My past experiences with Good Will have proven to be wastes of my time. Yesterday I went to shop at my favorite large thrift store only to find it has closed and moved to the next city. So we stopped by a Good Will we saw along the way in hopes of finding a few good deals on fall items.

The store was much smaller than the one I intended to shop at and the clothes were not well organised but the prices were good. I got several shirts and pants for the kids including a real leather coat all fo r under $30!

Good for you, Brandy!  ANd good for the funds that Goodwill received from you to help in its rehabilitating persons with substance abuse & other problems that were interfering with their being formerly employed.

Since we are speaking of stores like Goodwill, thrift type and resale stores, I just have to say I went to a local resale shop that everyone I know raves about and was disappointed. They had decent clothes but their pricing was way off. Used blouses were $10.00 and they were just ordinary brands. I was able to by a NEW blouse at Penneys the Worthington brand on sale for just a few dollars more. I am not saying the clothes need to be given away but $10.00 for an ordinary cotton blouse seems a lot especially considering that it was used. The store was poorly organized too. Other items seemed to be very high priced too.

I knew that the proceeds helped to fund other programs but the Goodwills and the Salvation Armies I have gone to before were rather dirty stores with poor selections. I have thrown away items that looked better than some of the things I have seen on the racks.

This one at least had a clean facility, nice employees and decent clothing so it was worth going to.

Here's a copy/paste of a previous Goodwill post of mine:

http://www.goodwill.org/page/guest/about

Goodwill Industries is all about people working.

We are North America’s leading nonprofit provider of education, training, and career services for people with disadvantages, such as welfare dependency, homelessness, and lack of education or work experience, as well as those with physical, mental and emotional disabilities. Last year, local Goodwills collectively provided employment and training services to more than 930,775 individuals.

We believe that work has the power to transform lives by building self-confidence, independence, creativity, trust and friendships. Everyone deserves a chance to have these.

Goodwill provides that chance.

Goodwill Industries International's public policy agenda addresses current issues and concerns that make it possible to help people attain the skills they need to become successful members of the workforce.
 
Goodwill Industries operates under the philosophy of "a hand up, not a hand out." More than eight out of ten people who come to Goodwill for help are low-income or welfare-dependent, including those with a criminal record. Often, people face a variety of barriers that stand in the way of finding a job and advancing their careers.

When you donate and shop at Goodwill, you help us fulfill our mission.

The clothing and household goods you donate are sold in over 2,100 Goodwill retail stores and on our Internet auction site, www.shopgoodwill.com. The revenues fund job training and other services to prepare people for job success.

Goodwill also generates income helping businesses fill gaps caused by labor shortages, time constraints and limited space or equipment. We train and employ contract workers to fill outsourced needs for document management, assembly, mailing, custodial work, groundskeeping and more.

More than 83 percent of Goodwill’s total revenues are used to fund education and career services, and other critical community programs.

I normally shop at America's Thrift Stores.

Both have outreach programs and America's Thrift is Christian based. But prior to this trip to Goodwill, I was not impressed with the stores themselves so I opted for the other. Once I find where the other moved to, I think both will be on my lists for clothes shopping in future.