Woman Blasts Goodwill Price Increases — "It’s Literally Cheaper to Go to Walmart"

Ahh, if it isn't our good friend inflation here to ruin our fun and our wallets. Remember when TikTok user Don C. called KFC out for its incredibly high prices? He was totally over the fast-food joint after being charged $57 for his order. In his video, he claimed that going out to a sit-down restaurant was cheaper than ordering fast food. And many folks in his comment section agreed.

Well, now we have a similar complaint, but this time, in the fashion department. A TikTok creator named Essie (@essielesse) discussed how Goodwill had hiked up its prices, and she's not too thrilled about it.

The secondhand store sells items donated by the community to the public, with proceeds helping to fund programs that assist families in low-income areas. Because most of the items sold have been gently used, they are priced to reflect that. Or at least they used to be.

“Can anybody tell me what has happened to Goodwill?" she says as she begins her video tour of the so-called discount store.

She explains that in her local Goodwill, there aren't any fitting rooms or mirrors, so shoppers are forced to buy items without even knowing if they'll fit.

“Why would I spend $15 on a pair of used pants that I can't even try on?," she quipped as she examined some price tags.

Essie explained in her video that she used to buy tank tops from Goodwill for $0.99. "And now a single t-shirt is $6," she explained as she moved her camera towards the price tag, adding "Walmart has them cheaper for that."

Essie also browses the housewares section where there seems to be more trash than treasure. She picks up a small transparent cube with the White House etched on it, and a price tag of $8. Yet she couldn't figure out the item's purpose.

She also checked out some plants. "I have these exact plants from Ikea and I bought them for $5,” she says as she checks the price to see that it's also $5.

Later in the tour, she comes across a towel. “You can go to Bed Bath & Beyond and get a brand new luxury towel for $8 or you can get an old one for $6 that I’m sure has been used by like a family of seven," she says as she pans her camera to the worn-out towel.

As she gets in her car to leave, she gives her final opinion. “It’s literally cheaper to go to Walmart." Although Essies's video was uploaded in 2022, there has been a slew of other videos posted in recent months, all of which echo Essie's complaints regarding Goodwill's high prices.

Users in the comment section couldn't help but agree with Essie. Some folks went as far as to call the chain greedy. After all, who would want to spend nearly the same amount on a used item when they could purchase it brand new?

Another user couldn't believe Goodwill had the audacity to charge so much for items that were donated to them.

And one user found the perfect words to sum Goodwill. "It’s essentially a used TJ Maxx."

We can't argue with that. Hopefully, Goodwill will consider lowering its prices. And perhaps examining donations more thoroughly before they go on the sales floor. We wouldn't want another customer to come across a urn with ashes inside, would we?