Goodwill issues. . .

[Wesley]

Cruised into the local Goodwill yesterday, and was going to spend some time finding out what was new in the store. (apparently everything changes over a cycle based on the color coded tags they put on them.

I started with jeans, and to my horror, I noticed they had done away with the rack sizing tags, which gave you an idea at least where your size was. . . Humm, strange I thought.

Went over to the skirts and on the way, noticed there were no tags to be found in sight. Checked in skirts. . They now arrange everything by COLOR. . there is no size arrangement anymore You can go in and look for a blue shirt or blouse, or a red blouse, or even a green one, but you have to spend all afternoon searching in the color section for whatever size you wear. If you are like me, a size 18, it can take a little longer.

After about 15 minutes, I left and went to another nearby store. Same thing! Everything arranged by color Nothing by size. Its a free for all. I asked the lady at the cashier stand about it, and she said it came down from corporate about a week ago and they had no choice.

So, I attempted to call the local office, yesterday and today. Both times the phone rang and rang, only to receive a message that, "The Goodwill operator is not available right now, if you would like to leave your name and number, please do so at the tone." CLICK. . .

It seems a totally stupid idea. There is not even any arrangement of size from larger to smaller, everything is just thrown in togather. I guess they think it will make people stay in their store longer. All they have done is waste customers times, and lost what customers they have in the process. Interesting to note, there were far fewer people in the either store than usual.

So much for that affordable venue.

[SilverLady(SO)]

Wesley -

All the GW stores in our area - and even those in Richmond - used to sort all their clothes by color, but they also had a Plus-Size section.

They are now in the process of sorting clothes by S - M - L - XL sizes to the extent possible (some clothes no longer have tags on them - guilty as charged!) and no longer just by color.


Browsing through everything was part of the 'thrill of the hunt' as Virginia and I always called it, although I am happy to see them trying to sort by approximate sizes.


- SL

[Heather W]

Browsing through everything was part of the 'thrill of the hunt' as Virginia and I always called it,

I tend to agree with you for the most part. It is sometimes frustrating going through rack after rack of dresses, skirts, pants, etc. fruitlessly and then all of a sudden that perfect one is there before you is that prize. The exact item you have been looking for even though you started your search without a clue what you were looking for.

That said it can be equally as frustrating when perusing a rack of your size and you find that prized garment only to discover that it is not your size.

Truth be told any shopping venture can be a wonderful journey of exploration.

[Eileen (SO)]

Hubby has also noted sorting by color, before size ranges. If I needed something in red, I'll browse my size range before color. There are tints, accents, or hues that may work just as well. All in my size.

If Goodwill has some kind of agenda to change how people shop, get ready for a huge wake up e-mail tsunami. Goodwill wants to train employees for better jobs. Not with this nonsense.

Eileen

[Estefania]

Ever been to a "Charming Charlie" or perhaps a "Stein Mart" store? They also tend to group clothes and accessories by colors and styles. Biggest difference is that they will stock up the same item in different sizes while Goodwill stores won't.

Still, personally my shopping style involves a lot of, well browsing, going through the racks, etc. So I don't mind the colors grouped layout.

Gaby

[Requal Jo]

I have an association with a Goodwiil shop (we call them Op ((for Opportunity)) Shops in Oz) and the ladies who oversee the control of the clothing just place it on the racks by type eg skirts together, jeans together, etc. They do not sort by colour or size.

Answer to the question "Why this way?" is because the people buy more: as they find more when looking through the clothing to purchase.

[Amanda R]

I recently discovered the Charming Charlie chain and I like the concept of grouping by color they use for displaying their clothes and accessories. At a quick glance one can tell if this is what you want and explore further for your size and style or go on to the next rack. Granted it is different than shopping at GW but if one is going to shop at Goodwill you should realize it is not a dash in experience. Personally I have found some wonderful items at GW and half the fun is the hunt!

Answer to the question "Why this way?" is because the people buy more: as they find more when looking through the clothing to purchase.

I don't know if this is true for most but I do agree here. I know I have found some real steals perusing the racks at GW, other resale shops, and even clearance racks at larger chains. For those who go in with a set idea of what they are looking for this organized chaos may be frustrating but for those of us who view the search for a bargain as an adventure it is fun!

[Anne Bonny]

I am not a goodwill or thrift store shopper. It is important to have clothing separated by size, and I can see how color is important for coordinating an outfit...seems if they separate by color, then size should still be incorporated there too. I would think another consideration is wear and tear....

I prefer new something about wearing clothing others have already worn or just had and never wore, or used too because they died. I suppose if you are looking for retro or classic styling there is not really anywhere else to look.

[Diana Michelle]

I am not a GW shopper as far as clothes are concerned however I have purchased many household and other items there. I have a beautiful set of crystal wine glasses and matching decanter I bought at GW a number of years ago and paid some ridiculous price like $10 for the whole set. I can see how mothers of young children would find excellent bargains as young children generally outgrow clothes far before their useful life is over.

I do shop consignment shops especially if I am in need for a dress for a special occasion. I have bought many outfits in these upscale consignment and resale shops. When one can purchase for half or less a dress you are going to wear once why not? Most of these end up back at the consignment shop after I wear them that once and I end up after the whole deal buying that $300 or more dress costing me maybe $100. A lot better than paying the $300 for it initially and getting $30 to $50 back after it sells again in a consignment shop makes it even nicer.

On the subject of sorting by size or color or both, that involves a great deal of labor in a resale shop such as GW. I am involved with a thrift store run by the local interfaith council and for the most part our labor is all volunteer. We get the donations in, have to sort through them to determine what is truly resalable, launder it in many cases, then hang it and bring it to the racks. There is a lot more involved than a retail operation that gets in a shipment of say 20 dresses over say 7 or 10 sizes at the most. I can imagine a multi outlet operation such as GW must process tons of clothes everyday. Sorting by color is easy. Searching through every garment for the size tag assuming there is one would make the task of stocking the store monumental.

For the record at KAIR we just sort by type of garment and gender. i.e. men's pants, women's jeans, dresses, etc. We do have racks for "plus sizes" (their terms not mine) and maternity attire. Those end up there more by looks and it can vary greatly as to what appears to be a large size to one may not be the same to another.

[Victoria K.]

I love the good will! you can find some real nice clothes there.

[KimberlyS]

Coming from a plus sized gurl, sorting by color instead of size makes it a waste of time for me. I am not going to fit this body into a size small, medium or large. So considering that most clothes are in these three sizes, looking through them for me is a huge waste and they are not going to get me to bye any more by having to dig through them.

I can see the advantage of sorting by color within a size, but just in general I do not see it. In fact in places that do this I usually only do a quick look and get frustrated finding cute things not in my size and leave with out going through and finding something I may take home.

I personally hope they change this practice.

kimberlys cd
joe in a skirt