A Goodwill shopper is irritated to find that a piece of Halloween decor won't make it onto the floor at his local shop. For this reason, he's urging people to stop donating to the nonprofit.
Brandon Mario (@itsbrandonmarlo) is a thrifter with a bone to pick with Goodwill. He shared his concern in a video posted Sep. 18. "Do not donate to Goodwill. Let me show you why," he says.
Mario turns his camera toward a Halloween decoration tucked away behind a box in a corner of the store. "This ghost glow mold that you see back there will never make it to the floor," says Mario. "This happens all the time. I just asked about it and it will be sold online."
In Mario's opinion, this is part of a pattern on the part of Goodwill management. "They will take the coolest products that come in and list them for sale online," he says. "That's why you're seeing a lot of Shein, a lot of Target, a lot of mass-produced clothing out on the floor. It's really hard to find cool, unique pieces anymore. The same thing with home decor, holiday decor."
Ultimately, the shopping experience is suffering. "The process of finding fun treasures at Goodwill is long gone," he says. "Now you're lucky to find maybe an article of clothing. Even those sold online. If they are classified as vintage or identified as vintage -- very unlikely they will make it out onto the floor. It's really frustrating, but this is corporate greed. Even at a nonprofit."
Mario says this has even impacted his own donating behavior. "So even though someone donated with the intention that it would go out the floor and someone would find it. Will never happen," he says. "I used to donate with such an excitement that someone would possibly find something cool that I've donated. Those times are long gone. I'm so annoyed by that ghost mold. So annoyed. Do not donate to Goodwill."
In the comments section, viewers did not hold back on expressing their dissatisfaction with the state of Goodwill and how it manages donations.
"Resellers didn't ruin Goodwill," said one annoyed shopper. "Goodwill got greedy."
"People need to bring back yard sales," suggested a second person.
Another person urged shoppers to go even further than taking donations elsewhere. "Goodwill needs the Target treatment," they wrote. "Local small owned thrift stores have better prices anyway."
Goodwill started seriously pivoting toward online shopping around 2021 in an effort to connect with a broader segment of the thrifting community. The items selected for the online store do tend to be luxury brands, vintage, and other specialty items. Because Goodwill is a nonprofit, the proceeds go towards its community programs.
Of course, this is at least anecdotally clashing with some long-time thrift shoppers. Many of the people who complain appear to enjoy the thrill of finding special items while hunting in-store.
The Mary Sue contacted Mario via TikTok comment and direct message and Goodwill via email for comment.