ShopGoodwill
reviews and complaints

As someone who has explored shopgoodwill.com, I have mixed feelings about the experience. While the concept of an online marketplace for Goodwill thrift stores is commendable, the execution seems to fall short in several aspects. Reading through various customer reviews, it's evident that there are significant concerns regarding inflated pricing, high shipping costs, and questionable auction practices. Some customers have expressed frustration over receiving broken items, misleading product descriptions, and unresponsive customer service. It's disheartening to see that what could be a platform for good deeds is marred by issues that impact the overall customer experience. Despite these challenges, there are also positive reviews highlighting successful purchases and support for the charitable cause behind Goodwill. It's essential for potential customers to approach shopgoodwill.com with caution, considering both the positive and negative feedback shared by users.

I was shopping at your store located at 2600 Fondren Rd. *** on 10/17/2020 approximately 3pm. An irate customer came in and was being so rude to the cashier. The cashier kept her professional attitude all the way to the end. The manager had to intervene, and she also was very professional. In this day and time this is to be commended. Two people because of their positive attitude, defused a situation that could have ended in the lost of lives. Great Job! Great training!

I just wanted to say as a reseller, I very much appreciate Shopgoodwill.com. I have been shopping here for over 8 years and I would say 99.5% of the items I have purchased have been perfect. If there was something wrong with the item that was not mentioned or photographed, I have always gotten either a partial or full refund, but almost all of the time the items are in excellent condition. Granted shipping can be steep but I have noticed that in some of the locations they are now lower on the smaller items. Some seem crazy and I just don't bid on those items. The staff has been great in both the individual stores and the support site, they have always address my issues and are fair. Thank you guys, you are much appreciated!

While I have had a few shipping problems over all it has been a great experience. The shipping is much cheaper than Ebay and I have saved a ton of money on things that I need. Example, my daughter is attending university in Canada. I got her a brand new pair of $130 LL Bean snow boots for $23 plus $10 shipping. Even with free shipping from LL Bean I still saved $100. The only difficult customer service issue I have had is I bought $36 worth of fiestaware. I forgot to look at the shipping and it was PUO. Well they wanted to charge me $45 for shipping and I told them no. It is still on my open list so I am not sure what they are going to do. The person I was messaging was kind of rude but that really is the only issue I have had.

I gotta say that this site is pretty awesome. I have purchased 5 items so far and everything I got was in good to great shape and a few items shipped faster then I expected. I won a gameboy color a few weeks back and got it a few days ago and have not been able to put it down, came with a few games and the console works great. Also got 3 pool cues. Two came already and are just what I expected, a few scuffs and knicks but not warped or bowed and great on the table. The other is scheduled to arrive this week, and I can't wait. The only downside is shipping taking a little long coming from far west coast to far east coast, but I guess at the unbeatable price it isn't so bad to wait. Overall, I will continue to do business with shop good will. Every item I have won I have compared prices to amazon, etsy, etc, and all items on shop good will has been lower with shipping then other sites.

Sorry folks, I LOVE shopgoodwill. First you always have the option to look at shipping and handling charges before you bid. If you do not like what they are charging move on. Second the bidding is called automatic bidding. You place your high bid. Then someone comes along and bids. If they go above your bid by $1 or minimum set bid they can win. You need to watch your item for the last few minuets and be ready to place another high bid if you want to win. It is that simple. Shipping can be high but like any place YOU the consumer have the option to NOT bid on that item. I have NEVER gotten a broken item from them. I have always received exactly what I bid on. Back in 2012 I spent over $8K with them when I opened my resale store. I messed up by over bidding, winning and not paying. They will kick you off after 3 NO pays. So do not bid unless you can pay. I wish I could get back on to bid today. As for the CEO, COME ON... all these non-profits have someone at the head of the wheel getting big bucks. I personally know employees in a SC store that love working for them and get paid very well. Competitively with other corporate owned retail giants. Take responsibility for what you buy/bid on. You can walk away you just don't want to because the items look to good...

Goodwill is owned by an individual and is not what it is portrayed to be. Everything is donated and then sold either through their stores or on line. It is like any other business, except they use the system so they can hire at a lower wage.

The Salvation Army, Volunteers of America, and other organizations who receive donated items help a great number of individuals with their proceeds. Not Goodwill, it goes into the pocket of the business owner.

At one time you could find some very nice things at the local Goodwill stores, but not anymore. Most of the stores mainly sell clothing with a scattering of other items. All of the "good stuff" is sold on line where they can get more money for the items.

The clothing prices have reached the place where you can purchase new items, on sale, for close to the same price as they are charging for used items. Occasionally you can find a bargain, but not often.

I would suggest donating to organizations that will use your donated items to help others, instead of donating to Goodwill where it only helps one individual. With other organizations some of the items are placed for sale while other items are free to those in need. They also use their proceeds to help the community and the people within that community who are homeless or struggling for survival.

I have purchased thousand of dollars worth of items from shopgoodwill.com
Here are some suggestions to help newbies:

1. Figure out what you are willing to pay for an item, shipping and handling included. Shipping and handling cost are not a secret. You click on the shipping tab and it will tell you all estimated cost. Place the highest bid you are willing to pay and if you do not win it's fine.

2. Search sellers and find a few you like that are auctioning items of interest to you. I like to do this because the combined shipping is much less expensive.

3. Pay attention to USPS, UPS and Fed Ex options. There have been times I thought I could combine shipping and items were being shipped by different carriers.

4. Communicate with the seller if you have a concern before you bid.

5. Purchase insurance if you are buying a valuable.

6. Read the description and look carefully at the posted photos.

I love shopgoodwill! I have saved so much money on name brands! Pottery Barn, Loft, Sonoma, Polo to name a few!

Don't let all these naysayers discourage you!

Pay attention. I am posting a few photos.
The clothing I purchase is most always NWT
(New with tags) I love buying items for 6.99 plus shipping and handling. The total is usually $18-$20 including the price of the item. Combined shipping from the same seller is amazing!

Hope this helps!

There is no reason that a set of laserdiscs that weight less than 2lbs should cost $23 in shipping yet 28lbs (TWENTY EIGHT POUNDS) of lego would only cost $10 in shipping. Are you mad? Who makes up these shipping costs?

After looking through their listings and finding that anything I would want to buy for any reasonable price would be completely voided in regards to that reasonable price by the fact the shipping was an absolute joke ($18 to ship a small .5lb lego set that was priced for $7.99, $20 to ship a 1.5lb 1970s lantern priced at $8 and so forth) I just deleted my account.

There was no way I would be buying anything off of this website.

I have never seen such RIDICULOUS shipping charges. If it wasn't for the good and fair stores on Goodwill (GW) auctions, I think GW auctions online would be out of business. I find it hard to think anyone would tolerate the overcharging if all stores were doing this.

Example: Buttons: Good size lot of buttons in Nebraska but not so big they couldn't fit into a large envelope or super small box. The actual weight listed, 2 pounds. Shipping weight listed, 27 POUNDS! See picture.

I recently won an auction from the GW in South Carolina. Looking at the picture, I knew it could fit into a 14" x14" x14" and there was nothing fragile. They were charging almost $40.00 to ship. I inquired about it, and they said no way it would fit in a 14" cubed, but as a courtesy, they would give me a one time discount to $25.00. The box arrived in a 20" x 20" x 20" and only took up 8" of floor space inside the box. The rest was brown paper they put in the box. This means they were charging me for 12" of air x 12" of air x 12" of air...actually more space designated to air than to product. Really? ?

I don't mind paying fair shipping, but this is in no way near fair. I mostly ignore the auctions from these locations, but I still find it frustrating. I spend my valuable time looking to see if I want to bid, then I go to estimate shipping, and realize it's a quack store. My time wasted. The overcharging impacts combined shipping dramatically as well because you can't exceed 20 pounds. So if you have a lot that weighs two pounds and another weighs two pounds (think buttons) they can't be combined if their shipping weights exceed 20 pounds. Two lots of buttons = 54 pounds. Am I the only that sees there is something really wrong with this?.

I have two theories of why the handful of GWs are not willing to budge. Theory #1 is they are just to lazy to make an adjustment and they don't care because it's not their money it's yours and mine. Theory #2 is they get flat rate shipping from Fed Ex up to a certain size box with 20 pounds or less, so if they charge "public" prices, but get a flat rate or big discounted rate for shipping, there's an incentive to use oversized boxes and oversized weights. The bigger the box, the bigger the difference between public rates and their rates. Great way to make tons of money from those willing to line their pockets. Either way, it's a HORRIBLE representation of what the company name stands for and completely unfair to the good stores.

At one time, GW-Easter Seals MN had two molds listed. I'm pretty sure they were plastic and about 3-4" tall COMBINED and about 12" long by 8" wide. If I remember right, the actual weight was 2 pounds. They had shipping weight of over 100 pounds.

Same location in MN: I recently inquired about shipping on another auction with them, asking if they could do something about the ridiculous price, but I just got gas lit. They said it was the carrier's published rates. Of course it is! If I go to Fedex and get an estimate for something weighing 60 pounds in a 20x20x20 box, totally disregarding actual weights and measures, it will come up very expensive. What was I saying about how to line their pockets?...hmmm

Some of the GWs are great with their shipping, and I don't think they should get lost among the yuks. For example, GW of Central & Southern Indiana deserves five stars for their customer service, and Willamette too is more than fair with their shipping. So thank you to those that do a great job and support legitimate goodwill. I will continue to support you guys!

I am leaving this at one star because I made efforts to contact corporate GW and DMs with no success.

Where Do I Start? Purchased Items Buy it now, And they wont let me Pay said somebody Else Won even though they show me as High i Bidder. Contacted customer support Many Many Many Times, Same Lame answer, Say they can see I won but not sure why I cant pay for it, But didnt offer to let me Pay over the Phone. I Forwarded all my notification from auctioneer that I won and they told me that they are not sure why it says that, that somebody else bought the Items, Even though in their correspondence to me they say they can see I purchased it. Items are being sold Buy it now and when you immediately click, it says it is already sold. Even their Descriptions are strange. Tried to escalate out of their Jurisdiction Was Told by Julie that she would take it up with California, She then called me on my cell phone asked me to send all my info, thought I was getting somewhere, and she calls me back with the same Lame Replies. Oh did I mention she works at Same Goodwill. Tried getting Help from Main Office, No Response No Help. I have two Auctions in my Open Orders Still that they wont let me Pay or Help me to get them Paid for. And They Went in and Removed Two Out of my Open Orders, What the? They Show 0 bids on their closed Auctions. SHADY SHADY Inside Selling Maybe, I am not sure, but dont expect to get any logical Answers from them they talk in Circles. They tried to explain to me how buy it nows work, I have been buying on shop goodwill since it started, so I am full aware how they Work! This is not a one time Occurance with them It has happened Many Times with me, and I have friends who shop here too and have had the same thing Occur. Would Love to Hear from anyone Else Having this issue with Them. Maybe it will solve the problem if other people complain. Below is part of the replies from them. And I am pretty sure I will get blocked from trying to bid on anymore of their auctions. So Buyer Beware.

Hello, I am showing this item is paid for by you.

Thank You

Goodwill North Central Texas
11/29/2021 05:46 PM

No it will not let me pay for either of the items I won, Look at my Open auctions Page, It has a Pay symbol and when I click to pay it will not let me Pay, and If its showing paid what method was used to Pay, because it is still showing open.

You
11/30/2021 09:23 AM

Please Help I have contacted you multiple times stating that your site will not let me pay for the items I purchased, if they are not payed for in 7 days, I loose them.

You
11/30/2021 12:35 PM

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Please respond with your name and department as is usually done on here, so I know who I am corresponding with. Thanks!

You
11/30/2021 01:00 PM

Hello,

I am trying to find out what happened... I have email SGW and they are looking in to it.

Goodwill North Central Texas
11/30/2021 01:23 PM

OK, Here is what I know so far...

On the "Buy it Now" items one you click on them to buy them you have to pay for them right then, if not someone else can come along and purchase them. When you go to pay it should come up and tell you the item is no longer available, you can then remove it from you orders...

I hope this info helps.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank You

Goodwill North Central Texas
11/30/2021 01:41 PM

I did go right over and try to pay for the items--every single time--although there is no disclaimer whatsoever showing the amendment on the buyitnow auction formats--Anywhere. Please reply back with your name and department, so I know who I have already tried to resolve this issue with. On with corporate soon and this is information they will also need to be able to assist me...

You
11/30/2021 02:29 PM

Hello,

My name is J and I am at Fort Worth Goodwill.

My Supervisor is B and you can reach her at

You Can also reach out again to ***@shopgoodwill. Com

Thank You

Goodwill North Central Texas
11/30/2021 03:15 PM

Thank you, Julie

You
12/03/2021 07:27 AM

Please let me pay for these items, I have won them, I just paid for your bracelet lot but it wont let me pay for the two I won. See Attached Photos. Please have the decency to respond, I have emailed you multiple times

You
12/03/2021 10:44 AM

Buy It Now Auction Listing:

An auction with the Buy It Now icon in the title means you can bypass the auction process and purchase the item immediately for the Buy It Now price specified in the listing.

To use the Buy It Now option, click on the Buy It Now icon in the item listing.

The Buy It Now option remains available throughout the duration of the auction unless or until the item current price exceeds the Buy Now price through the regular bidding process

Goodwill North Central Texas
12/03/2021 10:45 AM

A Buy It Now Non-Auction listing contains a single item at a fixed price.

To purchase the item for the price indicated in the listing, click on the Buy It Now icon in the item listing.

*Please note that Buy It Now Non-Auction listings cannot be combined with any other items for payment or shipping.

Buy It Now Non-Auction listings remain active until the item is paid for.

If you choose the Buy It Now option for a Buy It Now Non-Auction listing but do not complete payment for the item, the item will remain in your Open Orders available for payment unless or until the item is purchased by another shopper.

If you attempt to pay for a previously selected Buy It Now Non-Auction item that has subsequently been purchased by another shopper, you will receive a message stating that the item is no longer available.

You can delete any unpaid Buy It Now Non-Auction item from your Open Orders page by clicking on the Delete icon in the Action column to the right of the item listing.

Goodwill North Central Texas

I have been dealing with and fighting excessive fees with shopgoodwill.com for years. Not only do they inflate their shipping prices they lie to you when you question it. I have asked for a receipt of the actual shipping costs, only then do they credit for the actual overcharge. And they charge tax even though they are a nonprofit. Something needs to happen, they are ripping off the consumer. As an example, I have attached a photo.

Shopgoodwill has a new policy.

They do not have to disclose in auctions "title" that the item you are bidding on is a non working item.

It is in the "disclaimer" at the very bottom or at bottom , very bottom item description.

But, mo need to address isdue of broken, no cords, screen held by tape.

None of these warni gs in the title.

Folks bid thi king trustworthy "shopgoodwill ".

No, no, no!

and, watch shipping $30 to mail a "pin".

I have been trying to put an end to the selling of prohibited recalled Ionic Fibits online for 6-7 months now, involving the CPSC some 4-5 months ago now. My complaint is something they can do little about it would seem, which is their refusal now to allow my bidding on the site. This resulted from my having won a few bids containing that item, then refusing to complete the illegal transaction. Once three or more such unpaid items accumulate, that's the end of bidding. SO they are basically discriminating against me for not having completed an illegal transaction. As I understand the CPSC, there's nothing they can do about that.

So why say "Please Ask Questions Before Yo Bid" in the description?

When all you get in response, and most of the time it's after the auction ends exactly like this to the letter..> Hello, Thank you for your email. I am sorry this information was not included in the listing.

Since items are stored in the warehouse until they are ready to be picked up or shipped out, unfortunately we cannot provide what you are requesting.

Please review the listing information and photos carefully before making a bid as the bidder takes full responsibility.

The Company should be shut down..

they ;supposedly' sell something for a very high price, have multiple 'bidders', and then a few days later the same thing is back online, hmmmm, guess they figure most people won't pay attention. ? they have turned into another greedy , corrupt, corporation, like most other large american 'non profit' companies, pretty sad that they put broken stuff, and junk on there over and over, should just be thrown away

I was banned before that man and his girlfriend he would deliberately bring her in to start a feud with the name calling i went too 3 managers in the goodwill in ocala florida michelle and misty courtney paul mario only person that took it serious and said let me know when she in the store was manager michelle mario the manager does nothing if you are of color he doesnt care he told me no drama i had 3 witnesses several people knew what was going on but scared they will get banned but at this point ive contacted rev al sharpton office on this racist place who sides with people pf non color a lady comes in brags by the name of tyedye and her boyfriend i guess saying we talk to jeff who is a manager over mario saying they were gonna get me out this happened again in 2015 at weigh and pay in ocala i got threaten called 911 i got banned because i knew the managers were having affairs used the n word and several former employees i have the messages confirming that i was targeted in getting me banned derek arnold stacy baker tiffany who worked beside derek these former employees claim or allege that affairs are going on in the workplace sexual act were happening and the physically challenged people were being touched in violate but hope former manager who was a former manager targeted ppl of color several fights verbal altercation happened there not one time was awhite. Person banned derek arnold took pictures of 2 people stealing. Hispanics she got banned for 2 weeks stealing bikini tops and others stealing boots back in so they targeted me cause i knew too much on then calling blacks monkeys and Gilbert told 3 former employees send the monkey back to Africa but this is who goodwill hires !

I ordered a set of chain , earrings and ring there was nothing wrong mention to my surprise I received the earrings with no back chain lock broken and no ring they highlighted the ring order with no explanation tried to call or email them its awaits of time they kept your money eventhough the chain is broken earrings with no back I would not make a big fuss but to not send the ring and keep your money its outrage that was my first and last purchase from them they not honest people very bad customer service

Goodwill targets people in person and on here I had items on shopgoodwill site were on here does it state you cant have multiple accounts! It doesnt goodwill makes up rules along the way if you are african american they target you on here and at there store racist employees and managers ocala florida by the mall the managers are racist and disrespectful and make up. New rules everyday in the store and I had been taunted by a women and her husband he would bring his gun in the store in a holster lift up his shirt to show he was carrying well his wife was calling me demeaning names [censored] slop bucket and other I went to the managers months so they were aware of the situation mario says loud no drama like a kid having a tatrum or something well finally she does it again keep in mind goowill ocala florida has there chosrn one this same lady has been in 3 alterca verbally with others that were white im black so its a race issue she has gotten to the point were she threw a punch 🥊 but im in the way so she didnt make contact with the other lady but it was loud [censored] this but neither was ask to leave the store she starts in with me after they knew months ago she was taunting me well im told we will review the cameras guess what everyone knew I was banned. Not me the manager mario left a message voice mail you. Banned for 1 year but not the other pior times this lady got into it with others so goodwill nothing good about that place pure racist drama liars employees stealing

Yesterday I bidded on a 925. Gold plated diamond necklace that was due to end on 5/24/23 at 6:03pm pt. I bidded on the necklace at 6:02:55pm I bid $75.00 which I should of been the highest bidder for the necklace later I look at the auction someone outbidded me for the necklace at 5/24/23 at 2:58pm pt for $76.00 dollars the time the auction should had ended should had been at 5/24/23 at 6:03pm pt and I don't think it was fair call to say that they won at 2:58pm for $76.00 dollars.

The item identified below was purchased through shopgoodwill.com by me, Adam Ekstedt ([protected]@gmail.com). The item was described as beige, but is in fact white and looks nothing like the image posted with the item.

Item ID: [protected]
Bid Increment: $2.00
Shipping Price: $0.01
Handling Price: $3.00
Ends On: 05/17/2023 05:00:35 PM PT
Seller: Goodwill Industries of South Florida
Item Description
Description: Kenneth Cole men's beige flat front pockets button straight leg dress pants 34X32
Brand: Kenneth Cole
Size: 34x32
Condition: Used, in good condition
Color: Beige
Notes: Please see photos

I've reached out several times asking for a refund and return label for a juicy couture sweater womans size large and I received a kids size large sweater. It's a big kids size large. It's been sold before and relisted as a eomans size large. It's false misleading and the seller hasn't replied at all. Usually a seller replies quickly. This goodwill southern arizona has not. I want a refund as soon as possible! Please help!

Gideon Bibles are Free and paid for through donations to the Gideon foundation yet you sell for profit on Shopgoodwill..Wow! The worst online shopping experience I have ever had has been with you.. youvdo not disclose damage and then will not take responsibility.. I was even threatened to be have my account closed just for complaining about Gideon Bibles being sold! God has a special place for Goodwill and there will be nothing good about it...

I was walking towards the good will I seen this girl in her vehicle dumping white stuff on her hand and lifted it and snorted it up her nose she didn't seem me till the end well I was walking up to dollar tree next to goodwill to purchase a few things. I did so so I walked into goodwill to browse around and then I seen her again I asked who she was working there and they said that was the manager. I walked out immediately. I was sick to my stomach. That you guys allow this woman named Mandy to run your store on drugs. I held u guys in a higher standard because u help out the needy but that's to much. I nor any of my family will step in that store as long as she is there I am in fear of getting ripped off or over charge for something.

Won bid on 03/13/2023 from Goodwill Industries of North Florida. Listing was Titled as "Assorted Lenox Figurine Lot" and described as "...may contain UNSEEN flaws and imperfections...". Upon receiving the package, I was sorely disappointed to discover that the title and description were grossly erroneous. The lot of four items contained one that was clearly not Lenox, but a cheap ceramic figurine. Worthless. Two additional items had significant and obvious damage that was not declared. Again, worthless. A large angel has missing fingers and a nail head sized hole in the back with a large X shaped crack. A smaller angel trinket box is missing the wings completely. (This latter item was noted in the images, but my mistake for not noticing before bidding.) However, the damage on the largest angel and the non Lenox item would have been very obvious but not at all declared. I sent a message to GI of North Florida 03/16/2023 with these details, but have not yet received even an acknowledgement. Related photos are attached.