Is Goodwill Outlet Worth It? (a visual guide)
If you’ve been reselling online for any length of time or you’ve seen resellers at the Goodwill Outlet, you’re probably wondering if it’s really worth it. That’s a great question!
So, is Goodwill Outlet worth it? If you prefer to spend more for better items and make a higher profit, the Goodwill Outlet store probably isn’t worth it for you. However, if you want to buy items for cheap and resell them for a high margin, Goodwill is definitely the place for you!
Here is a break down of a few of our experience with finding items to resell at Goodwill Outlet. Determining if it’s worth your time and effort is going to depend on your business goals.
Our First Trip to the Goodwill Outlet
Our nearest Goodwill Outlet Stores is in Des Moines, Iowa and is about two hours from where we live. We wish we had one closer! Needless to say, we’ve made many day trips to go sourcing there. We went for the first time in December 2013 and it was an amazing experience!
Here is a breakdown of what we spent that day and how much we got. 96 pounds at $0.59/lbTotal number of itemsCost per itemTotal spent: $56.6442 $1.35
(The price per pound at the Des Moines Goodwill Outlet is no longer this cheap. It has since been raised to $1.29 per pound.)
We were total newbies! We rushed those bins and filled up two carts full of stuff. By the time we sorted through everything, we put an entire cart of stuff back but we were so happy with our finds.
When we got home, after looking at things closer, we were able to sell 34 of the 42 items. We got everything listed on eBay right away and within 30 days, we sold 21 items, made back our entire investment and were making pure profit on every sold item. It took 9 months to sell everything, but that last few items were very low dollar. Since we’d already made our money back early on, we weren’t too worried about some items taking 9 months to sell.
Here is the breakdown of every item we sold and how much profit we made. ITEM TITLEPROFITBrother GX-6750 Electronic Typewriter Daisy Wheel Correctronic NEW Original Box$68.57 Numark TTUSB Professional Turntable DJ Vinyl Record Includes Cords VIDEO PROOF$44.59 IKEA Ritva Panel Curtains NEW Brown 57×98 Tie Back Cotton NEW IN PACKAGE$24.94 Mirro Cake Pan with Lid$23.46 Vintage SONY Walkman AM/FM Radio Tape Cassette Player WM-F2015 SEE VIDEO PROOF$19.45 Lauren Ralph Lauren Dress Pants Tweed Brown Pleated Cuffed Men Size 38×30$16.81 Vintage PANASONIC Portable AM/FM Radio LED Tuning Indicator RF-596 VIDEO PROOF$16.80 Dockers Dress Slacks Pants Brown Pleated Cuffed Wool Blend Men Size 33×32$15.02 Vintage LOPI Mountain Sheep’s Wool Yarn Iceland NEW 5 Skeins 100% Pure New Wool$14.66 VINTAGE Gemex Soft Calfskin Wristwatch Band NOS Brown Leather Watch 15mm 5/8″$14.03 Banana Republic Pants Martin Fit Tan Cream Textured Stripe Cuffed Women Size 2$13.28 Lauren Jeans Co. Ralph Lauren Sleeveless Button Down Shirt Light Blue Size Small$12.66 Hasbro Easy Bake Oven Accessory Metal Cake Pans Spoon Spatula Cups Pusher Manual$12.61 Sunbeam Heating Blanket Controller$12.40 NEW Oatey 34056 14-Inch by 14-Inch Access Panel Plumbing Electrical Maintenance$12.37 Braun Hand Held Mixer Blender$12.29 Kenneth Cole Reaction Cross Body Briefcase Laptop Book Bag Vinyl Leather Black$11.21 LG US670 Optimus US Cellular Android Cell Phone GOOD Condition – FREE SHIPPING$10.89 Mary Kay NEW Consultant Purse Tote Black Pink On The Go Bag Book Window Leather$10.72 Vintage GE AM/FM Radio Tape Cassette Player Stereo No. 3-5470B SEE VIDEO PROOF$10.62 J.A. Henckels International 12 Slot Knife Block Light Color with Rubber Feet$10.60 NEW PlumBest 17″ x 17″ Snap-Ease Access Panel A05-014 Plumbing Maintenance$10.53 Black & Decker Shortcut II (2) CFP20 Work Bowl Food Processor Replacement Part$9.64 Vintage Majesty Yarn 100% Virgin Wool Knitting Worsted Black 5 NEW Skeins 4 Ply$9.24 George Foreman Grill Drip Tray Pan White 12.5″ Inches Grease Large Replacement$7.08 Vintage Bernat Cuddlespun Yarn Cream Beige Virgin Wool Nylon Anti-Shrink Soft$6.86 Banana Republic Dress Pants Side Zip WOOL Brown Blue Plaid Sailor Buttons Size 0$6.19 Tupperware Modular Mates Lid 1623 Black Square 1623-5 Replacement Part$5.29 Tupperware Modular Mates Lid 1610 Black Rectangle 1610-4 Replacement Part$5.11 VINTAGE Tupperware Deviled Egg Container LID ONLY 722 Keeper Carrier Clear$4.79 Wilsons Leather NEW Cross Body Purse Lamb Black Small Shoulder Strap 3 Pocket$4.54 Vintage Yarn Black Gray NEW Red Heart Coats & Clark Bear Brand 100% Virgin Wool$4.08 Vintage Tapestry Wool Red Hand Crafts Yarn Needlepoint$3.86 Fossil Hobo Purse Bag Straw Leather Cream Ivory Tan Single Strap Zip Top Genuine$2.03 TOTAL PROFIT $467.24
In the end, we were very please with our first experience at the Goodwill Outlet and the money we made.
However, for some people, they may prefer to buy higher dollar items and resell them for bigger profits. A lot of people don’t have the capital to start off their business this way, so to start making money, sourcing at a Goodwill Outlet is probably the best way to go.
Please share your opinion about whether you think Goodwill Outlet is worth it or not in the comments!
Tips that Made Our First Trip More Successful (in our opinion)
On our first trip to Goodwill Outlet, we went as a group of three people. Having multiple people gave us more eyes to look for items throughout the store. Also, we had more people to watch over our carts when new bins came out. Unfortunately, if you turn your back on your cart for even a second some people will think it’s free-range and take your stuff. Having multiple people also made it easier to take bathroom breaks and stop to eat without leaving our stuff unattended.
We also arrived before the store opened and were able to each grab a cart. If we would have arrived a few hours later, we wouldn’t have gotten a cart at all! We definitely wouldn’t have come home with as much stuff if we didn’t have a cart.
We ended up spending about five hours shopping before we headed home. This allowed us to get through multiple bin rotations and get our hands on a lot of different items.