Goodwill Wearhouse
They arrive early and stay late. They’ll bring the children, the in-laws and 93-year old Uncle Joe.
They’ll steal from your cart, spy over your shoulder, takeover bins, shove old ladies, bribe children, push in line, schmooze owners and make secret deals with workers.
They’re not necessarily dangerous, but often have no couth, shame or identifiable ethics when it comes to getting you out of the way and themselves into a newly packed bin of ‘junk’(treasure to some) even if it means mowing other thrifters down with their shopping cart.
Who are these professional resellers of donated junk? They’re frenzied thrifting fanatics. Hoarders and they want you out of their way by any means necessary.
Why would anyone behave this way in a thrift store? Is it because there are so many inexpensive deals to be had?Not necessarily.
Frenzied thrifting fanatics are at work. For them, it’s business. It’s all about resell value.
The Goodwill Wearhouse, 5035 S 36th St, is a treasure trove and great place to search when looking for vintage finds and other items for the home.
Everyday merchandise from area Goodwill stores is shipped to the Goodwill Wearhouse as a last ditch attempt to sell merchandise that previously went unsold.
Merchandise is indiscriminately loaded (more like tossed so beware of broken glass) into large wooden bins from which patrons rummage and load into shopping carts.
Although some merchandise (furniture, some purses and other large items) are individually priced, the majority of merchandised is priced by weighing shopping carts stocked with merchandise.
For example, merchandise weighing less than 20 lbs cost $1.37 per pound. Carts weighing 50 lbs or more cost $.67 per pound. There’s incentive to dig and shop ‘til you drop. Unsold merchandise goes to a landfill.
Low cost, pounds of merchandise to resell on-line, in yard sales and in local mom and pop stores along with the potential to make money is the primary lure of frenzied thrifting fanatics. They’re not going anywhere and they show up at all area thrift stores.
It can be a bit intimidating. But don’t let hoarders stop you from getting a deal or finding something useful. It’s easier to roll up your sleeves, put on a pair of gloves and learn to deal with it.
Here are some pointers:
1.A hoarder’s primary objective is to get first dibs and inspection of all merchandise in the store. But they can’t. There’s just too much stuff.
2.Usually store management is aware of the usual suspects. Management has a vested interest in satisfying all customers-not solely those who hoard, hold and pick through merchandise as other customers stand idle, frustrated or leave the store. Because of this it’s not uncommon for management not to put new merchandise on the floor for hours in an attempt to annoy and frustrated frenzied thrifting fanatics into leaving.
3.You and the hoarders may not have the same ideas on what’s valuable. Merchandise they put back, overlook or ignore could be the one thing you wanted most. So, all in all, it’s always good to go and shop.
4.Sometimes it’s “kill or be killed”—please don’t take that literally. You just may need to get in there and play with the big boys.�
You never know what you’ll find.
Happy hunting.
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