Everyone loves a bargain. There is something satisfying about getting a good deal. Or better yet, getting a good deal on something discarded and ugly and then upcycling it into something useful and beautiful. My friend, who upcycles quality used clothing into beautiful bags, was on a search for new sources of material. She discovered “the bins” and wanted to take an afternoon road trip there but she needed an accomplice to join her… that would be me. I did not have a clue what “the bins” were but I am always game for a new adventure, so why not? I should have been concerned when she told me she brought along plastic gloves and hand sanitizer for us. It turns out that “the bins” are like thrifting on steroids.
“The bins” is actually an outlet store for Goodwill. Yes, you heard that right. Now, even Goodwill has an outlet store. There are 16 Goodwill stores in the area, and they ship unsold merchandise to the Goodwill Outlet store (aka – “the bins”). The reason that it is called “the bins” is because all of these items are literally thrown into large rolling bins and brought out to the selling floor. Customers grab a shopping cart and sift through the bins, searching for hidden treasures. But, just like the princess that had to kiss a lot of toads to find her prince, you have to shovel through a lot of junk to find the treasures. It is not for the faint of heart.
But there is a twist to it. Every hour, customers are told to step back behind the yellow lines as they wheel the bins off of the warehouse floor and back into the storage room. A few minutes later, new bins are rolled out with different items. The items are covered in old blankets or sheets when they are wheeled out so that the waiting customers do not see the items ahead of time and all mob to the same bin. It kind of reminds me of a morgue as they roll out the new bins covered in blankets. (Sorry – it is the nurse in me. You look at life a little differently after spending your career in healthcare.) I was informed that the unsold items are then shipped to third world countries.
I took a little time away from the hunt to visit with the security guard. Yes, they need a security guard there. He told me that people will get in scuffles over some of the more prized bins. There is also quite a bit of theft. People will leave their cart by the door in preparation for a quick exit without paying. He said that they are typically stealing things that are easy to trade or sell for drugs. While stealing is never acceptable, there is something just inherently wrong about stealing from Goodwill. And a Goodwill outlet store no less.
The majority of people were there looking for good deals for themselves or items for creative projects. However, there were several young people, typically males, who stood against the wall with their phones. Some were even playing games while they waited for the next group of bins to emerge. This piqued my interest, so I asked the security guard what they were doing. He said they have either online, or resale stores and they hang out there all day waiting to search the bins for new merchandise that they can sell. They are fairly astute in knowing what they are looking for and can go through the bins quickly. They have carts with their names on them where they put their finds. If they are not sure of an item’s worth for resale, they will look it up on their phone. At the end of the day, they wheel their carts to the check-out stand to pay.
After a couple of hours my back ached, my feet were sore, and my friend had a shopping cart full of treasures to upcycle. We maneuvered our cart towards the checkout line. And guess what? You do not pay per item; you pay buy the pound. That means that the unopened glitter craft paper I found was practically free! And my friend got a whole cart load of well-chosen items for only $25.00.
It was such a fascinating afternoon. I walked away with a new knowledge and awareness of life. Isn’t that one of the great things about retirement? We get to take time during the week for new adventures.
Wow. I was both mesmerized and disgusted reading this. My wife and I used to enjoy the occasional excursion to a good thrift store but I had NO IDEA that this existed. My mind hasn’t even processed all of the levels of human behavior issues contained in this whole thing. People and their “stuff”—sad really. Once again, thank you for sharing. You always come up with a post that gets my attention.
Hi Don –
I had no idea it existed either. There are definitely different levels of thrift stores, from the really clean, tidy ones to “the bins.” It is sad how much “stuff” our society buys and then discards. It makes me think twice before purchasing more stuff.
Thanks for stopping by.
This is so interesting! I never knew about any of this!
Hi Melissa –
There is probably a good reason you have not heard of this. Trust me, it is not something you would enjoy doing. 😊
Wow, I didn’t know this existed either. I’m glad the items get another chance at usefulness but it also leaves me feeling very uneasy about the hyper-consumerism of Americans. I’d love to see samples of the bags your friend makes… they sound really interesting.
Hi Janis –
“Hyper-consumerism” is a great word to describe the overspending in our society. My friend is doing her part to decrease some of the waste. She has an Etsy shop called LoLoUpcycled, if you want to stop by and see some of her bags. (I tried to add a link here for you but could not get it to work. So much for my tech skills.)
My DIL shops second hand stores for clothes & I’m a new convert especially when it comes to jeans. I wear clothes much past their best before date, then wonder why they’re worn out! Oh, yeah, they’re >10 yrs old & have been worn hard for all those years. It is said that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. I know that’s true for me.
Hi Mona –
The 80/20 rule is so true for my cloths as well. Some of my favorite pieces are long past their “wear date” too. I am always shocked when a favorite piece of clothing looks worn, until I realize how old it is. I suppose that means I need a wardrobe update… and so the cycle continues.