Jeremy Wood

Review of Goodwill industries of upstate...

Note the "outlet" stores are different from the re...

Note the "outlet" stores are different from the regular stores: everything is mixed together in bins. It's unsorted/chaotic. And literally messy. Shopping at Goodwill outlets has been called "an acquired taste" or "intense" or "not for everyone". As a broad rule: the bins are full of the kind of stuff people throw away after garage sales. Everything is sold by the pound. (Clothes, books, electronics and "other" all have separate prices, though.)

Nearly all of our kids toys and books came from this store. I also pick up electronics sometimes. Last week I got a 19" TV. It was mostly wrapped in plastic, but some red gunk was on the display. It was a gamble: I didn't know until I brought it home and cleaned it up that it'd be nearly like-new: but it worked out great. It probably cost less than a dollar or two. A month before that I bought a tablet. I didn't know it at the time, but it was an Android tablet from around 2013. (Honestly I thought it was a digital picture frame the time: it had no labels/text on the back.) The battery is terrible, but otherwise it works well enough. I loaded it up with some games and videos and we gave it to our kids on a long road trip. That cost less than 50 cents.

We get some lemons, too. And it takes patience and persistence. But I'll never buy a retail kid's toy again. (At least not until they're much older/discerning.)