Goodwill Goes Online: Launching a Resale Website, Including Luxury Bargains, in Thrifting Boom
Updated: Oct 10, 2022
Insider | October 5, 2022
Thrifting enthusiasts, rejoice: Goodwill just went online.
The new marketplace, which officially debuted Tuesday as part of the non-profit organization's newly incorporated "recommerce venture" GoodwillFinds, features thousands of curated apparel, electronic, jewelry, and home items.
Like its stores, the site includes an array of brands and prices, as well as discounted designer products. Items currently on GoodwillFinds include a $3,300 10-karat gold diamond ring, $600 Gucci handbag, and $16 Lululemon shorts. An estimated 100,000 items are for sale on the site currently; the goal is to reach 1 million items within a few years, the Associated Press reported. Users can search by category or brand, including top names like Nike, Cole Haan, J. Crew, and Kate Spade.
According to GoodwillFinds, net proceeds will support social programs and community-based groups that partner locally with Goodwill in the region where items were sourced. GoodwillFinds will mark the second major effort to bring Goodwill into e-commerce, following the launch of ShopGoodwill.com in 1999. The website, started by Goodwill of Orange County, operates similarly to eBay, using online auctions.
GoodwillFinds, however, will function as the non-profit's first centralized online business, according to NPR. In the past, individual stores would sell items online independently using marketplaces like eBay or Amazon.
The launch of the new site also comes as Goodwill continues to make headlines for attracting valuable rarities and even unexpected historical relics, including a bust sold in May at a Texas store for $34.99, which was later identified as a 2,000-year-old Roman bust.
The company has leaned into new formats for selling its wares in recent years, including opening since-closed upscale boutiques in New York City called Curated in 2018, which sold higher-end and luxury items.
#goodwill #onlineshopping #marketplace #retail