Shopping at Goodwill

I am not a big shopper and only go when I need something and can’t find what I want online. I shopped at a local Goodwill this past Friday. What a freaking mess the place was. And way overpriced. A bit of a shock, really. I used to be able to find quality, gently used clothing at an affordable price there. I believe in used–it’s better than filling up the landfills with perfectly usable goods. Goodwill goes a long way to helping with that issue.

I was curious about where their money goes, as Goodwill is a highly successful non-profit raking in more than 5 billion/year. The stores are locally owned and some managed better than others. (If they are all as bad as the one I visited Friday I can’t see many shopping there). Several owners have been called out for paying themselves well and their workers less than minimum wage, but I think for the most part (from the little digging I did), they have some good programs.

Anyway, it will be a long while before I return to that store. It was too unpleasant; felt more like digging through a junk heap, although I did come away with two pristine cds.