On Fridays, I am sharing how Goodwill is "more than the store." Sure, I love Goodwill because it's a great way to get good, cheap clothes, but Goodwill is so much more. Last Friday, I shared the Power of a Polka Dot Shirt which you can find here if you missed it.
Today, I am sharing an awesome day I had last week when I went got to tour several parts of Goodwill of Delaware. I got to go behind the scenes and see how things work, and it blew my mind, like how I felt the first time I watched the Matrix, blew my mind.
Have you ever wondered what happens to the items that Goodwill doesn't sell? If an item doesn't sell at one of the Goodwill of Delawares, it just might end up here at the Goodwill Outlet.
Here's how the outlet works. At the outlet, the items are sold by the pound (except for furniture and such). Prices start at a $1.59 per pound and the price goes down with the more pounds you buy.
All the items are put into these big blue rolling bins, and they stay on the outlet floor for an hour and a half.
What happens after an hour and a half? I'm glad you asked! Everyone in the store is asked to stand behind the red line.
And all the blue bins are rolled out.
New bins are rolled in, they make an announcement, and the shoppers are off to shop!
Because the store is changing every hour and a half, some customers stay at the outlet all day. The outlet is not for the faint of heart, but you can get some really good deals here. Check out what Janis, a fellow Goodwill lover, got when she went.
Goodwill's mission is to keep as much out of the landfill as possible. The outlet gives items one last chance to make it to a new owner.
What happens if an item doesn't sell in the outlet? Does it just get thrown away?
If you noticed in the pictures, all the blue bins were being rolled out of a door to the right. Behind that door is the Goodwill of Delaware Recycling Center. Next Friday, I will be sharing my tour of the recycling center which just made me love Goodwill more!
I am loving this series and I am weirdly excited about this behind the scenes view because I've wondered about this stuff myself. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am so excited to write about the recycling center next week. It was amazing how much they can recycle.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't a Goodwill Outlet in our town, but at my favorite Goodwill (which is 3.5 hours away!), there is a Goodwill Outlet beside the main store. Their system is different than the one you described, but the clothes are still in those big blue bins and they are cheap!! I've found the best things by digging though those bins. :-)
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