Is it wrong?

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I've only been to one goodwill around my area. They don't have anything vintage. I asked the lady who worked there is she ever sees any of it. She said that there isn't much of a market for it, so it gets shipped to other locations. For some reason she couldn't tell me what the other locations were! This made me wonder. I don't know where the other Goodwill's are in my area. I should probably find them, for I'm hearing it mentioned as a good source of lower priced vintage, from other people here on the lounge. We have only 2 good vintage stores here, and a few stores that are mostly miss but sometimes hit. One of the good stores is great, and has great prices. The other is amazing, but incredibly high ridiculous prices. I would love to find a Goodwill. I hear their prices are much better than the smaller vintage shoppes and ebay.

"No market for it" !?!? I think she was just trying to pull some disinformation off on ya Daisey! Maybe those other "Goodwills" don't even exist.
You should have told her that you are a huge market for it.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Hey! I should get residuals!!!

No doubt.
I'll will it to you next time I change avatars. How's that?

 

[Feraud]

Hmmm.. The high paying customers get the good stuff and needy folk get the leftovers... It smells dirty to me. Charity. Go figure.

 

[Pilgrim]

I'm surprised that the question was asked. When I donate to any charitable organization, I assume their goal is to maximize the money they can make from the resale of that item. I would APPLAUD any effort on their part to put that item in the forum/place/location that would generate the most money for them.

And yes, I know that some of their employees will set aside merchandise for themselves - but they are either volunteers working for free, or employees working for very low wages. Every job should have its fringe benefits, and that's one I have no inclination to argue with. Of course, they should pay for the items, but not more than the going rate. Getting first pick still generates $ for the organization.

And I've often noticed items on OFAS that were being sold by various Goodwill branches or other charitable sites. The volume of these sales seems pretty low compared to the overall number of items they carry, but I assume they do this only for the items with good potential for online sale. Setting up an online auction listing requires some time, so they can't do it for everything.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

"No market for it" !?!? I think she was just trying to pull some disinformation off on ya Daisey! Maybe those other "Goodwills" don't even exist.
You should have told her that you are a huge market for it.

Yeah, I know, I thought this information was outrageous too! I think she just hated her job, and was sick of answering questions. She was probably lying to me too when she told me that she didn't know where they got sent. They probably went to the huge, overpriced vintage dealer, Bobby. Every vintage shoppe knows about him. He frequently visits them and buys out every item of vintage, then sells it for four times the price at his shoppe. I remember going into a vintage shoppe in Harvard Square and inquiring if they had anything from the 30's or 40's. The clerk told me that Bobby had just left five minutes before me with all of her dresses from that era, including four beautiful glamour gowns! Ugh, he seems to be everywhere I go! She should have just told me she didn't have any, instead of making me sad. Hmm, I wonder if she had gotten them from Goodwill?

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I'm surprised that the question was asked. When I donate to any charitable organization, I assume their goal is to maximize the money they can make from the resale of that item. I would APPLAUD any effort on their part to put that item in the forum/place/location that would generate the most money for them.

Sure, I see your point. Goodwill has to make a profit, and they are entitled to dispose of any inventory in their possession as they see fit.
But in order to truly maximize their profits, Goodwill could very easily eliminate profiteering middlemen that would sell our beloved and increasingly rare vintage items overseas.
If Goodwill would do something like this, both collectors and Goodwill benefit. It would be a far more equitable for collectors such as us loungers, and a more profitable arrangement for Goodwill.
I would much rather have the opportunity to purchase a nice vintage hat in my size for say,...25 to 50 dollars, than to see some greedy yahoo that doesn't really appreciate it, buy it for 5 or 10 bucks to sell it overseas for, say,... 150 bucks!

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Yeah, I know, I thought this information was outrageous too! I think she just hated her job, and was sick of answering questions. She was probably lying to me too when she told me that she didn't know where they got sent. They probably went to the huge, overpriced vintage dealer, Bobby. Every vintage shoppe knows about him. He frequently visits them and buys out every item of vintage, then sells it for four times the price at his shoppe. I remember going into a vintage shoppe in Harvard Square and inquiring if they had anything from the 30's or 40's. The clerk told me that Bobby had just left five minutes before me with all of her dresses from that era, including four beautiful glamour gowns! Ugh, he seems to be everywhere I go! She should have just told me she didn't have any, instead of making me sad. Hmm, I wonder if she had gotten them from Goodwill?

Beat Bobby at his own game! The early bird gets the vintage.
Get up earlier and get there before this Bobby person does.

 

[Terry Lennox]

I've been to goodwills all over the US. Now LA is a different breed. Actually most thrift stores in LA are cherry picking the good stuff.

But you can still find a place that's what I call an Honest Thrift Store. They don't care to make the most money, they just want to sell stuff.

I'm discusted by the thrift store that are greedy. Goodwill use to sell shirts for 1.99. Then the whole grunge thing took off in the mid 90's and shirts jump to 4.95. Now they're like 6.00.

 

[carebear]

Beat Bobby at his own game! The early bird gets the vintage.
Get up earlier and get there before this Bobby person does.

He won't be as early if he's got two busted legs.

Just throwing that out there.



I have yet to go to our local thrifts for anything. I donate, but do not buy. I probably should.

I take that back, I bought some stuff years ago for a '70's costume once, royal blue poly hip-hugger flares and a nice yellow poly print shirt.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Anywho what's your take? Should charity organizations sort the high end from the low end and hand over the higher end and more saught after goods to the overseas market and vintage stores where the prices will be marked higher than if they were just put on the shelf or a hanger at the local goodwill?

In my opinion, they absolutely should. And I have no problem with smaller charity thrift stores that have their own "vintage/designer boutique corner" in the back area. The stuff in there is marked at a higher price. This is what I call "sound business", and it works: even thrift store shoppers are willing to pay more for a used Ralph Lauren Polo suit than for a used J.C. Penney one.

.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

People like us loungers just won't bother to go and look at Goodwills if there is nothing that's worth looking for there.

But people like us Loungers don't come near to keeping Goodwill afloat. We're not Goodwill's primary customers by a long shot.

Let's face it: at least 95% of the shoppers at Goodwill are people with moderate incomes looking for clean, practical, MODERN clothing in good condition. As long as Goodwill continues to provide that -- and it will -- then the customers will keep on coming.


.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

So that's why I can never find an Open Road in one of those places! Why don't they list them on the 'bay?

Well ... the Open Roads do end up on the 'bay, but it ain't Goodwill that puts them there: it's the people who are giving away some deceased relative's clothes to Goodwill, but realize that a few of those things may be worth selling on eBay!


.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

yep, most of the clothing in GOODWILL is crap, they take the good stuff for themselves

I have never seen a decent piece of clothing on the racks! it's always the lowest quality Kmart special cheapo junk.

Not all Goodwills are alike. Have you tried the ones in the more upscale areas?


You're really generalizing here. If what you say is true, then I would rarely be able to find "good stuff" at Goodwills. The fact is, I find a pretty impressive amount of "good stuff" all the time.


If you're ever in Los Angeles, try the Goodwill on North Vine Street. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.


.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

A few years back, Goodwill's national headquarters was trying to start up an online auction program for selling off prime goods at top dollar -- I don't know if they're still doing it or not, but I recall that when they were there was quite a bit of vintage showing up there.

Near where I live, there is a Goodwill administration building. As you may know, Goodwill Industries has been operating thrift stores since the 1930s.


What you may not know is that for most of those years -- from the '30s until the mid '90s -- it had been "cherry picking" certain clothing items (usually the very finest!) and putting them into its "permanent collection." The only time Goodwill shows this collection to the public is via the "Fashions Through the Decades" charity fashion shows which it puts on throughout the country. However ...


Back in 1993, the Goodwill Industries folks decided to have a one-time sale of hundreds of clothes from its "cherry picked" hoard. Apparently, they had stockpiled too much over the last 60 years. I went to the sale, which occupied the admin building's entire parking lot. What I saw was amazing. Incredible things! I was looking for items to sell, and ran into two 1920s opera coats for women: both in velvet, with Art Deco and Japanese gold and silver embroidery. One for $30, the other for $20 ...


.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Hmmm.. The high paying customers get the good stuff and needy folk get the leftovers... It smells dirty to me. Charity. Go figure.

It's capitalistic charity, no? A thrift store is a store, after all.

.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I would much rather have the opportunity to purchase a nice vintage hat in my size for say,...25 to 50 dollars, than to see some greedy yahoo that doesn't really appreciate it, buy it for 5 or 10 bucks to sell it overseas for, say,... 150 bucks!

Look the solution is simple. Be willing to pay more than 150 bucks for it. If you do this, then the hat won't go overseas.

Why should a person in Japan have less access to that hat than you do? -Should you be prevented from buying a vintage katana (samurai sword) simply because you're not living in Japan -- even though you're willing to pay well for it?

.

 

[Lauren]

Heck, it's still a charity, and a good way to get rid of stuff.

I've found great things... not just vintage, but Kate Spade, Marc Jacobs, Prada... sure, few and far between, but people have to really know what they're looking at, and around here that just doesn't happen. Even if someone's sorting the chances of them finding my thing that I want is pretty slim.

Here's a good idea- go to the independant thrift stores instead of the chains. I've found killer deals that way. The chances of the little church charity shops selling to the "big wigs" isn't quite as likely to happen.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Marc... Watch your posting amounts when replying... try to consolodate.

And yes... indipendent stores have been very good to me.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

We'll do, Matt. Thanks for the heads-up.

The clerk [at the vintage clothing shop] told me that Bobby had just left five minutes before me with all of her dresses from that era, including four beautiful glamour gowns!

The reason why Bobby charges his customers so much is that he buys his merchandise for a fairly high price. He pays more, so he has to charge more. It's not that Bobby's mark-up is high; it's that he's not buying his stuff for a low enough price.


Some of us here may remember Jeff Beauregard, the former L.A. vintage clothing dealer. Well, one of the places where he bought his merchandise was a chain of local vintage clothing stores called "Aardvard's Odd Ark". The stuff at "Aardvark's" isn't cheap. Jeff would then mark up the price (a little bit) and sell the stuff to his own customers. Folks ended up marveling at the quality of Jeff's merchandise, which is exactly the kind of adulation he was looking for.


Was Jeff's best merchandise cheap? No. Did he buy it from "Aardvark's" cheap? No. Did he make a good profit on it? No. But most of his customers didn't realize that.


.

 

[Lauren]

But people like us Loungers don't come near to keeping Goodwill afloat. We're not Goodwill's primary customers by a long shot.

Let's face it: at least 95% of the shoppers at Goodwill are people with moderate incomes looking for clean, practical, MODERN clothing in good condition. As long as Goodwill continues to provide that -- and it will -- then the customers will keep on coming.


.

I agree. Thrift stores are loads of fun and I've found great modern pieces with a vintage flair, plus fun stuff to be made over- like furniture and house decorating things. If you're throwing themed parties the houseware section is always good to browse, and there's nearly always a neverending stack of cheesy vinyl covers that can be sabotaged for art.