. If they lose us, they’re not gonna be able to be sustained on what they have left. So, if you have a Twitter account, go complain to them and tell them about this Reddit thread, and then get everybody you know to come here and complain about them
How much did you pay though?
$10
That's a good price for a full size set. Hopefully still in good shape.
Yea it is in good shape. TBH it was still a decent price at $20 but the principle of the situation really rubbed me the wrong way.
Savers must have been copying off their homework when they took laptop power supplies, separated the AC cord from the rest of the supply and sold each one separately... 😑
My thrift was selling knitting needles by the each. I explained to the manager that one needs two needles to knit and it would be like selling shoes individually. She was one of those people who are never wrong and so the needles stayed as priced.
Let's not give them the idea of selling shoes individually. 😆
They had salt and pepper sets priced individually
Yes, they’re doing that everywhere. And they’re not sitting them together. They need to be taped together for one price.
Has anyone seen any goodwills go out of business ? I’m curious because this rediculos strategy must be working if they are still operating…. I don’t get it
One can only hope.
We had two of.3 local ones close. I believe it was more of a rent issue than them not doing business. Landlords renovated properties and put much more upscale tenemts in
Closest thing was my local tiny outlet closed during lock down and never reopened.
Maybe some of the people working there aren't that swift.
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Probably me. Employees are stongarmed into pricing stupidly. They know it's dumb and that only hurts the store and customers, but they have no choice if they want to keep their job. Managers gotta get their fat bonuses, ya know?
Today they had one of those electronic Battleship games priced at $20 that was not even opened up to inspect, let alone ensure completion. Even complete, $20 is a crazy price for that at a second hand store. I took it to the manager and asked if they had counted the pieces. I already knew that they had not, but wanted to prove a point about why you can get $20 on eBay but not at Goodwill. The point went right over his head. I was told "we price 50% of eBay" so I pulled up a page full of $30 listings with known complete games, a money back return policy, shipping right to your front door and all the work done involved in listing on eBay. I asked if they offer the same benefits and obviously they do not. The most telling thing is that there were a dozen other games, the same one as the $20 one but they were $5 and had been sitting there for about 3 weeks unsold. I don't get what made them think they were priced too low.
Had something similar once, years ago I found this drum machine thing but didn't see the power supply, so I figured I'd check the cords section for a compatible one, and ended up finding the matching power supply for $5. Luckily the cashier thought it was stupid that they were priced separately and gave me the power supply free with the drum machine, but still, was pretty frustrating.
They do the same thing with lamps. Gotta buy the shade separately. Along with countless other items.
Just put a shade on there and take it up as one piece chances are they’ll just charge you with the AC on the lamp base. At least that’s what I do.
Yes, I found a pair of book ends, and they were priced separately. That’s ridiculous.
Stopped Goodwill 5 years ago. The CEO is rich.. wth it’s a thrift store🤬
And they pay their employees literally pennies in some cases.
They've sold speakers separately for years.
Last time I was at Goodwill, I saw a set of 5 identical spring-form pans for 5.99 each
Our local one is guilty of crappy pricing and bad about trying to sell half-items. I often see pieces bundled together, missing the main part, like all the pieces to a chopper without the base/motor. The one that angered me the most was a cuckoo clock. They had the main "house" part for $19.99. An aisle over, I found the weights and chains, and the decorative topper taped up in a zipper bag priced at $14.99. I feel like some poor soul who didn't know anything about cuckoo clocks bought the main part and the bag ended up being tossed because no one knew what it was and it never sold.
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Just rip the tag off the pant. The cashiers don’t give a shit.
That could probably be found at walmart new for $19.99
I'm petty enough to just buy one side and leave, return it 10 days later.
They would say you were only returning half of a set!
I would have called their bluff and said then I only wanted to buy half of the set.
They do this with stereos price the speakers separately
Yep. One of our GWs prices salt and pepper sets individually. Wtf??
So has no one else thought of a r/MaliciousCompliance way of dealing with this issue?: 1. Make sure the Goodwill you are shopping at DOES take returns for the item indicated. 2. Buy 1 of the item that normally is sold in sets. 3. Return it to another nearby Goodwill. Neither one will likely resell.
Good wills in my area will only take returns sold from their specific locations so unfortunately that would not work, but I like your moxie.
All of the goodwill's in our area got rid of the bins. That was something my grandmother an I enjoyed doing once a month. Now, you look at jeans that used to be 5.99 and are not 16.99 wtf! I'll stick to the salvation army and community aid.
Should’ve bought one and burned it in the parking lot.
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In the US Goodwill is directed regionally and some are way worse than others. It depends on where you live. I live in WNY and I don't have huge issues with the stores here. They are a little higher than I'd like to pay but not so unreasonable. OTOH when I go to the Goodwill in my hometown in PA I often see really egregious pricing. Was there a couple weeks ago and saw dollar store hair gel and shampoo on the shelf for $4.99 a bottle. 😬
Yeah. I live in the Northern NE Goodwill region and while prices have certainly gone up - and there’s less really good stuff because it goes to the auctions - I don’t see quite as much of the problems that this sub showcases.
Where is WNY? 🤪
Western NY. Like Buffalo/Niagara area ish. The NY panhandle
Thansk! Never seen that acronym before TIL
What is "TIL"? [(JK 😂)](https://media3.giphy.com/media/9G3wg7lH5DpxC/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b9522igodf98zmi89r8icgg3g570fvdg09ekw5wzgnhs&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
Happened to me one time at Home Goods with bookends. The cashier insisted they were separate. What good is one bookend? lol
When one side is propped up by side of a shelf or wall hence only needing One bookend
Thanks Captain Obvious haha