A savvy shopper couldn’t believe their eyes after spotting a designer jacket on sale for an unexpected price in a popular charity shop – but it wasn’t plain sailing to be able to buy it
A lucky shopper managed to bag a designer jacket for an astonishingly low price at a charity shop – despite staff’s objections. The bargain hunter ventured to popular US chain Goodwill, which boasts over 150 outlets across the US and Canada.
Like similar charity shops in the UK, the organisation aims to offer “hundreds of thousands of unique items up for grabs at any given time, including art, books, vinyl records, clothing, home décor, jewellery, musical instruments, sports, toys, and more” at discounted prices. One shopper was stunned when they came across a jacket by Canadian apparel brand Arc’teryx. Known for its focus on outdoor gear and accessories, Arc’teryx was “founded on the idea that there is always a better way”.
The brand is renowned for its high-quality technical equipment for Alpine sports and mountaineering, offering a decent selection of high quality outdoor essentials such as the brand’s popular waterproof Gore-Tex shell jackets, as well as its down-filled parkas, insulated gilets, knitwear range, and much more.
The brand’s jackets are usually priced between £240 and upwards of £500. Yet, one shopper was astounded to find a red puffer jacket on offer for a low $3.50 (£2.59).
Posting on Facebook, the happy budget shopper shared several photos of the jacket, which appeared to be a medium size for adults, and penned: “Goodwill tried stopping sale when they realized”.
They added: “Easily one of my better clothing finds at Goodwill and I wish I took a pic of the tag because it was literally priced at $3.50.”
They then claimed “the cashier and manager” tried “every trick in the book to deny the sale” after realising the item “was never meant to be on the shop floor”, yet it seems the persistent shopper triumphed, walking away with the jacket for a mere $3.50 (£2.59).
They also quipped that the original price tag of $380 (£281) for the jacket “brand new” was “criminal”.
In the response section, Facebook users voiced their opinions.
One person asked: “What did you say to each of their attempts? Need to learn those tricks”. Another shared: “I refuse to shop [at] Goodwill”.
And a third commented: “Nothing wrong with giving more people jobs by not letting resellers hit up Goodwill and make off like one armed bandit slot machines.
“I can’t stand resellers, but it’s probably because I haven’t been successful at it.
“Some always seem to get the best things [in] certain places making them not worth anyone’s while to shop there for things to resell from my experience.
“They have to have an ‘in’ at these places – some it’s obvious they do.”
They added: “Goodwill is supposed to be where people who can’t afford things new can buy them gently used for their own personal use. That’s what I always thought anyway.
“It’s anything but that, with those that buy from there to resell.”