Sondi Sees

New Windham Goodwill

Last week the bigger brand new Windham Goodwill opened its doors for the first time. The old location was small and, except for their books, there was not ever enough space to have much of a selection. The construction of the new location (off of 302 down the same driveway/road that you take to go to Walmart) had me pretty excited all winter in eager expectation of the grand opening!

So I finally checked it out today for the first time. The floor plan is identical to the fairly new Auburn location. Like the Auburn store, it was well organized, clean, and well lit. However, like most of the Goodwills I’ve been to in the past six months or so, the prices were higher than they really should be. When the sign reads, “Dresses $4.99”, then the majority of the dresses should be that price. Not $7.99, 9.99, and $14.99! Come on now, Goodwill. You get the clothes FOR FREE. Why do you have to be greedy about it?

However, one good thing about a grand opening location is that it is stocked full of the best stuff for at least the first few weeks or so. This means lots of items in like new condition or with the original tags still on them. Normally, if I see an item marked at more than the standard rack price ($4.99), if it isn’t on sale, I just keep on walking. However, today I ended up trying on a few of them and falling so deeply in love that they came home with me. Not all of them, mind you. But several. I found a well made, heavy weight cotton DKNY sundress, tags still on it, that wasn’t see through, can be washed, and fit me like a dream! I’ve been searching recently for a bright white light sweater made of natural fabrics and found a gorgeous cotton one by Bass that was just what I’ve been searching for and was brand new with the original store tags to boot! I found a few other like new quality pieces and some really cute kids clothes (at the standard $1.99 price point Sweet!) for my girls.

I also found a pair of vintage lace-up shoes that were new old stock. There were a couple of identical pairs with traces of the tissue paper they were wrapped in still on them. I’m guessing they are from the 60’s or early 70’s. Love! I also noticed a large number of pairs donated from L.L.Beans. Typically, GW marks them way too high so I just wait till they go on clearance or end up at the Buy-The-Pound location (more on that later). But I found a pair of kid-leather soft tie up booties that were mistakenly displayed in the men’s section. (Not only do female customers hide shoes in that isle, but there are enough careless/dumb employees who stock women’s shoes in that isle that it is always worth perusing, just in case.) They were brand new but marked a crazy $14.99. I put one on before I realized this and the softness and comfort had already sucked me in. I walked around the store for the next hour or so with that one bootie on one foot and my croc on the other, just to test it out to see if the cushy softness would eventually wear off and dissolve into discomfort. Surprisingly the cushy soft magic didn’t wear off in all that time so I ended up reasoning that I’d never be able to afford those boots, even on clearance outlet prices, if i bought them anywhere else. So with that justification in mind, they also came home with me.

While walking around, I overheard one woman say to her friend, “I’ll be honest with you – I’m not impressed.” I heard this same basic conversation several times. Also, sometimes the people doing the pricing get a little TOO excited when an item still has its store tags. Every so often, you find one that is priced at MORE than the original tag. Tsk, tsk! Shame on you, GW!

All in all, it was a fun afternoon and I left with quite a bit of stuff I was excited about. I don’t have any plans to rush back there anytime soon. But I did leave with treasures, which IS the real point to a trip to GW, afterall.