<p>That thought never occurred to me – that you should be poor to shop in thrift shops. We donate tons of stuff to thrift shops. My daughters also shop there on occasion. And I occasionally buy things in thrift shops as well – mostly books, costume props and the occasional tap shoes. The girls find some cool retro clothes there on occasion that you just wouldn’t find at Macy’s. I don’t feel guilty for buying things at Goodwill. What we donate far outweighs what we purchase, but I have never thought that poor people should buy low priced things and wealthier people should only buy more expensive things anyway.</p>
<p>I buy lots of books, CDs, and picture frames at Goodwill.</p>
<p>I’ve occasionally had the same thought as OP–should I leave this stuff for people who really need these cheap prices? But honestly, there’s a mountain of stuff.</p>
<p>I just bought a bunch of serving platters & bowls for S & DIL’s wedding reception from a couple of thrift shops. Even better: they were in the right colors! Paid 99 cents for most of the stuff. Most expensive was a gorgeous large serving bowl for $7. </p>
<p>DIL does lots of thrift shopping. In the UK, they are called charity shops and are pretty picky about what things they’ll accept. She has gotten some fabulous stuff there.</p>
<p>Our family also shops in and donates to our local GW, Salvation Army and St. V’s. Have found wonderful buys in clothing, furniture and household goods. The money from our purchases keeps the stores open, provides jobs and supports great charities.</p>
<p>It never occurred to me that we <em>shouldn’t</em> shop at Goodwill. In fact, by patronizing them, aren’t we helping to support the jobs which are Goodwill’s raison d’etre?</p>
<p>I never hold garage sales and prefer to take our clutter to the Goodwill. Last year I was at a painting class at ACCD and the teacher set up a still life with things he had brought from home. There it was…the very vase I had sent to the Goodwill just months before. We had a good laugh and he was convinced that he owned a few of my H’s old shirts as well.</p>
<p>I used to have a friend who had that attitude and would not shop at thrift stores. I do see the point of view. If you think about it, if you find a fashionable suit in great condition at Goodwill for example (not something I think my local Goodwill is inundated with) and grab it, knowing you could afford to buy the suit elsewhere, the out-of-work person who comes in after you needing interview clothes probably won’t find them and can’t afford the other options. I think something like jeans are different because you can get wearable jeans very cheaply in a variety of places. So I see both sides to it.</p>
<p>I do shop at thrift stores, but I also make very little money. I absolutely would not be able to buy the clothes I do if I bought them new. I have some frustration with Goodwill consignment shop in my neighborhood where I’ve found some really great stuff, although the prices are definitely higher than Goodwill. I also like Buffalo Exchange although it’s marketed more to the college hipster crowd – if I’m choosey, I do find some great things I can wear to work.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with shopping at a thrift store. They want you to shop there and donate there. Goodwill even sells things on ebay. One thing you can do is donate bags to these stores. I just dropped off a bunch of plastic bags that I was planning on recycling. </p>
<p>Last time I was at our local store, I saw my dd’s sofa recliner being loaded on to a truck. It made me happy to see it going to a new home. It was one heavy sofa.</p>
<p>The ‘women’s club’ of our local hospital runs a consignment store to benefit the hospital.
The store is in an old house and the stuff is new or nearly new, all name brand stuff.
Prices are higher than what I’m reading here ($8 for pants, $6-8 for shirts, $20 for coats) but then, everything is more expensive in NJ!</p>
<p>Our DD attended a special needs HS that held a prom each year to which ALL students were invited…so she attended from age 14 till 21. We found beautiful prom dresses at this thrift shop for $20-30 apiece. I would have gone broke buying them brand new!</p>
<p>Honestly, I feel that way about Goodwill -as my (thrifty) husband said, “I’m cheap but not that desperate.” I do think of it as a place for people who are truly struggling (abused women, one step above homeless, etc.) and I do feel that it wouldn’t be right to buy clothing from there if it means they can’t afford it. I’ve shopped other resale/consignment stores but I feel differently about Goodwill, and I can’t articulate why.</p>
<p>Based on this thread, I thought I’d reevaluate, and I went to a Goodwill that recently opened near me and I have to say, it was as depressing as I recall from the one I’d seen in the past (in small town MN) and there was not a thing I would have bought. Pleated pants circa 1980. Really out of date clothing --and not “vintage.” Just awful. There is another resale / consignment shop in this center which has some decent things, but the Goodwill just left me as depressed as I thought I’d be. </p>
<p>But I also find garage sales depressing because it makes me think of people who are hard on their luck. I recognize I’m completely irrational here, but there you have it.</p>
<p>PG, you should come to MY GW! It is bright, well organized, and has very nice name brand things (sure…there is junk too…but not a lot of it). The proceeds support the programs for the disabled that GW runs, as well as providing an inexpensive place to buy resale items.</p>
<p>I volunteer at a charity thrift store. Items are donated and are sold to support community programs. The items are amazing and new ones come in daily. We have quite the variety of shoppers from more needy to wealthier. It is amazing to me how many new and current items are dropped off.</p>
<p>I just realized that my post above got jumbled! My Goodwill is huge and organized by color. There’s a lot of really frumpy looking stuff. I think nice things can be found…sometimes…but it requires a lot of patient combing through. Usually when I walk in the thought of all the combing through makes my head hurt so I go next door to Buffalo Exchange.</p>
<p>There’s a pricier consignment shop nearby where I’ve gotten some very good deals on much nicer clothing. Much smaller, but everything is carefully chosen, and it shows.</p>
<p>It’s only Goodwill that I feel this way about - that I should leave the merchandise for poor people to buy. I don’t feel that way about other resale or consignment shops. I really don’t know why.</p>
<p>There is an Interfaith Clothing Center in our area that accepts clothing donations and has its clients (referred by social services) come in to pick out clothes on certain days of the week. It is not open to the general public. I take my clothing donations there, because I’d rather see a woman who needs a job to get her family out of poverty be able to get work-appropriate clothing, or a kid whose parents can’t afford white dress shirts and black pants for a school choral concert who can get the dress stuff my kids have outgrown.</p>
<p>My sister worked for Goodwill. Goodwill WANTS the general public to shop there. They would never make money otherwise. <a href=“http://www.goodwill.org/get-involved/shop/[/url]”>http://www.goodwill.org/get-involved/shop/</a></p>
<p>It’s a great organization that serves the community with the profits from the resale of donated goods. No need to feel guilty about finding bargains there.</p>
<p>Well, on some scale, we could be “upper middle class”. But I rarely shop at thrifty stores such as Goodwill. </p>
<p>Because they are way too expensive even with their 50% off on Saturdays. I prefer doing my cloth buying at yard sales. </p>
<p>The only thing I pay close to retail is my running shoes. For which I am getting smarter - buying new ones that is 2 generations old. Got me brand new pairs of Brooks Glycerin 9 for $25 and Dyad 5 for $12.</p>
<p>My SIL manages a Goodwill store. In case you didn’t know, the stuff in the stores is not all stuff donated locally by Good Samaritans. They get in huge truck loads full of stuff a couple of times a week. It comes from all over the place. </p>
<p>If you’ve ever shopped GW, you may have noticed that the employees are constantly rolling out racks of clothes and bins of shoes,books,household items,elctronics all day long. They have literally tons of stuff to sell. The racks are packed. Low income customers are not being short-changed when higher income customers purchase from GW.</p>
<p>The apropos song for this thread - Lonely Little Thrift Store by Jonathan Richman.</p>
<hr>
<p>By the sidewalk there with the cracks in it
with the mexican restaurant next to it
With the clothes for the big and the fat in it
and the moth ball smell to the hats in it
is the lonely little thrift store,
the hard luck little thrift store where I go</p>
<p>Well it’s an old store front from the 30’s
and it gives you a feel of the old days
and the next door barber shop
where famous athletes used to stop
but now its plain and now its down
and there’s garbage on the ground
well the lonely little thrift store
the hard luck little thrift store where I go.</p>
<p>Well the avocado green appliances
with the smell of domestic violences
and the dusty Farberware
and the rusty dinette chair
in the lonely little thrift store
the hard luck little thrift store where I go.</p>
<p>The record by the 101 strings
and all those lonely little things
see how that popcorn poppers looks sad
because of the short little life it’s had
once it was a happy wedding gift
but when they split it too got left
at the lonely little thrift store
the hard luck little thrift store where I go.</p>
<p>I was bored so I went to GW today. Got two really nice picture frames, a food bowl for one of the kitties (we needed an extra), a very nice Adidas shirt for DD, a brand new large plastic serving bowl (I have the matching picnic plates from Target), and a serving plate to match (will be great for picnic dinners at our lake club). Total under $20.</p>
<p>Tonight I am wearing a dress I found at Salvation Army paired with a pair of tights from Marshall’s. I paid more for the tights.</p>