Infomastaro

By Darlin Tillery

Life & Trends Reporter

ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project member

When a 19-year-old woman purchased a wooden wardrobe at a Goodwill store during her morning visit, she thought she had made a thoughtful first purchase for her new home.

The wardrobe featured double doors, shelves, and multiple drawers. Because it lacked a price tag, she asked an employee to price it and immediately paid after the tag was attached. She was told she could retrieve it any time before the store closed at 8 p.m.

Empty-Handed

After work, the woman returned with her sister-in-law and waited outside while two workers went inside to bring out the piece.

After 10 to 15 minutes, they returned empty-handed, asking her to point out its location. The wardrobe was no longer there.

"Someone had re-priced the wardrobe. And someone bought it and took it home," she wrote in her post, published under the Reddit username AppleJuicetheBest.

Though her payment was refunded, the disappointment lingered.

“I wanted to cry so bad,” the original poster (OP) admitted, adding, “This was my first time making a purchase like that at Goodwill. I usually go just for clothes.”

...

Reddit contributors recognized the issue, with one lamenting, “This happens all the time at my store. I still don’t see why this is still an issue. They need a better system on how people buy furniture.”

Another person chipped in, "I wonder if it didn’t have a price on it because someone else had already purchased it. Perhaps that person came back to pick it up."

A fellow commentator offered their strategy: "When I buy a piece of furniture and have to come back for it, I take all the essential parts of it I can and stick them in my car then—drawers, legs, the mirror part, whatever I can to make it less likely to be repriced and sold."

The problem is not isolated. According to the Goodwill FAQ, stores will hold paid items for no longer than 24 hours. But if an item isn’t clearly marked as sold, it can be mistaken as available.

Store Policies

Goodwill explains that items are sold “as-is” with no returns and that store policies vary by region. Shoppers are encouraged to speak directly with store managers or email if they experience issues.

Goodwill’s resale policies operate within the framework of its mission as a nonprofit organization.

While items are donated, they are sold to fund employment programs. But this system isn’t without its complications.

The lack of a centralized method for securing sold large items—like furniture—can leave buyers vulnerable to mix-ups, especially in busy locations where restocking happens rapidly.

Furniture isn’t the only thing at Goodwill that creates stories.

Newsweek reported on Erin Calkins of Atlanta, who bought an $8 purse only to later discover a diamond tennis bracelet sewn into the lining.

“I was beyond shocked,” Calkins told Newsweek. She ended up selling the bracelet to a jeweler for $1,200.

“It was the best kind of surprise,” she said.

Though the original poster of the wardrobe story didn’t make a discovery worth four figures, she did come away with a hard lesson about resale shopping.

“Didn’t realize this happened so much,” she shared, “I thought it was just me.”

Newsweek has reached out to AppleJuicetheBest and Goodwill for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.

Request Reprint & LicensingSubmit CorrectionView Editorial & AI Guidelines