questions about Goodwill outlet stores
 

often outlet items are priced lower than the regular retail store- sometimes it's the items that are not selling well, or the *over flow* that the retail store does not have room for- I would imagine the (quality) is going to be the same as you would find in any goodwill store- since the items are donated- quality is going to vary. always worth a stop- browse to see if anything catches your eye- or is a deal you can not pass up- just like shopping at any goodwill/thrift store.

GW Outlet store??? Something new? The GWs around me seem to be a combo of "thrift" and "outlet"...as I do see a smattering of "stuff" that is still in original packaging most of the time ....strange thing though sometime the GW price is the same as the " original" price of the item.......I sometimes wonder how they determine their prices on things....it seems so illogical most of the time!

Around here we just have Goodwill Thrift Stores. Could they be one in the same.

Goodwill and Salvation Army stores around here mainly sell donated used clothes and other used items. Therefore they would be cheaper because the items are used and not new. Even there are new items they are still cheaper than in a retail store. I donate lots to Goodwill and some clothing is new. The store close to us does not have real good things. Never see anything I have donated in there.

I think they are the same...I can't remember seeing anything different at any of the Goodwill stores that I go to.

Outlet store = new
Goodwill = used

We have a Goodwill outlet store in St. Louis. I had to go in to satisfy my curiosity - Definitely NOT the same quality. Everything in the outlet store was in much poorer condition than what I usually find in the regular stores. I think it is stocked with items that are not considered good enough for one of their regular stores or what hasn't sold after a period of time in a regular store. Lots of the items were broken or missing pieces. The people that seemed to be loading up their carts were spending a lot of time going through items to find something worth buying.

A Good Will outlet store near us has a set time of day they bring out more merchandise on a rolling cart, & they sell by
the pound. We like to go there-great prices.

Good will is a "for profit" agency. GW used to employ disabled or needy people, not necessarily true anymore. They do have a good web site for bidding , similar to ebay. Salvo is all profits to S.A.

Yes it is for profit store. The management execs are paid a very high salary. Most of the profit goes to management, expense accounts, and advertising. Salvation Army uses every penny to help those that need it. That is their sole purpose, to help. I use to work for Salvation Army. Every staple is saved if possible.

Personally I think Goodwill is overpriced and won't shop there. Their CEO gets a salary of millions of dollars for an organization, who's products are all DONATED, and I'm sure that their employees are making minimum wage.

Also IMO the items are overpriced. Sometimes you can get new items at Walmart for LESS money. And then they have piles of donations in the back that they have yet to sort through. AND they throw out a lot.

If I was running a thrift store, I would price em low and move em out!!

I have even heard about WM returns (some labeled defective) showing up at thrift stores, priced at HIGHER than it was brand new at WM.

ETA- found this on the wikipedia page

When merchandise cannot be sold at a normal Goodwill store, it is taken to a 'Goodwill Outlet' or 'Bargain Store.' Items are mostly sold by weight, with prices ranging from $0.49 to $1.69 per pound, depending on the location. The wide selection and massive discounts on a variety of household goods typically attract a fervent following of regular customers, some of whom make a full-time living buying and re-selling goods. There are also many vendors who buy this merchandise in bulk, and they send the merchandise to third world countries.

Thanks everybody for your replies. I have also heard that they sell by the pound. I was mostly interested in shirts or other items to use the fabric from.

Thanks again!

There are 3 Goodwill Outlets in Indianapolis. There are tons of Goodwill stores in Indianapolis. The stores are just thrift stores. The outlets do sell things by the pound. Every couple hours they change out the big bins they put the stuff on. It can be anything you can imagine. The clothes are usually on a bin with just clothes. They usually have shoe bins and book bins. Then everything else is piles on the bins. When they change out the bins it can be pretty wild. It is an excellent place to buy shirts or neck ties. I have found some really smokin' deals at the outlet. Our outlet has furniture sometimes, too. I don't know why some of it is sent there and some is sent to stores. I have found some very nice things there. I think if it doesn't sell at the high priced stores they send it to the outlets. I guess I would rather see them run the junk through the outlet and give everybody a chance before they throw it in the dumpster.

Goodwill has been touted as serving the disabled, not necessarily true. They are not non profit and their good s are much higher than regular thrift stores, therefore I feel we are not really honestly informed about what they do. At our store it seems if you are slightly disabled but can't keep up the pace, you get fired. I do not go there much because of these issues preferring the thrift stores that do support good causes.

I love the Goodwill Outlet Stores and they are totally different from the regular stores. They put all the merchandise into large troughs and it is a total mess. Wear gloves as I have cut myself several times. Most of the stores sell by the pound. Sewing Machines are usually a straight price like $10. I have bought my husband a quality leather coat for just pennies as well as fabric, books, curtains, rugs, beautiful Christmas music boxes etc. It is a very interesting concept how they do it: they sell part of the room and then they seal it off and empty everything which is mainly trash and then they open another part of the room. There are people who line up and it's like a free for all when they open the troughs. I love going there and some cities have better ones than others. Portland Oregon and Council Bluffs and St.Louis have great Goodwill Outlets. Try it, you might like them.

We have a goodwill "castoff" that sells by the pound. They come from other areas that didn't sell quickly or for some other reasons...I have found great things before such as kitchenAid attachments, threads, hard to find glasses to match what I was looking for, etc. the only drawback is...when they bring them out in covered bins ..u wait til they say "go", some people dives in and grab!! I tend to wait til they finish, not about to lose my hand over it!! Lol

There's one near me but I haven't gone yet. My GF went and she said to wear old clothes and either remove your rings or wear gloves because you will be digging in bins and that everything is sold by the pound. Don't know if it is like that in your area, she got some good deals, so I'm ready to go 'dumpster diving' too.

***
*** GW charges sales tax (they are not a charity - some new and some used items
*** If they are backed by a charity, you pay no sales tax - some new and some used items.

*** The ones in our area have gone crazy on pricing and charge almost new prices.
***

Learned a lot about GW just reading the above info...I am finding less and less at the closest one...and even less at the more distant ones I have gone to lately...shelves still have some of the same things for several weeks now....think I will try church sponsored thrift shops or there is a St Vincent DePaul thrift shop in a nearby town....anyone ever visit one of those? Just can't find any bargains these days.....and yes, I have seen some behavior at the store that leads me to believe these people are reselling what they are buying.....

Actually they ARE a non-profit - just happen to spend $50 million+ on executive salaries. From Wikipedia --

"Goodwill Industries International Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides job training, employment placement services, and other community-based programs for people who have disabilities. In addition, Goodwill Industries may hire veterans, individuals that lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges. Goodwill is funded by a massive network of retail thrift stores which operate as nonprofits as well. Goodwill's answer to its profit status is "As a unique hybrid called a social enterprise, we defy traditional distinctions. Instead of a single bottom line of profit, we hold ourselves accountable to a triple bottom line of people, planet, and performance."[3]"

I would MUCH rather go to small local thrift shops, where you know where the money goes to and there are no overpaid executives. Plus I HATE fighting other people for "goodies."

you can shop Goodwill on line too....

Goodwill Industries is not for profit. So the least you will save when shopping there is any state and local sales taxes. Here's Wikipedia's definition of them:
Goodwill Industries International Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides job training, employment placement services, and other community-based programs for people who have disabilities. In addition, Goodwill Industries may hire veterans, individuals that lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges. Goodwill is funded by a massive network of retail thrift stores which operate as nonprofits as well. Goodwill's answer to its profit status is "As a unique hybrid called a social enterprise, we defy traditional distinctions. Instead of a single bottom line of profit, we hold ourselves accountable to a triple bottom line of people, planet, and performance."[3]

Goodwill operates as a network of 165 independent, community-based organizations in Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Uruguay, the United States, Canada and 8 other countries.[4] In 2011, Goodwills collectively earned more than $4 billion, and used 82 percent of that revenue to provide employment, training and support services to more than 4.2 million individuals.[5][6]

Any world-wide non-profit organization that boasts 82% of earnings going to support their mission, not outrageous salaries and expenses for executive, is okay in my book.

My sister works at a GW and she says if items are still in the original packaging and not been opened, they will normally go to the outlet stores. The managers are usually the ones who have a price chart the rest of the store goes by.

Wow...Thanks again for all the information on the outlet stores. My daughter knows someone who has gone there and is trying to get info from her also. We already figured it wasn't going to be a place to take kids. I can't wait to hunt for the bargains!...lol

Again thanks for all your replies.

It is a terrible place to take kids unless you are looking for a specific item and they are old enough to keep from getting trampled. My DGDs and I spent a half hour in there one day and got silk flowers for them to make little fairies. Since you weigh things they were CHEAP for a ton of them.

We have an outlet store in Sacramento, CA. It is a huge store with a ton of tables with stuff on them. In my opinion it's mostly junk and it is all sold by the pound. It looks like stuff that was rejected buy their retail stores and instead of taking it to the landfill they are trying to sell some of it.

It looks that way most of the time but I have found some pretty good stuff there.