ShopGoodwill

I've won about 15 auctions in my month of bidding. Of those, about 1/2 are worth my time and money. I have had china arrive broke, but on this auction I still felt what arrived safely was worth my bid and the shipping. However, I recently bid on bull horns, won and paid immediately. A few days later I was notified with an apology that ShopGoodwill were sorry their store didn't have the supplies to ship my horns safely and would be glad to reimburse me for my bid and the shipping. The problem with this is they've sold horns prior and shipped them, they even had a bid one day later for horns that were 6 inches shorter than the horns I bid on except that the shipping for those were $32 and my shipping was $14. So, I was left wondering if they felt they needed more money either in my bid or in shipping for it to be worth them fulfilling their obligation to honor my bid plus the shipping I had already paid. Look for yourself under advanced auctions that have ended in the last 60 days for bull horns or Western Horns and you will see that they state they are ship-able. I sincerely felt ripped off while they called it an error on their part. FYI - this is the store in Southern and Western Colorado so beware. What else? I've watched items that I had planned to bid on which suddenly, a day before time to bid, the photos disappear and only the description is left. What else, you will definitely pay more for shipping and handling charges are most ridiculous. I've paid $14 for a small cow hide to arrive in an envelope, not in a box as expected, but a manila envelope. So, while I've won some auctions and like 1/2 of the items I've won, I've also felt ripped off as well. It is buyer beware, they are in it to obtain the highest price possible and in the end none of these auctions are for the needy. Don't pretend to be fooled, they are for those that can afford the gamble! Seriously, who are you kidding? Good will is a gesture we wish for those that need it but an auction as this is for those that have a nice place to lay their head, this includes me. The shipping prices alone are more than what many of these items are worth and someone said it well, do your homework before bidding, look at those additional costs of winning. Etsy and Ebay obtain prices near the same without all the headache one may experience when told an item they purchased and paid for can now NOT be shipped because they haven't the resource to pack it safely. Nobody likes to put their energy in to watching an item, researching it, bidding, and then winning only to hear those words uttered days later! It will make you skeptical and that is what brought me here to write a review and mention I'm just not convinced of their practice or service, it's more about the money with GoodWill.

I was a bit skeptical when I saw an almost brand new pair of Salvatore Ferragamo shoes were going for $15.00 at the Goodwill online auction with just 5 minutes to go. The advertisement showed a Certificate of Authenticity by "Authentication First" "a small and unreliable company with two "authenticators" with little experience, (found out this later). So I decided to bid on them and I won the bid. When I received the shoes and started to look at the, I noticed that the shoes were not leather (a trade characteristic of all Ferragamo shoes). The sole and the upper were P. U. I contacted the Goodwill shop I bought them from and was told that the COA said ShopGoodwill were authentic and that they would not refund my money. I decided to write Ferragamo and gave them the serial number stamped inside the shoes, and was told that that particular serial number did not exist in Ferragamo shoes. I contacted then "Authenticate First" person (Gina) and was told that since I was not the person on the certificate I could not request a a change of the COA to rectify their wrong authentication, only Goodwill could do that. So here I am in a Catch-22 scenario... How can this type of scam can be permitted online in the U.S.? Go figure... One thing I know for sure now, I will never support Goodwill Industries again in my life and will try to persuade other in doing the same..

I purchased an item, when it arrived missing a part what was shown in the pictures I contacted support to send it back(it also took them 5 days to ship it out and I had to reach out to remind them that I bought an item and would like it shipped), im hoping just to send it back get my money back and go on as usual right? Wrong lol, ShopGoodwill give me the label to ship it back, I send it back and when it arrives at their HQ, THEY DELETE MY ACCOUNT WHAT THE SH*T? 265$, gone! They take their product back and keep my money! How shady they wont even reply to my emails on why I was deleted or why they wont refund me!

They also use bot bidders, a night vision scope has been up for a few months because they want it to sell for over 300$+ So they use the bot bidders to get it up around 200$ and when you bid on it they will auto outbid you to try and get you to pay over 300 for it, if you want to sell it for 300 or more why not just give it a bloody set price instead of having illusory bidding! So dishonest!

If you get a good price on something, they will sometimes "lose" your bid, won that cool game for a low price? Well we don't think you paid enough for it sorry better luck next time!

They also sport INSANE shipping and handling prices! I know damn well that those aviator shades are not a pound and they don't need a giant box to be shipped in!

STAY AWAY! OR USE EXTREME CAUTION, NEVER BUY ANY ELECTRONICS AND ONLY BUY IF THERE ARE LOTS OF IMAGES ON IT! Better yet just use ebay!

I hadn't realized this until recently (some people on reddit mentioned this and it made so much sense)-- but there's an awful lot of evidence/patterns pointing to this site using bots of some sort to outbid actual users. I theorize ShopGoodwill do it in order to get more money and start "bid wars". Believe me, this isn't far fetched-- its actually quite common nowadays.

Like clockwork, I will get outbid on most items, no matter how obscure and undesirable, in a matter of a couple hours. Its always placed within 10 minutes of 60,90, and 120 minutes after my initial bid. Seems fishy right? Plus I've seen these same items pop back up a month later if I leave them alone, as if the supposed "high bidder" never paid.

I've noticed this happen to other users too, on undesirable crap that's not worth the money or effort whatsoever to bid on. About the only way to successfully get items on there is to bid at the last second, especially if there's no other bidders. If there is no other bidders, that's your sign to leave the item alone until the last minute.

I've used this site for 8+ years and watched it go downhill. It seemed much better back before it was revamped, albeit shipping was still flippantly overpriced on occasion back then.

Take it as you will, I'd just steer clear of this once-good auction site, that's now been lost to pathetic corporate greed and overzealous resellers.

I have recently become disabled and am no longer able to shop in person, so I decided to use the online site. I bid on an item from the Western and Northern Connecticut location on 5/6/21.
Order #30795585
If you need further information, please contact the seller below:
Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut
Your payment was received 5/8/2021 2:50:20 PM PT
Your Stripe confirmation number is: ch_1Ioy2RJjZWhNnv5o4YUJCiQ8

Shipping Information
Order has not been shipped

Not only has my item NOT shipped yet over a week after I paid for it, ShopGoodwill have not even responded to my messages! Each location is run independently and they converge online. Here is a list of the issues I have noticed in the last 2 weeks of bidding on items at ShopGoodwill:
1. Watch for exaggerated weights in shipping. For example, a decorative pot about 15" round weighed 7 pounds, it was entered at 49 pound shipping price. When I asked for the error to be corrected it was reduced to 39 pounds! So I did not bid on it. This is NOT an error, it is a scam.
2. Another item of clothing was less than a pound and was entered as 15 pounds for FedEx shipment, more than 3 times the cost of the item! When I requested it be changed to Priority Mail USPS, they made the change but INCREASED the handling fee! Basically, an organized rip off.
3. So I decided to ONLY shop the 1cent shipping on clothing. The result has been the complaint above.

Shop carefully, not all locations will do this but many are. I was told each location runs independently and the nice people at the Colorado location have been honest but many locations are in on the shipping scams.

I am a camera reseller- I buy old cameras, fix them and then resell them. I used to buy from GW online auctions for over a year before I finally had enough of there overpriced junk, manipulated pricing, and severely awful or non-existent customer service. Yes- shipping and handling fees are astronomical and worse that ShopGoodwill vary from region to region. And they are always overpriced and shipping overweight. Interesting enough- you won't find cameras actually in a local stores anymore- the local stores do not know how to price vintage cameras. So the local stores ship the cameras to regional warehouses and then starting bids are priced higher for online auction only. But the bidding is the key to the scam- bids on cameras are almost always higher or exactly the same as ebay prices for the same item- except ebay guarantees returns and bidders are not 100% anonymous- Goodwill does not! Why would anyone buy a 30 year old camera at a premium price- higher than ebay- and with no guarantee? 90% of the cameras I bought were broken or needing some repair. So why buy here? I followed certain brands over a year-like the Canon AE-1 -it ALWAYS sells for $86-$91 and they sell like 10 a day. How is that possible? An Olympus OM2 with a few worthless accessories just sold for $100- $4 handling fee and to me would have been $18 shipping. On ebay there is the same exact camera (tested and guaranteed) with 4 lenses for $35--no handling fee and $7.85 shipping! Today there is a Leicaflex camera just listed -and with in minutes 5 anonymous bidders have it already priced it at $353. I just sold 2 Leicaflex's in mint condition on ebay for $325- and it took me over a year to sell them! IT IS AS BAD AS ANY NEGATIVE REVIEW ON HERE! But I will say this- if you want to win on GW Online auction- you only have to bid $1 more than GW price fixer.

I recently started shopping online with Good Will within the past 6 months and I've gotten pretty good deals on a lot of things so far. Most of the time, I find pretty interesting things. I've gotten very good condition shoes, an brand new comforter set, even a snowboard.

CONS:
- A lot of things are pretty used and I don't think ShopGoodwill should be selling for the price they are... with the added shipping costs, sometimes those used items can amount to more than the actual item bought new in stores. It's pretty ridiculous considering these items were donated at no cost, but I'm just hoping that Good Will really does use the profits for charity.
- Another thing I do not like is that, sometimes they list the minimum bid price for you to bid, but it's already been bidded at a higher price, and by the time you place your minimum bid, it's already at a higher not-shown price, and that can cause a delay for you to re-input an amount, load the screen and lose the auction.
- Very hard searching for specific items because they are not always properly titled.
- The description of the items are pretty vague, and you might end up with something that does not work or have all the pieces.

PROS:
- You can find a lot of name brand and high-end items in very good condition, without the retail price tag.
- A lot of items can be found brand new, with tags or in their packaging
- 1 cent shipping on a lot of items
- Pretty fast shipping in my experiences
- Less time consuming than actually going out to the Good Will stores and digging through everything (unless you have time and you're into that)
- They give you a good deal of time to pay for the item, once you've won the auction. (Keep in mind, too many unpaid items will result in you not being able to continue placing bids)
- Giving back to charity while saving money is always a plus right?

All in all, buying things from the website has been pretty positive. You must know what you're really buying before you place the bid and should always calculate the shipping to see if it's worth it. The feeling of winning an auction is fun, especially when you're sitting behind the screen and no one can be mad at you. Have fun!

Bought a 14lb rock collection in 2016 with labeled specimen names. The auction went super low for once and I thought I got a great deal for some beautiful mineral specimens. When the order was delivered 3 weeks later I opened the box to find 14 lbs of white landscape rocks (The same rocks in front of their store). When I called ShopGoodwill said the sent the wrong order to my house and "we are waiting to hear back from the person who received your order so we can switch them out" Funny thing is, they were NEVER selling a 14lb box of white rocks! Also, imagine my surprise when I found several of the EXACT photographs used on an ebay auction from the same city! (No reply from seller). The second was a for a gold nugget (aprox 4 grams) encased in acrylic for a desktop from another location. The auction only went to $12 and I was really surprised! When my package arrived I discovered I was the proud owner of a silver plated duck sugar bowl. Again I was told the exact same line "we are waiting to hear back from the person who received your order so we can switch them out". Weeks later I conducted an experiment where I called the store and inquired about a small stainless steel spoon with "Texas" written on it. I told the lady I was bidding on it and told her it was worth about $200 and was so happy that it was only at $3. The next day the price jumped up to $160.

I have been dealing with Shopgoodwill.com on and off for about five years now. My experiences with purchasing from them has been both good and bad. I really have not purchase anything from them besides computers and electronics. It has really
Been a muxed experience. In all honesty, I cannot say that ShopGoodwill are absolutely terrible. In the past, I have gotten some really good deals on used computers! The units were as described for the most part. And I have been satisfied, because I could never have afforded them if I were to try and buy them somewhere else (like on EBay). In regards to the quality of their customer service, I have to say that it all depends on the Shopgoodwill store you are purchasing things from. Some of them are good, and others are downright horrible! The electronics are admittedly mostly junk-especially the items that are described as untested or partially tested. I have read a lot of complaints on this forum about them. All I have to say is that before you decide to bid on any electronic items, you not only have to read the descriptions thoroughly, but examine the photos as well. If you are using a mobile phone, you have to "enlarge" everything for detail. I believe they try to do their best when it comes to describing the condition of all the items. What people have to understand is that they have thousands of new items that come in every day, and only so many employees within each store that have to go through all this stuff. They don't have time to test everything thoroughly. And they try their best to do what they can. Of course, they are merely human, and sometimes make mistakes. They also I have no idea of the history of the items in question, which means they cannot make a fair assessment of the overall condition of the items in question.
But on the downside, they are often guilty of listing electronic items that are obviously total garbage! Items like stereo receivers with missing knobs, bent case covers and deep scratches. I believe this item should be thrown out, as they may be internally damaged, and cause a fire if plugged in.
Other than what I have mentioned, I have to say that many of the stores had friendly customer service reps, and packaged their items very well, although shipping is slow, and often quite overpriced in many cases. But all in all, I have to say that they are simply OK. But all in all, I have to say that they are simply OK Not bad, but not great.
You have to decide for yourself.

I have spent quite a bit of money on Goodwill.com in the past few months. I got a few good deals but I also have received a lot of items with undisclosed damage (a high rate of this like 20-30%). Sometimes ShopGoodwill will reimburse significantly if you keep the item, other times for significant damage they offer you something paltry. 60-80% of the time (IF they agree with you and only if) they offer a return and provide a label. But it's a hassle to do this and wait for your money back... especially when a lot of their shipping takes forever. You spend the time taking pictures, contacting them, printing out your own label, etc.

I also have gotten a few items that really weren't worth the price. It's difficult to tell the quality with tiny pictures and minimal descriptions. No one else selling on the internet would get away with this. I agree with other posters and have said this many times... what are they training these people to do? Sometimes, like in their stores, they also have an attitude.

Currently, I have contacted them 4 times over 2-3 weeks about one item that was described in excellent condition only to get it and find a major piece broken of of it. I bought another item a couple of months ago that was supposedly a metal sculpture, nope it was ceramic. A green jacket that was really brown. A pair of lamps with bent light sockets (they told me I could just fix them and then wouldn't respond further).

The real kicker was when they had a needlepoint in the Antique section and claimed it was 100 yrs old. Fortunately, I was outbid on it when I realized it wasn't. But I wrote them and provided and example of someone selling the same thing, telling them this was not an antique. They did not stop the auction so I assume someone got stuck with it.

I was happy when I first stumbled across the ShopGoodwill web site. This was quite some time ago and there weren't many bidders to compete with. That has all changed as Shopgoodwill has become more known. For many items, I have to be careful because the bidding gets so excessive that you are better off bidding on the same item (if it exists) on Ebay or other sites. The reason is that ShopGoodwill does not put forth much effort in determining if an item is in working order (especially electronic items). If you're lucky, ShopGoodwill might turn an item on and if something lights up, that's about all the information you'll receive. Most items specify unable to test further. Really! Why not? A radio works if it picks up stations, a clock works if it tells time, etc. Not rocket science. So, basically you are taking a chance when bidding on an item that you even receive a working item. Therefore, it is important to me to get the item cheap enough so that if it doesn't work, I can spend the money to repair it or throw it away. When the bidding price gets close to the same item on Ebay, I will always choose Ebay because you will get a better description of the item and can contact the seller for details. You also have more recourse with Ebay if the item isn't as described once you receive it. Continuing, ShopGoodwill with few exceptions has the highest shipping charges. This doesn't make sense. You can be charged twice as much for an item that ways half as much as something else. They don't appear to go by actual item weight which boggles my mind. For example, I was charged for a 3 pound item as if it were 16 pounds. Ripoff... Furthermore, they tack on a handling fee which varies per item. Lastly, shipping time is unpredictable. Some packages arrive quickly while others seem to wait in limbo for a week before it is shipped out. Should anything happen to your package once they have shipped it. Lost, damaged, etc. ShopGoodwill feels it is not their responsibility and in most cases they will do nothing. I gave this review 2 stars because I believe there are some items worth pursuing and you will get a good deal over other sites but until ShopGoodwill revamps there entire online business model, my shopping days with them are drawing to an end.

Overpriced shipping, overpriced merchandise that ShopGoodwill received for free and now they have the nerve to put reserves on items to make even more money. The little guy can't win a nice item for a fair price now as they make sure to set reserves to get the least that they will accept for something they got for free. Hello! You didn't pay for the item so you should be glad if you make a dollar off of it. Goodwill is getting very greedy. What do they actually do with the money? I see commercials saying they help people but I have never seen this taking place in my community like you see the Red Cross or Salvation Army doing things to help those in need. The fact that they rake in millions if not billions of dollars on stuff they got for free is amazing to me. Yet they pay their disabled employees who are basically working for Goodwill for free just nickels compared to what those who are not disabled make. I seen a report on them and some of their disabled employees make less than $4 an hour. Research it for yourself and you will see. Goodwill is a disgusting company with disgusting practices who has gotten rich off of getting over on the unassuming in the name of charity. This is the biggest scam ever thought of. Yet people still support them. Think about it. Have you ever heard about anything Goodwill has done in your community or where you can go contact them when you are in need of help like the Red Cross & Salvation Army? Nope and you never will.

ShopGoodwill is like, if all the worst sellers on eBay got together and sold on another site. Its so bad that I think its almost funny. Every single thing ShopGoodwill do is bad in one way or another.

1. They claim these items are there better donations and deserve higher prices. However, easily 50% of the listing are junk. Beyond that, its super obvious that while they want top thrift dollar for the stuff, they arent willing to do any actual research on the items. Its not even necessarily that I disagree with the prices. Its that they dont list conditions, or measurements, or really any information at all on the listings. Most of the listings are about three words on the item for sale followed by three paragraphs about how its not their fault if you dont get what you expected. Its lazy. And the pictures. While some individual Goodwills do have nice photos, most of them look like something my kid would accidentally take on my camera. Its bad. Either do the work for the higher price or put it in a store.

2. The shipping is horrendous. This is bad on so many levels. First they charge way too much. It will literally say
ACTUAL WEIGHT: 2LBS
SHIPPING WEIGHT 10LBS

They are not subtle in how much they overcharge you. Plus on top of the inflated shipping charge, they charge a handling fee. This seems to most commonly be 2.99, but I have seem it as low as 1.99 and as high as 5.99.

Thats not even the worst part. You pay this arguably unethical shipping price, but when will they ship it? Will it make it to your house? I ordered a lot of boots. Two pairs actually of the same boots, in my size in different colors. They shipped pretty fast. But when I get them, they are just thrown in a box with a piece of bubble wrap just thrown in. All four boots were ruined from hitting each other on the journey. Another pair of shoes I waited to ship for a week. When they did ship it, they paid for overnight Fedex Saturday delivery. So I guess I at least got my moneys worth that time. I have four other items that I have been waiting about two weeks to ship. So its kind of insulting that the shipping is at least 3x the price when they treat it how they do.

The biggest thrifting sin they are committing is RUINING THE THRIFTING IRL. Why would you pick it through it and send the best stuff online? Its sending the message that going to Goodwill will most likely be a waste of time. Thrift shopping is a huge hobby for many people. Goodwill is not embracing that. I cant even count the number of times I bought things that were stupid and messed around with them for a week, just to eventually donate it back to Goodwill. Im sure many people do this.

None of this fights resellers. Goodwill is just becoming a reseller too.

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!

I can appreciate and even admire a company that is set up to help people that would otherwise struggle in the "normal" workplace. Here is what I don't admire. When you are flat out fraudulent and hide behind the "charity" guise, I am literally disgusted. If you've never had the displeasure of shopping GoodWill online, stay away from it in the future too. I've been an active member for about five years now. By active, that means I check their listings about 3x weekly. I've bought only one item since being a member simply due to their repulsive practices. Please keep in mind that EVERYTHING ShopGoodwill sell was given to them free of charge. And not only was it free, it was delivered to their doorstep. It is then tested, if applicable, to the extent of plugging it in. They will tell you if it powered on or not, and that's the extent of their testing. Now if it's an item that they believe will bring a considerable amount of money if it was working, they somehow found a means to test it. This isn't the exception, it's the rule. Remember, I've been watching this happen for five years. Next is the shipping charges. I've had an account with UPS for about ten years now and I ship far less packages than Goodwill does. I know from experience what their minimum discount is. Yet they charge fees that are beyond even what the UPS website would charge you. But we're not done yet. They are going to charge you a "handling fee" too because they had to carry the item from the drop box to the table to photo it. Doesn't matter if you pick it up at the store either. You are paying the handling fee. Some of these are as much as $8 for a single item. Some are 5% of the selling price which means a $500 item which means you will pay an additional $25 for someone to pack it with some more free stuff. Don't think so? Look up item# 24823178. What does the selling price have to do with anything when it comes to handling fees? And to think of all the buyers that participate in this corruption all because "it's for charity". If ANY retailer conducted business in this fashion, I can about guarantee you wouldn't shop there. There is so much corruption in charity, you'd swear they are run by government and religious affiliations. What is probably the most disgusting is that people continue to buy from them. There can't be a murder without a murderer.

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 ShopGoodwill 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.

Yes, the ShopGoodwill online site charges very high shipping. ShopGoodwill say it's because of the shape or the size of the item, but I've seen small items that weigh only a few ounces listed with ridiculous prices for shipping. I don't buy anything electronic on the site anymore after getting burned several times. They most times make sure they stipulate that the item is "untested" and that the buyer needs to take that into account when bidding because there are no returns. How much trouble is it to plug something in for 20 seconds to see if it turns on, lights up, gets warm, etc?! In my opinion, they are trying to offload non-working items on unsuspecting buyers. I have also heard that employees go on the site and bid items up so that buyers are forced to outbid them. I have seen items like gift cards being bid up to almost the amount on the card! Who does that? Fur coats that they were gifted with being listed with a beginning price of over $400! A Chanel purse went for over $1200 when you can find them for less than that on eBay. I think people believe that because it's on "Goodwill" that it's going to be a good deal no matter how much they pay for it. I ALWAYS crosscheck every item I want to bid for on Amazon or eBay. MANY times it is not a good deal on ShopGoodwill when you add in the shipping and handling. I'm not saying that there are not good deals to be had on the site, but you have to be savvy and do your homework before and during bidding.

Why do ShopGoodwill inflate shipping... this was my email to customer service... I contacted the seller asked about combined shipping, they stated they could combine the two items I was interested in, I asked for a combined invoice, they sent a combined invoice with no discount on shipping, I reached out to them again they lowered the shipping cost by 2.36.
In my opinion only... and I am wrong alot... as a seller and consumer I feel that... well for example on eBay sellers inflate their shipping costs to avoid paying eBay fees... that's why you used to see a 20 dollar item selling for one dollar with 19 dollars shipping... the seller only had to pay the eBay %on 1.00, eBay stopped this but as a buyer it was infuriating but understandable... for private eBay sellers... even public eBay sellers. Even when Goodwill is selling on eBay... when Goodwill shops are doing the same thing... on Goodwill site... with no eBay fees..., it's giving your brand a bad name. That there is something shady with the charity in general because as a consumer I think to myself, what reason could they have to lie about the shipping costs. So maybe all the sales money goes one place and then the shipping costs are sent back to the stores and for some reason that I can't see as innocent, the individual stores want to have more than what they pay to ship... not only did they charge 10 dollars over the price to ship... they charged an additional 8 dollars in handling. Using priority mail... the box is free. So staff and bubble wrap and tape.
I am just giving my opinion. And don't expect you to refund or attempt to help in my specific situation. I should not have bought without asking for what the combined shipping would be. But I have a slight impulse shopping issue...
I hope your day is awesome... and that if you have the ability to implement a structural shipping ruberic for all online sales. It would give all of your buyers more confidence in there shopping... in impulse bidding... in your brand which I believe has an awesome mission...

Jelly

I'd give the Tacoma, Wa. Store a zero if possible. Customer "no service" is in full operation there. ShopGoodwill play games with your payment. First they took my first one for the first item I bid on, the when I went to pay for the second item (just a few minutes later--same store, same bank account) suddenly I am "flagged" as the transaction being defaulted because "supposedly' the zipcodes didn't match between my bank records for my mailing address, and the Goodwill shipping address. (this is extra fishy, since my address is also at the bank as my address). But... wait... it's gets better... they not only did sumit BOTH payments (which were pending on my bank account that day) they ALSO dinged me for an extra $3.00 for "testing" my bank account.

But wait... it gets, better, better...

When I brought it to their attention... suddenly the stunts, run around, excuses, lame curt short un "fix the problem" messages started.

And... wait... wait... it gets better, better, better...

They suddenly REVERSE the payments and the three $1.00 charges from my bank account.

Now, they have taken back their OWN PAYMENT! Who does that? How STUPID! You selling junk that other people donated... and you DON'T WANT your payments?

The reason lies behind this snarky email I got, after i asked an question at a different store with an item I bid on the same day. Here is my question and their RESPONSE...

***
This was the question I asked:
How do I cancel a bid that I made? The shipping and handling is too high to be a bargain.

Response from Goodwill by Krystle
Hello,

We are unable to retract your bid per the shopgoodwill.com policy Rules for Bidders. In the future, please only bid on items for which you ready, willing, and able to honor.On behalf of the thousands of people with disabilities and other barriers to independence who benefit from our services, thank you for your support!
***

This says it all in a nutshell. We want your money for nothing.

As of today, the transaction has not be completed... and after reading the reviews on line... 99% of them saying that the "shipping and handling fees" are too high, I felt that way too. On an oil painting for $7.99 but the S&H is nearly $40.00.

I filed a formal complaint with the Washington State Attorney's General's office. Why? Because as far as any Goodwill employees are concerned, we are customers that are to be abused by them, lied to, manipulated, controlled with their stunts and games.

Well, my $100 and sum dollars is going elsewhere. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Want to know if these reviews are REAL? I have:
Paid for items and received someone else's merchandise
Paid for items and have received them with little or no secure packaging (tiny items were falling out of the box just by being CARRIED to deliver).
Paid for items and didn't receive them for over 1-2 weeks on a REGULAR basis
Paid for items that were shipped to another buyer of a different item
Paid for items that were received so badly broken, it produced cuts and blood upon opening
Paid for items that were more than $100 and no insurance or delivery proof was provided. Item never received but charged. Waited weeks and weeks to get the item or a refund, finally got a credit after over a month.
Paid for items with inflated shipping weight AND/OR multiple items that were not able to be combined for no valid reason
Paid for items that were damaged after purchasing, meaning received item that was not in the same condition as photos presented
Witnessed one store in particular who overcharges on every single thing (high start price, high buy it now price, high ship weight, AND high ship cost
Seen many items priced at OVER retail or competitor price for same or less value- meaning you can buy it NEW for less or USED for less on auction site
Been very forgiving for all of this until multiple items were supposedly lost. Things happen, BUT ShopGoodwill were then relisted less than two weeks later. All "lost" items had final bids of less than $20- coincidence? Doubtful. Many people have had the same thing happen. There is no recourse, no way to leave feedback, and no way to report the fraudulent behavior. Nor do I think they care and I wonder if this is actually encouraged on a large scale. Some employees and stored are wonderful. Some are horrible. But randomly issuing refunds for "inventory lost" and then turning around and trying to sell it days or weeks later to try to get a higher price from someone else is dishonesty.
And yes, I have proof of all of this. Something needs to happen because it seems these issues are wide and varied with shopgoodwill.com
It is ridiculous that this exists, and even more disgusting that it is at the hands of a charity.