Crazy Lamp Lady Jocelyn Elizabeth Provides Thrifting Tips and Tricks for Goodwill Stores
This article was originally published in The Daily Sundial.
Over the past few years, thrifting has become a very popular hobby for people all over the country. Jocelyn Elizabeth, known as the Crazy Lamp Lady, knows this better than anyone. With over a decade of experience, she has perfected the art of finding a great deal to buy and flip for a profit.
Jocelyn is a full-time “thrifter” and owner of an online business that sells vintage finds to customers across the world. Over the years, she has picked up a few tricks of the trade.
One of her favorite places to source treasures is Goodwill. Goodwill is a popular place for most thrifters to search, but there are ways you can maximize your finds there. The Crazy Lamp Lady provides five tips below on how to maximize your Goodwill finds.
Look Around
You might find that the Goodwill stores in your area are too high priced or just don’t have great merchandise. Crazy Lamp Lady says it’s always a good idea to check out surrounding Goodwill stores to see what they have.
Goodwill operates in regions, and for the most part, each region operates differently. Some regions have items listed online, while others don’t. Some price items high, and some price items low. Some want the highest possible dollar for their items, while others just want to move as much volume as possible.
By shopping around, you can maximize your opportunity to find what you’re looking for.
Time It Right
Goodwill stores often receive large “dumps” of unsold goods from yard sales and estate sales on Mondays and Tuesdays. Don’t be fooled. It’s not always junk that doesn’t sell at these weekend sales. Sometimes, the items donated to Goodwill were just priced too high at the sales or the owners weren’t willing to negotiate at the time.
With all these treasures arriving early in the week — after the owners finally decide to dump them — Mondays and Tuesdays are great days to browse Goodwills.
Don’t Let It Hit the Floor
Sometimes, Goodwill stores will let you browse merchandise on the new carts before it even gets placed on the sales floor. If your Goodwill allows this, it’s a great way to nab fresh inventory.
Some Goodwill stores allow this and some don’t. Always be respectful of the store policies and ask an employee if you are unsure.
Shop the Discounts
Believe it or not, every Goodwill has different discount days and policies. Some stores offer discounts on certain colors of the day or the week. Others have a day for seniors. There are sometimes even discounts for educators or military service personnel.
If you plan to shop at Goodwill, know which days you can get the discounts that will benefit you.
Take Your Time
The Crazy Lamp Lady says that you shouldn’t assume that Goodwill knows everything about their donated merchandise or that they pull all the “good stuff” for their e-commerce website. This is simply not true.
Some Goodwill stores simply aren’t equipped to sell items online, some aren’t educated about which items to pull to sell online, and others don’t care about selling online.
The big takeaway is to take your time to grow your knowledge of what items sell and what they sell for. You’ll always find something if you know what you’re doing and what to look for.
About Jocelyn Elizabeth
Jocelyn Elizabeth, known as the Crazy Lamp Lady, owns an online business that sells vintage treasures to customers worldwide. She posts daily video content where she shares her many shopping adventures with her dedicated Facebook and YouTube audiences. When she’s not treasure hunting, she enjoys metal detecting and spending time with her children.
