"Goodwill Prices Are Out of Control" — Shopper Shares Weird Items with Ridiculous Prices

A man recorded a recent trip to a Goodwill store and he appeared to be genuinely baffled by the store's pricing structure, as were several other TikTokers who viewed his clip, along with the awful selection of items that looked more like cobbled together junk than anyone in their right minds would want to purchase from a retailer.

Brian Richard Smith (@brianrichardsmith) sarcastically joked in a caption for his TikTok clip containing footage of his visit to the retailer: "I can’t afford Goodwill, but I do enjoy checking out all of the incredible merchandise."

He narrates the trip from the beginning of the video, which starts with him in the parking lot of the retailer where he records the exterior of the store.

"Even though I still haven't won the lottery I visited two Goodwill stores today just to look around and dream," he pens in a text overlay at the top of his video. But the facetious statement does hold some truth to it: the man's post highlights just how pricey the second hand store has become for many shoppers.

Previously, folks would thrift and head on over to shops like Goodwill in an effort to save money as these establishments would often adhere to the old adage that one man's trash is another man's treasure.

The prices back then, however, erred more than trash side of costs. Now, it seems like that's the latter — Brian certainly seems to think so.

He records himself walking through the store's location as he checks out prices and narrates his walkthrough: "Check out some of the awesome crap I saw there, like a small bag of rocks for $2. You may think they look like average rocks you can find right outside your house and they are."

He says, showing off what looks exactly like just a bag of rocks someone picked up off the ground, put in some cellophane and slapped a price tag on it. "This exclusive box of Kraft Mac and Cheese has a sell by date of January 26th, 2024 these are very hard to find right now so you collectors better hurry," he says, showing off the $1.99 expired box of macaroni and cheese.

Next up is a Mead notebook, "This composition notebook would cost you $1 at Walmart, but remember, those ones aren't all beat up looking," he says, highlighting the damage that's been sustained to the item.

He then displays a customized glass with some folks' names etched onto it: "Steve and Nicole finally donated their 2020 glass and now you can display it proudly in your collection for $1.99. Or for $3 you can have an amazing family movie night featuring a dubbed VHS of Jane Fonda's pregnancy, birth, and recovery," he says, showing off a VHS tape in a clear plastic case.

The video then transitions to him walking through aisles of clothing in the clip: "Make sure you put on your prospector helmet because there's still more gold ahead. Like this Merry Christmas mommy 2004 mug. Or Erica Kushner's black belt certificate that she earned in 2012. Or this CDR from Staples that contains block party 2006."

He keeps rattling off different items in the video that seem like junk you'd have to beg someone to hold onto, let alone charge folks money for it: "This bag of complimentary bank pens is $4 here at Goodwill. Now that's a great investment," he quips.

"Check out this inspirational sign od y is a good a for a ood day," he proclaims, reading off what appears to be a decorative Scrabble board that looks more akin to a letter left behind by a serial killer rather than an accent fixture someone would want to hang up inside of their home.

He continued with the joke, "My grandma used to say that exact phrase whenever she got wasted."

Next up, colored sticks of chalk: "This 12-pack of chalk costs 99 cents at Staples, but at the Goodwill boutique, you'll pay $2.99 he says," bringing up a screegrabbed image of the same Crayola chalk listed at under a dollar on Staples' website.

"Anglophiles will go crazy for this customized London themed handbag," Brian remarks, showing a red, vinyl bag marked with a UK flag and the phrase "Fook Mi" on it, before transitioning to a burned CD that denotes it contains tracks off of an album from a popular folk singer.

"And all you Bob Dylan fans will love this exclusive Goodwill edition of 'Blood on the Tracks.'"

One of the last items featured in Brian's video are cans of food, "There's so much amazing stuff at Goodwill, but most of it's a little out of my price range so I'm just gonna head out. Which you have bought any of this stuff?" he asks, before closing the video on a shot of a stuffed Energizer bunny toy.

Other users on the application who saw Brian's video expressed that they, too weren't exactly fond of the way that Goodwill has been doing business as of late: "I genuinely, GENUINELY don't understand their pricing," one person wrote.

While several people mentioned that there was one of the items Brian showed off in his video that caught their eye: "Is that actually a vhs of Jane Fonda’s pregnancy, birth, and recovery?"

Another penned, "Ok but I might buy the Jane Fonda tape"