Shopping the Goodwill Bins for Charity
I spent another $7.59 at the Goodwill Outlet "bins" to buy four items for the $100 Goodwill Gift Card Challenge. This leaves me with $55.55.
I'm trying to be very deliberate with what I'm thrifting to resell, especially at the Goodwill bins, as heavy items defeat the purpose of paying by the pound.
Here's what I bought:
A Peugeot salt mill/grinder, which I currently have up on eBay for $30.00.
A Veuve Clicquot collectible champagne paint tube tin. I know to keep an eye out for this specific category, as I've once (twice?) resold their tins. I think I got $75 last time, but this one sells for less. It weighs very little, so it met my goal of "high value, low weight" items. I have it up on eBay for $42.
This rather small Hooters tank top, which hilariously is a "large!" I have it up on eBay for $30.
Lastly this new-in-package 2015 World Cup rugby ball. I probably should've left it behind, but I adore Ilona Maher and felt I owed it to her to rescue this item. I have it listed on eBay for $25.
I didn't buy this case of doggy diapers:
Nor this bottle of aspirin:
I wish this fifty-dollar bill was real, but I suspect that it wasn't.
It may seem like I'm buying a lot of things for the challenge, especially since I've only sold three items so far, (The LoveSac cushion covers, the Spot the Dog plush and the kids' rain suit) but I know from experience that patience is key. I've been selling on eBay since 2005 and it simply takes a few weeks if not longer for most things to sell. If somethings sells immediately, it's a sure sign that you underpriced that item. Standard retail stores don't expect to sell their entire inventory every day and neither do I.
I'll be donating all profits to the Oregon Food Bank, but need to figure out a timeline for when those donation will occur. Monthly? If I wait until everything sells, it could take a year!
Either way, I'm having a lot of fun with this project and excited with the prospect of donating as much as possible to the Oregon Food Bank!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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Your joy is evident in your posts and IG stories. I love keeping up with this new challenge!
It's definitely fun to try to spend as little as possible to earn as much as possible!
I love this challenge and await your decision on when to donate the proceeds to the food bank.
I think it is sometimes easier to push to do something for others rather than for ourselves. That is true for me. It seems this challenge has given you a push to source items that can be resold. Kudos!
I'm thinking February 1st, then March 1st, April 1st, etc.
This is all so wonderful and inspiring!
Thank you, it's a fun creative challenge.
As a fellow reseller (although on a much smaller basis than you), I think your monthly idea makes sense. I also love this challenge!
I have a different project in mind for 2026 with our side hustle money, but for 2027, maybe I will use that to make an additional contribution to our Donor Advised Fund - this has inspired me!
Ooh . . . I love that!
Such a fantastic thing to do!
My big win for today is a Groupon for Wildlife Safari passes in Winston. We debated between a family membership vs individual tickets. After crunching the numbers and weighing how often we'd actually go vs the cost per visit, etc, we bought individual tickets and took advantage of a sale on Groupon. We bought enough for two visits and paid $102.66 which is a lot better than the $163-$190 it would have been for us to visit twice or get a membership! We'll be planning a visit soon with plenty of snacks and drinks so we can make a day of it, it's almost a 2 hour drive from our house so we'd want to maximize our time there.
Donating monthly would be a good idea…food banks need inflow of cash, and your o piggy bank isn’t earning interest (visual interest, probably).
This is so fun. I love the bins. You never know what you'll find.