(No, I'm not talking about the movie starring Matt Damon.)
A fellow frugalite who owns a trophy and awards shop made a comment on a previous post about how she finds things she can use at her business at going-out-of-business sales and also at Goodwill. This requires a little thinking outside the box, but is well worth it. She has found multi-shelf TV wall units at Goodwill that she uses as retail displays.
She also likes to quickly browse through Goodwill's clothing aisles, and notes that at many stores, they sell new, name brand "seconds" at a fraction of department store prices. She has also found wicker and woven baskets that you could buy at craft stores for $10, $20, or more, for a quarter or $0.50 at Goodwill.
I have my own Goodwill Hunting story to share. My ever-growing 13-year-old was in need of pants. Again. There were none from his brother in the hand-me-down bucket so I went shopping. I tried Plato's Closet, which is fast becoming my go-to store for teen clothing, and came up empty, so I tried Goodwill on the way home. I found a pair of nearly new Levi's and Tommy Hilfilger jeans for $5.99 and $6.99, respectively. Great deals, but then I got to the register and found out that all apparel was 50% off that day. SCORE! 2 pairs of name-brand jeans for $7.74.
My chance experience underscores a very important thrift-store principal: know when to shop. Know what days the items you look for can be found on sale. Know what days new stock comes in. That is what my brother-in-law in Las Vegas does, and he manages to find amazing deals on name-brand shoes and clothing (he specializes in skateboarding stuff) that he buys on the cheap and sells on eBay for a pretty nice profit.
Goodwill sometimes gets a bad rap as being a bit of a junk store, and to some extent, it is. But, among the trash are plenty of treasures for the Frugal Finder. Any Goodwill success stories to share?
