Goodwill is a store that I love, but I hate all at the same time. It depends on the Goodwill I’m shopping at to be completely honest with you. The Goodwill nearest to you may be horrible, but the one that’s 5 miles outside of town could be an excellent store. Some Goodwills are filled with tons of excellent items that are well organized and have a great price tag on them. Other Goodwills may be poorly organized and overpriced.

So, that’s what I’m going to cover in my first tip for shopping at Goodwill stores.

#1. Try Out Different Locations

Instead of going to a single Goodwill and making your mind up, you should try out different Goodwills in different locations. From my experiences I’ve found that Goodwills in bigger cities have a lot more in stock than Goodwill stores in smaller areas. However, Goodwills in larger areas usually seem to have higher prices. So, just shop around at different Goodwills and figure out which is more important to you.

#2. Have Plenty of Time on Your Hands

Goodwill is different from going to any other store. When you go to the mall, you can go into a clothing store, walk right on over to the shirts you’re looking for, pick out your size, what color you want, go to the changing room, etc… This isn’t how it works at Goodwill. When you go to Goodwill, you’re going to have to sift through items to find exactly what you want.

You’ll spend more time shopping at Goodwill, but the amount of money you save will be well worth it.

#3. Look at the New Stuff

While you’re at Goodwill, you may see an employee bring out a rack of new stuff that they are going to stock the shelves with. Go over and take a look at what’s on the rack. Chances are the employee won’t mind at all and I typically find some great stuff on these racks.

#4. Don’t Forget the Shopping Cart

It’s a mistake when you go into Goodwill and think that you’re just going to look around. Typically, you’ll find yourself loaded down with items in a matter of minutes. It’s easier just to get a cart as soon as you walk in the store.

#5. Don’t Pay Too Much Attention to Sizes

You have to understand that Goodwill carries second hand clothing. Therefore, the clothes on the rack may have stretched out or shrunk by now. Also, the clothes could have been altered a bit. Therefore, you can fill your cart with clothes that interest you and just try them on. Also, keep in mind that plus size clothing isn’t really even regulated much anymore. Therefore, you can’t really go by sizes all that well when you shop at Goodwill. You could be a size 6 and end up wearing anything from a size 10 to a size 12. So, load your shopping cart up and take items you’re interested in to the dressing room with you, so you can try it on and see if it fits.