‘Goodwill is tripping lately’: TikToker discovers ‘insane’ price markup at Goodwill store
A Goodwill customer was shocked when she came across a shirt whose intact original tag revealed a significant price markup, and now the footage is going viral.
TikToker Becca Jahn (@beccaboomm) gained more than 768,000 views, 52,000 likes, 1,200 shares and 5,300 comments when she posted her Goodwill find online.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the thrift store chain cause a viral upset on TikTok. Earlier this year, a single mom’s prom dress experience made her swear off Goodwill forever — while more recently, a Goodwill customer claimed she contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease after digging through the bins.
Now Jahn’s video is prompting users to wonder what exactly is driving Goodwill’s prices — and some experts speculate it could be Gen Z “haul” videos, along with huge profits being made by TikTok resellers.
‘And they got it donated for free’
“Dude, Goodwill is tripping lately. Tripping,” Jahn’s video begins. “Let me show you.”
She then holds up a shirt with the tags still intact, reflecting that the shirt originally cost $2.98.
However, Goodwill priced the shirt at $4.99 — a 67.45% markup. Considering the shirt was donated, meaning it cost Goodwill $0, it’s a 100% profit for the company.
TikToker Kait (@kkslyfe) encountered the same sticker shock when she came across a Shein top being sold by Goodwill for $8.49.
When she looked up the top online, she found that the shirt retails for $5 — a 60% markup.
In both instances, TikTokers took to the comments to express their shock.
“That’s insane and sad,” wrote @aprilsfamly8.
“We’ve stopped donating to them because of this! It’s supposed to help people. We take to local mission thrift shop now. At least they keep prices down,” commented @debhonea.
“Time to go find your local thrift shops. 🥺 This is sad. They have no plan of ‘good will’ with those prices,” wrote @deborahpickle.
Are Gen Z’s Goodwill ‘hauls’ driving up prices?
As evidenced by hashtag views, it would appear that thrifting has become a popular pastime with Gen Z, whose haul videos rack up millions to billions of views on TikTok:
#ThriftHaul = 3.5 billion views
#GoodwillFinds = 1.2 billion views
#GoodwillHaul = 338.5 million views
“The U.S. thrift market has grown substantially in recent years and thrifting has become a popular pursuit of Gen Z shoppers, who have been credited with championing a more sustainable way to shop,” reports Business Insider.
But these shoppers aren’t just sharing their hauls with the world; they’re also reselling them via secondhand markets at significant markups.
According to secondhand marketplace ThredUp, the global secondhand market is expected to nearly double by 2027, reaching $350 billion.
Full-time reseller @kaywayshop uses TikTok as a promotional platform to advertise its newly thrifted pieces, which it sells via eBay and the live auction site Whatnot.
Many of these secondhand sellers are taking to TikTok to not only share their cheap finds, but also to teach viewers how to make substantial profits from their own thrifting hauls — like the family-owned TikTok account @memoryquester, which supplements its thrifting income by offering resell classes via Patreon.
“Teaching people how to resell items and make a career of it,” its Linktree bio reads.
Some critics have argued that resell markets are contributing to the gentrification of thrift stores, upon which many lower income shoppers depend.
“thrifting becomes a trend -> prices rise due to demand -> people who rely on thrift stores not being able to get the things they need to survive,” wrote Twitter user @NEGR0SWAN.
thrifting becomes a trend -> prices rise due to demand -> people who rely on thrift stores not being able to get the things they need to survive 🧍🏾♀️ https://t.co/PZVr7EAdEb
— ★ (@NEGR0SWAN) April 13, 2021
Cutting out the middleman
In an effort to cut out the reseller middlemen, Goodwill has launched a secondhand site of its own, Shop Goodwill, where customers can do all their thrifting online.
“ShopGoodwill.com is the first e-commerce auction platform created, owned and operated by a nonprofit organization. The site was designed to provide an engaging online shopping destination that would further the Goodwill mission of helping people who are facing barriers find jobs,” the website’s bio reads.
However, much like eBay, these items are sold via auction — and the prices are certainly more substantial than the average thrifted item.
Shop Goodwill also launched a TikTok account, where some users have taken to the comments to express their opinions on the price inflations.
“So GW enjoys the benefits of being a nonprofit, the CEO makes 6 figs, and y’all out here just inflating the shit out of free goods,” commented @awwthatstoobad.
In response to this comment, @shopgoodwill.com replied, “Hi there! There’s a rumor that Goodwill has an owner with a large salary, which is not true … As a non-profit, Goodwill does not have a sole owner, but different CEOs and boards for the Goodwills throughout the nation!”
According to career planning website Zippia, while each Goodwill is its own nonprofit with its own CEO, several Goodwill CEOs make an average salary of around $500,000 per year.
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