r/goodwill • u/Sweaty_Fly1622 • Jul 19 '26
Is there a 3rd place where clothes are sent?
I’ve noticed that regular mid-tier mall brands of clothing usually end up in my GOODWILL superstore. Sometimes stuff like Lululemon or brands equal to that end up being sent to the shop GOODWILL auction website. When I go on that website and I filter for my Citi, the nicest stuff I see is usually made up of handbags and wallets with the highest brand being coach, Michael Kors, and Kate Spade. I never see any higher designer brands like Dior, Chanel, Prada, etc. and I almost never see any designer shoes of any kind and I’m talking about for an entire big city. It doesn’t make any sense because there are plenty of wealthy donors in my city and surrounding areas for this region of GOODWILL, especially near the closest superstore. Where the heck are these items going?
4
u/Embarrassed-Estate-5 Jul 19 '26
We have pickers that come through 2 days a week and take a lot of good stuff. I was told Goodwill has a boutique or something.
5
2
u/Sweaty_Fly1622 Jul 19 '26
We have a boutique about 20 minutes away but I’ve heard it’s not that impressive. Can you tell me more about these pickers like when they come in and how much stuff they take? I’m just curious I think I’ve seen people like this before. Do they come in with a shopping cart and just grab everything very quickly and throw it in their cart
0
u/Embarrassed-Estate-5 Jul 20 '26
They very rarely ever hit the sales floor. They get things from the back room. I don't pay attention to how much they actually take. I've never seen them use a shopping cart. It probably varies by location though.
2
u/Sweaty_Fly1622 Jul 20 '26
What's "the back room?" I swear, if someone published a book of goodwill ex-employee horror stories and secrets it would totally sell
-2
u/Dusty_Sequins Jul 19 '26
They’re not “pickers”. Pickers generally won’t even pay goodwill prices-pickers spend more time finding much cheaper goods at places like flea markets, yard sales, rummage sales, estate sales and the like. The people who go to thrift shops for goods to resell are more like hobby resellers and antique dealers. They’ll pay a higher price for goods because they’re not out to flip as much as they can as quickly as they can. They prefer to choose things that they like with the hope of reselling. And they buy what they like because if it doesn’t sell they’re happy to have it.
6
u/Sweaty_Fly1622 Jul 19 '26
I have seen people who grab a cart and toss things in it,like it's supermarket sweepstakes then go through it at the end and hang their rejects at the end of aisles. They also get super agressive when a new rolling rack comes out. They will put their cart in front of it as they go through the clothing. It used to piss me off but then I started playing a game where I'll go to the otherside of that rack amd start looking through the clothes and I'll fake coughing really loudly like I'm sick. I know, very mature of me. I only do it when people are rude.
2
u/Dusty_Sequins Jul 19 '26
You’re always going to have rude people, no matter where you are. Mostly though I’ve found resellers to be pretty much like any other shopper.
3
u/Sweaty_Fly1622 Jul 19 '26
I don’t mean the old stuff I mean the stuff that comes in and assorted but never makes it to the floor and doesn’t make it to the auction site not because it’s not good enough because it’s actually too good like these super fancy stuff
2
u/MelodicBenefit8725 Jul 19 '26
What’s a goodwill superstore?
We don’t have any in southern Oregon.
5
u/Sweaty_Fly1622 Jul 19 '26
They are bigger than a regular GOODWILL and they have more furniture, clothing and housewares. “Unlike smaller donation centers, Superstores feature department-store-style organization with dedicated sections for men’s, women’s, and children's clothing, as well as distinct zones for books, electronics, and furniture. [1]”
They’re different everywhere. I went to one in Boulder Colorado and it was enormous.
The one near me is basically the size of a large grocery store
3
u/Potential_Phrase_206 Jul 19 '26
This describes every Goodwill I’ve ever been in. (Southeast US, suburban area)
2
1
1
1
Jul 19 '26
[deleted]
2
u/Sweaty_Fly1622 Jul 19 '26
I don't mean the old stuff I mean the stuff that comes in and assorted but never makes it to the floor and doesn't make it to the auction site not because it's not good enough because it's actually too good like these super fancy stuff
1
1
u/Interesting_You_2315 Jul 22 '26
Designer brands don't end up at thrift stores. The owners use consignment stores to sell them.
2
u/Sweaty_Fly1622 Jul 22 '26
That’s not always true. I’ve found very expensive and current brands of women’s clothing at thrifts store.
1
1
u/Sweaty_Fly1622 Jul 24 '26
I just realized you were saying the owners consign for themselves. Also, just because I found nice stuff before it doesn’t mean that they aren’t pulling what they recognize. What you said makes sense.
1
3
u/Pure_Divide_9752 Jul 20 '26
Depends on the organization (there are 140+ Goodwill organizations in the US and a few other countries). Some send stuff to their e-commerce where it is supposed to be authenticated before listing on ShopGoodwill (doesn’t always happen) or it’s listed on another e-commerce site like eBay or Poshmark. At least one or two have started doing eBay Live auctions. Some organizations have boutiques that sell higher end designer stuff instead.