There was a time when Goodwill or thrift stores in general had everything you needed for stocking up on wardrobe essentials, and, maybe even silly graphic tees, for a fraction of what you’d spend at a department store. Apparently, those days are long gone.
Call it a recession, or call it greed. Whatever the reason is, Goodwill’s prices are encroaching on unaffordable prices. In some cases, the prices of some items are already there.
One TikTok user by the name of Cortney Renee posted a video of a trip to her local Goodwill. In it, she shares a truly astronomical price on a pair of used Nike sweatpants.
OK, I get it, Nike is a brand name. But Goodwill employees who are in charge of pricing things at each location should know better than to assume shoppers are willing to pay even close to the retail value on clothes or other items at the store.
@courtneyrenee.k Can someone please tell me WHAT THE FUCKKKK 😬 #goodwill #thrifthaul #thrifting #theift #thriftstore ♬ original sound – Courtney Knight
Some Goodwill prices are higher than retail at the original stores.
In her video, Courtney shows a pair of bright neon green jogger sweatpants. After she shows the familiar Nike swoosh on them, she points her phone’s camera to the price tag. Goodwill priced them at $39.99. You can get a similar pair of Nike joggers on sale for less than that.
Yes, you heard that right. Less than the Goodwill price. That’s why people are not having these price hikes at one of the only types of stores where you wouldn’t expect that.
“Cheaper at TJ Maxx and don’t have anyone else’s stale farts trapped in the fabric,” one user so eloquently put it in the comments under the TikTok.
Someone else pointed out, “You can literally get them cheaper brand new at the outlets for that price!”
Others added similarly wildly expensive items they found at their own local Goodwill locations.
“They were charging $5 for a candle that was down to the nubs …. From the DOLLAR STORE,” one user shared.
Another chimed in, “Saw an unused picture frame the other day with the original price of $5 on it. Goodwill’s price…$4.99. Like what..?”
Goodwill’s high prices are on par with Dollar Tree hiking its items up from the long-standing $1 to $1.25, $1.50, and even higher. You can now get some Dollar Tree items for cheaper at places like Dollar General and even Walmart.
Now, apparently, the same issue is happening with Goodwill.
The part that probably makes most people so butthurt, other than the fact that these are used items, is that Goodwill accepts these donations and does not pay for them.
So anything a store makes back is total profit. It’s giving…greed. And longtime shoppers are not happy.
