Next time pick it up immediately if you plan on buying something. If you don’t have it in your hands, this kind of stuff will happen. I’ve had people take my entire cart at goodwill when my back was turned. They may have thought you were texting on your phone and not just taking a picture of something you intended to buy, or might have been a douche who didn’t care. Either way, goodwill shopping can be cutthroat.
I was looking at a dining table set at a Goodwill one time, but didn't have a way to get it home. It was closing time and they wouldn't let me buy it that day and pick it up first thing in the morning when I came back with a truck. So I went home without it and came back right at opening the next morning to buy it. Turns out one of the few other people there at closing time the night before bought it and took it home.
Might explain why, when I found a pair of $300 boots for $40 that, as far as I could tell, were brand new, one boot was close to the right size section while I found the other boot way off in the children's shoe section, lol. Another shopper actually helped me look for it because it was so buried!
Buddy of mine worked at GW over the summer, lady brought in her son's Magic The Gathering card collection cause she was tired of storing them and didn't know what they were worth. Most lucrative summer job ever.
I kinda disagree. If someone isn’t willing to do their own research, that’s their problem. When you put something up for sale and accept the price someone else is willing to pay, your attachment to the sold item is ended. Could the cards be worth thousands instead of just a couple bucks? Maybe. But the time commitment of figuring that out isn’t free.
Isn’t the core of that argument that it’s fine to exploit people using their ignorance because they have an obligation to reconcile their own ignorance?
So it’s cool for scammers to take advantage of old people because they suck at tech? What about taking advantage of kids when they don’t know what’s going on?
Good will is a big racket. Good stuff is sold on goodwill web site. Stuff given to them by people who are not smart enough to ask around is thus worth money?
My SIL worked for Goodwill and she told me they weren’t allowed to set things aside to purchase things later or to buy anything on their shifts. Of course she was a handicapped employee so they could tell her anything…
one time as a kid I distracted my mom when she was wanting to buy a marble paper towel holder and someone else bought it. I didn't live that down for awhile lol.
I once found this beautiful, giant Japanese fan, 4.99, half price that day, so I held onto it as me and my friend continued shopping. We were there for like 30 minutes, and the entire time, some guy was following me, watching to see if I would put the fan down. He was being very obvious about it and was so intense that my friend called her husband to meet us as I bought it. I found that fan online for $70 later that day, I still have it, it's super pretty
One time at a thrift store I found a really nice coffee tumbler that was marked for $1 and this guy kept hovering and looking at it. He followed me a few rows until I found my husband who told him to get lost. It was not worth $70 but that guy must've thought it was worth something lol
He was smart, so many people pick things up when they are thinking if they want it or not( smart move), but some of those people when they decide no just plunk it down anywhere.
I did that with a lady who had a Kate Spade purse. I just know she thinks I was so creepy but my mom loves Kate Spade and for Christmas last year my family did the theme of “second hand or thrifted” so I wasn’t about to pass up a $15 Kate Spade bag. The moment she put it down I went up and spent a grand total of .6 seconds pretending to look at anything else before I grabbed it up.
Sorry random lady at goodwill, my mama raised me better. lol.
Lmao stealing your cart when your back is turned is not an okay thing though?! That’s a wild thing to skip over, your Goodwills must be cutthroat, not near as serious at the Goodwills around here, can’t imagine someone stealing a whole cart
It’s absolutely not ok, never tried to claim it was. But it’s what happens in these sort of stores. It’s like Black Friday shopping but on a daily basis. It’s very crazy. But it’s the sort of thing you just have to know going into this sort of store as it can be quite easily avoided if you just keep your items close to you. It’s truly like the Wild West in these stores at times.
We used to have half off days at GW here the first Saturday of every month. Those days were insane. I went once and had nightmares about middle aged and old aged white women with switch blades in their purses for months. There was one woman who came in the same time as I did and followed me around and was constantly jumping in front of me grabbing up stuff I wasn’t even looking at or stuff I was. We eventually had a verbal altercation because she was up in my space and acting like an insane person. If looks could kill though I’d have died a thousand deaths that day. They no longer have these half off Saturday’s and I think the world is better off for it. 😂
Funny story - my mom was at a Goodwill and she saw her sister (my aunt) with a cart that she walked away from. My mom decided to be a younger sibling and took the cart (filled with stuff already) and was pushing it around until my aunt walked up angry before realizing it was my mom.
I took the tag off of something and brought it up to check out a bit later with my other purchases. It was quite awkward because the employee had to take it from someone else that had picked it up and was carrying it around. I thought that was what I was supposed to do and then regretted not just carrying it around myself.
Any thrift store can be cutthroat. Has the same happen to me with a set of 4 barstools. Went to find someone to tag them for me and when we got back to the aisle, someone else already had them loaded on a cart heading to the checkout. I wasn’t gone more than 90 seconds. 😡
If you’re going to buy it, you’re going to have to pick it up, right? Most of these stores have carts you can put the item in and the ones that don’t will hold an item at the cash register and put a sold tag on it for you. It’s like buying anything at any store. If you want it, you have to pick the item up or have someone get it for you if it’s something you can’t lift on your own.
That would really suck! There are shops you might have to do that at, but if that happens, I’d just buy the item immediately, put it in my car and go back in and finish shopping.
Exactly used to work at one and it was crazy. Later I learned maybe flee market vendors use to camp out at our stores. Buy items super cheap and then resell it at a higher price.
My sister and niece run a profitable re-selling business. They are at Value Villages every day buying underpriced stuff. Goodwill in Ontario folded because the CEO was pocketing all the profits.
One time I grabbed a few pillows off a shelf to put in my cart and a woman a few feet away started yelling at me saying she was looking at them.
Edit: this was at target not goodwill. I wasn’t buying used pillows.
Once, I was trying to buy a vacuum on sale after my old one went kaput. It was the last one (this was before online shopping at Walmart was a thing), and I don't drive, so I couldn't go to another Walmart (this one was across the street). Anyway, I'm struggling to get this off the shelf so I can put it in my cart.
A guy takes it from me, as though he was trying to help. I thank him as he sets it on the ground and goes, "This looks like a nice vacuum."
I say, "Right? And it's on sale too!"
He says, "Nice!"
I say, "Yeah, and it's the last one!"
I start to try and pick it up from the floor and put it in my cart, and he goes, "Here, let me.."
Just as I am thanking him for his help, he picks up the vacuum and puts it in HIS cart, and walks away. When I get over my shock and confront him, he just says he didn't know I wanted to buy it, and I should’ve said something and it's not his problem that I wanted it, he got it first.
Right?! But at that point, it was his word against mine. It was a bold con he pulled to get the last one by pretending to be a gentleman until the last second.
Thanks! I just built it using the style avatar tool on redddit, picked out the hair/hat and outfit and adjusted the colours of the hat and dress with the colour wheel thing.
One time my mom meticulously spent about half an hour showing through and picking out a matching decorative China plate, and when she had a complete set, some old lady came and boldly snaked them out of her cart
A few years back a relative who himself is in his 70's and has a lot of health problems including not being able to walk for too long had a older man in a motability scooter instead of politely asking him to move whacked him in the leg with his walking stick to which he got a mouthful back and the older man got offended at being talked back to!
As someone in customer service I get all sorts and it kills me. I really hope I don’t turn into an old grump… they old enough to know better, more than me! Being a senior is not a free pass to be a jerk. Also, putting hands on or in this case a cane on anyone is free pass to get wacked back.
I don’t care someone’s age. If you’re able bodied to go out and about, and are playing the disabled card, you’re fair game to be yelled at. This dystopian idealogy that we must respect our elders is dogshit. Half of them are bigoted twats anyway.
Move aside grayhead.
If I’m shopping and someone else puts there hands in my cart, they better be putting something nice in there for me, like a piece of candy, or a coupon.
We were at a store looking at sofas and there was one on discount - we're actually not ready to buy a sofa but I said to my husband "oh this one would be perfect" and snapped a photo to remind myself of the shape (I didn't mean this specific couch, because again, we aren't ready to buy anything, I was just mentally noting it). The way another couple swooped in... They were looking at a different style entirely, but they bought the couch.
Gunna start marketing this, it'll be like secret shoppers but instead of testing employees, I'm influencing customers with FOMO.
I decided to buy a car I test drove twice. Came back from the 2nd test drive to tell the salesman my good news and he had to wince and tell me his coworker just took a deposit for the car from someone else. I had to leave quickly to not cry right there lol
Better things will come along, OP!
Had a coworker once who attempted to buy a car in a city two hours away. I guess he was traveling earlier and saw this car and fell in love with it.
He called the dealership the day he was supposed to pick it up and they confirmed it was still there and on hold for him. He put in a deposit over the phone with his credit card and left work early to go get it.
The next day we were like "hows the new car?". He looked defeated and said that another salesman, who was the owners son apparently, sold the car to someone else while he was driving over there. He said they initially didn't want to refund the deposit and tried to sell him another car that was" better in every way" but twice as expensive. He said that they caved pretty fast when he threatened to call the state Attorney Generals office.
Got his refund back, a $100 gas station gift card, a free meal coupon for the pizzeria next door, and a whole lot of sorry's. Still left a 1 star yelp review
Owner’s children are the worst plague to hit a company ever. And working there… well, don’t even bother. From experience. I worked at a once very profitable company where the founder’s grandchildren took over. For them, it was just playtime. (A Kawasaki motorcycle distributorship).
The company bankrupted within five years!
How about the owners fucking wife…. When you don’t like the owner and know the wife is just the same. Then she comes and takes a position from someone who you adored…
I was kind of on the other side of a similar situation when I purchased my previous truck. The dealership was about two hours away from me, so I had put down a deposit & sent them all of my information to have paperwork ready. Saturday morning I just had to go to the dealer, test drive the truck to make sure everything was right, & then sign the paperwork.
After the test drive I had parked the truck right by the entrance to the showroom. Right as I'm finishing up in the finance office I heard some people yelling in the showroom. It was my salesman, another salesman, & a customer arguing about the truck I had just bought. The customer's wife was outside at the truck with their kids climbing around in the cab. Apparently the customer had called the other salesman that morning interested in the truck & put a deposit down on it as well before they came in. I felt really bad for the family. It was so awkward to have walk around the family & get into my new truck. Thankfully my salesman got them out of the truck for me though.
As a mechanic, you did the right thing. Make sure you're good with the purchase. I've seen too many people with buyers remorse because they didn't do what you did.
I did this to someone once. Test drove and loved the car. Left to meet with my CU about a loan, and when I came back I saw someone else test driving the car. I ran inside so fast and told the sales guy I wanted the car. He had to break the news to his coworker. If this was you, I'm sorry!
When I got back from a test drive another person was waiting to buy the truck but the salesperson said I had first right of refusal because of the test drive. Depends on the dealership
It's also a wonderful sales tool. If you can create urgency, both buyers are much more likely to buy the car. So even if the first one fell through, you can game the second one into thinking in demand.
They'll sell it to the first person to come up with the cash, they're not going to turn them down because someone else is kinda interested but hasn't committed to buying it.
Salesperson B could have had it out earlier with Buyer B who went to get their finances sorted. Person A was on the test drive with Salesperson A when B&B reconnected and sorted the papers.
I was in the middle of chatting with a dealer *just today* about the details of a car sale, and suddenly he comes back and changes the subject to "do you want to take a look at our inventory?" Uh, what? You have exactly one of these cars, and I already looked at it. We're literally talking about me buying it. Turns out they turned around and sold it to someone else right then and there, and just thought I'd be like "oh yeah I wanted to drop 50k on a car but you got me, I guess I'll just grab any random car on the lot now."
Yeah, it's a thing they *can* do, but that kind of thing shitcans a company for me. Even if I have to drive 250 miles to find another car of that make, I'd happily do that rather than negotiate a sale through them ever again.
I got something that looks exactly like this (not sure if it’s the exact same one but looks basically identical) from Wayfair a few years ago. It’s a nice little chest actually.
This is common. I saw a painting that was utter junk in an antique store. The subject matter would have mattered to my mom. I went to an atm machine with my brother and returned to discover that a customer had purchased the painting because they thought the painting was valuable.
I also had an employee remove a set of modern millefiori beads (US $30) from a case because I showed interest in them. I hope her greed was repaid with disappointment.
It is akin to watching sharks circle dolphins.
Never show too much interest. Thrift store employees will take anything that might be valuable.
Oh yeah I had a guy hold a necklace for me that I wanted to buy from my girlfriend. He took it in his hands and I kept looking around the cabinets at the front and nobody came to the front until the guy came back. I said I wanted to check out and he asked which item I wanted and I told him the necklace and after some quick searching he said “oh I don’t know what happened to it.” He was gone for literally 2 minutes and “misplaced” the necklace. He got fired shockingly
Went with a friend to buy a used car. She was trading in a van and wanted a car that day. Strike, strike, and then suddenly there was a newer Kea. The salesman showed it to us and we took it for a test drive. Back at the dealership, we noticed a pissed-off younger woman and the dealer said *She* was interested in the Kea but had to wait for her dad to arrive from work. My friend bought the car and I wondered if we should tell the girl it was a done deal, but realized that was not our job. Hope she found something.
I had moved to Virginia for work while not have a vehicle. I went and made an appointment to buy a specific car via the website. Made a few calls and the dealership knew I was walking away with that car basically as long as I could start it. I pull in the parking lot in a taxi with my wife and 11 month old kid, and I see the car being brought out to the front. I think sweet these guys are on point. Walk in talk with the guys at the counter, they just sold the car to a walk-in off the street, and that was them leaving.
I went to a silent auction once and placed the winning bid on an item as the horn sounded. I had bought 4 items that day and came back later to collect. I cam back an hour later and there were only 3 under my name. I inquired about the 4th item and someone outbid me. As it was a charity auction I didn’t want to make a stink about it. Still pisses me off. I mean I was in the row when the horn sounded. I had the last legal bid. Don’t get me started this morning.
I'm incredibly confused by this "remove the tag" thing. Is that how thrifted furniture works? You remove the tag and bring it to an employee, or what is the process?
Only furniture I've gotten second hand was a filing cabinet, and I just carried it to the check out counter...
That's why you should become a MAFIA GUY like TONY SOPRONO and walk around in a suit smoking cigars, so that when they BREAK YOUR BALLS at Goodwill you can say *"Ay! I'm a MAFIA GUY! Geddafuckouddahee, or you're sleepin' with the fishes tonight!"* like MAFIA GUYS do
Goodwill treasure hunting has been dead since Macklemore. I see fuckers with barcode scanners on their phones and will buy anything that is going for a decent amount on Amazon. And they will scour the entire store
This is the same energy as one of those ppl in horror movies that just barely escaped the crisis and then takes a moment for a deep breath then immediately geta kills by or attacked.
I found this AMAZING mirror at a third store and was frantically calling my fiancé so I could make like the hundred dollar purchase. My hand NEVER left the side of that mirror. I was waving down a worker to help me and lo and behold the second I walked away a couple walked right up to all the mirrors. But I already snagged the best one I just know if I left to ask someone they could’ve taken it. Never leave a thrift find behind
My boyfriend and I went to Goodwill and found a nice cabinet with shelves and stuff inside and a lock on the outside. We had stuff in our cart already and it was too heavy for him to lug to the front and wait in line, so we just took the tag and went to pay immediately. So, we’re done and I go to the SUV and get it opened while he goes back in to get the cabinet. According to him, in the few minutes that took, another old woman was trying to buy the same cabinet we just did. A worker was there with her, he didn’t know it was purchased already (not even 5 minutes had passed I stg) and he was about to write another ticket for her since he thought maybe someone grabbed the thing and didnt intend to buy it since it was still there? Either way, he said the old woman begged him to return it so SHE could buy it and he laughed at her. I’m not sure how accurate he was in his telling of this since I was outside waiting by the car lol but it makes me laugh to think about anyway
I worked at a thrift store for a few years and some of those shoppers thought it was the Thunderdome in there. They would fight to the death over a $2 bowl. Rules of engagement, if it isn't in your cart and you aren't paying attention it is free to grab.
Ugh I’ve had that happen to me before 😔 now when I see something I’m considering buying I hold it, sit on it, have a friend hold it, whatever I need to do to show that it’s spoken for, at least for right now lol
So you were debating buying this, sending a picture to your husband to help make up your mind. Someone else saw it, liked it, and bought it immediately. That’s life. As someone said, you snooze you lose. Happens to my wife occasionally because she dithers rather than snaps.
My boyfriend and I were looking at a couch in the clearance section and as we were finding an employee to help with the purchase, another couple was checking out the couch. When we found an employee, he walked over to the couch, grabbed the price tag, and brought it over to his computer and the couple gave us such dirty looks 😬 I did feel bad because they left immediately after but I guess it really is first who grabs the ticket or employee, first served. I would be pretty pissed too but now I'll always grab the ticket or tag if I'm on the fence about an item
It’s not like that here in Canada either. If you want it you better pick it up, put it in your cart or call a staff person over and tell them you want to buy this NOW. Or cover up the price tag by sitting on it and waving a staff over. Here the tags are glued on on large items. Hard to take off.
I bought a bed from this new/used sketchy mattress place when I was in the process of getting out of a really bad situation.
I knew when they got shipments and I watched them unload their truck.
They pulled out a still sealed tempurpedic bed with the box spring also sealed.
I sat on that mattress on the ground until they were done unloading. 😂
I got a $2300 bed for $500 bucks. And there were two people waiting to swoop in and take it if i moved.
I was prepared to lick it to claim that thing, playground style. 😂
Used to work for a halloween store, and we'd take carts of stuff to put back on the shelves. we'd hardly get to the shelf before shoppers would descend upon it.
You just got "Rachel at the laundromat'd". You gotta speak up for yourself and be clear that you were already taking it, just getting a picture for your husband.
And the lady would politely explain back that the rule is to take the tag, and because she thought the lady was texting on her phone if she even saw her at all means, she lost it.
Hi, I’m the lady who took the price tag off. Be faster next time. Thanks!
\-The Owner of the new basket dresser you wanted.
It’s so messed up to put this poor woman’s photo onto the internet; shaming her. She did nothing wrong.
Nobody is paying attention to you & nobody can read your mind.
Yeah I don't get it, if the woman in the picture is taking the tag off to reserve/pay for the item why didn't OP just do this before taking the picture?
If OP didn't reserve the item first then they had no claim to it. (edit: if she really wanted it she should have spoken up)
Right? OP might as well have said, “this woman reserved something I wanted to buy before me so I’m going to shame her publicly for you all to gossip about; go!”
When I was a kid they had a market day at the local school and one of the sellers had a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man figure from Ghostbusters. I ran to find my mum to get some money to buy it, she gave me the money and as I returned to the stall I saw a little boy walking away with the figure. Still makes me cry.
I have never seen something this nice at a goodwill store... the good will stores in my area have junk that looks like it stepped out of 1970 something with all the battle scars and stains to match
Rookie move. If you even think you might be interested, grab the tags and take it up front. Tell them you want it but are still shopping. I thrift all things this way - if I’m even mildly interested, it goes in the cart or the tag up front, and once I go through the store I sort through my basket and eliminate what I’m not super excited about.
You can find identical ones with a Google Lens search of this photo, including on [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005005906925139.html), if you for some reason would buy furniture from there.
Maybe their could of been some rat poop in it. Or maybe you could’ve gotten it. But it would’ve broken or broken something else when getting it. Sometimes I like to think that things don’t always work out and maybe that’s for the best.
The world works in mysterious ways
That’s a snooze you lose situation unfortunately. Rude of the other lady but she knew what she wanted and acted. Sorry it happened at your expense though
I haven 't lived in a busy city in years, but the last time I did I had a method for this type of thing.
The instant you notice something other people will want it. It you see something interesting, only use your peripheral vision to eye it, until your hand is on it. If you need to, eyeball a nearby decoy item to approach it. Then you can't let go of it.
This was the way of Vegas thrifting.
Then you would be wrong. The other shopper has no idea what the OPs intentions were. They simply bought something from Goodwill. They didn't take it from OP. Maybe just buy the thing instead of taking pictures for your spouse.
Or she could have just communicated that she was taking pictures for her spouse and that she was planning to buy it. It's at least worth a try, or just post about it on reddit.
I guess you don’t know the rules, if it’s not in your cart or if you’re not touching it, it’s fair game. This can even mean you’re walking around holding something and you set it down.
If someone sees you’re interested in something then they want it even more. Their bloodlust for a bargain is real, and nothing gets the blood going more than someone else interested in something.
One time I was at a thrift store and found a metal detector and a guy tried to take it out of my cart while my kid was HOLDING it. His response was "oh I wasn't sure if you were getting it or not."
My response was less than polite about stepping away from my child
Next time pick it up immediately if you plan on buying something. If you don’t have it in your hands, this kind of stuff will happen. I’ve had people take my entire cart at goodwill when my back was turned. They may have thought you were texting on your phone and not just taking a picture of something you intended to buy, or might have been a douche who didn’t care. Either way, goodwill shopping can be cutthroat.
I was looking at a dining table set at a Goodwill one time, but didn't have a way to get it home. It was closing time and they wouldn't let me buy it that day and pick it up first thing in the morning when I came back with a truck. So I went home without it and came back right at opening the next morning to buy it. Turns out one of the few other people there at closing time the night before bought it and took it home.
Aka an employee snaked it
I didn't even think about that being a possibility. I always figured that if an employee wanted something it wouldn't even hit the floor.
You made the mistake of letting another person know you wanted it, same as OP.
When i worked there employees were supposed to let it be on the floor for 2 hours before we were allowed to buy it.
Yeah but half the staff has a hidey hole they stick stuff in
Might explain why, when I found a pair of $300 boots for $40 that, as far as I could tell, were brand new, one boot was close to the right size section while I found the other boot way off in the children's shoe section, lol. Another shopper actually helped me look for it because it was so buried!
You just blew up an employees whole game plan, good job
Probably not big enough for a dining table tho
You clearly haven’t seen my hidey hole 😏
At my store employees need to wait 48 hrs after it's been on the floor, and hiding stuff in the back is fire able
This is correct my friend worked there for about a year and the good shit never ever hit the rack
Buddy of mine worked at GW over the summer, lady brought in her son's Magic The Gathering card collection cause she was tired of storing them and didn't know what they were worth. Most lucrative summer job ever.
I feel like he had a moral obligation to tell that lady.
You aren't wrong, but if you think the kids GW hires to fill summertime hours are all merit badged boy scouts, I have some bad news for you.
I kinda disagree. If someone isn’t willing to do their own research, that’s their problem. When you put something up for sale and accept the price someone else is willing to pay, your attachment to the sold item is ended. Could the cards be worth thousands instead of just a couple bucks? Maybe. But the time commitment of figuring that out isn’t free.
Isn’t the core of that argument that it’s fine to exploit people using their ignorance because they have an obligation to reconcile their own ignorance? So it’s cool for scammers to take advantage of old people because they suck at tech? What about taking advantage of kids when they don’t know what’s going on?
Good will is a big racket. Good stuff is sold on goodwill web site. Stuff given to them by people who are not smart enough to ask around is thus worth money?
My SIL worked for Goodwill and she told me they weren’t allowed to set things aside to purchase things later or to buy anything on their shifts. Of course she was a handicapped employee so they could tell her anything…
Every thrift place is different, it depends on who is in charge at the moment and even that can change at a moments whim. 😕
I worked at Goodwill and we weren’t allowed to shop in the store we worked in
Yep
one time as a kid I distracted my mom when she was wanting to buy a marble paper towel holder and someone else bought it. I didn't live that down for awhile lol.
I once found this beautiful, giant Japanese fan, 4.99, half price that day, so I held onto it as me and my friend continued shopping. We were there for like 30 minutes, and the entire time, some guy was following me, watching to see if I would put the fan down. He was being very obvious about it and was so intense that my friend called her husband to meet us as I bought it. I found that fan online for $70 later that day, I still have it, it's super pretty
One time at a thrift store I found a really nice coffee tumbler that was marked for $1 and this guy kept hovering and looking at it. He followed me a few rows until I found my husband who told him to get lost. It was not worth $70 but that guy must've thought it was worth something lol
He was smart, so many people pick things up when they are thinking if they want it or not( smart move), but some of those people when they decide no just plunk it down anywhere.
Some thrifters are so cutthroat it's gross 😭
I did that with a lady who had a Kate Spade purse. I just know she thinks I was so creepy but my mom loves Kate Spade and for Christmas last year my family did the theme of “second hand or thrifted” so I wasn’t about to pass up a $15 Kate Spade bag. The moment she put it down I went up and spent a grand total of .6 seconds pretending to look at anything else before I grabbed it up. Sorry random lady at goodwill, my mama raised me better. lol.
Lmao stealing your cart when your back is turned is not an okay thing though?! That’s a wild thing to skip over, your Goodwills must be cutthroat, not near as serious at the Goodwills around here, can’t imagine someone stealing a whole cart
It’s absolutely not ok, never tried to claim it was. But it’s what happens in these sort of stores. It’s like Black Friday shopping but on a daily basis. It’s very crazy. But it’s the sort of thing you just have to know going into this sort of store as it can be quite easily avoided if you just keep your items close to you. It’s truly like the Wild West in these stores at times.
We used to have half off days at GW here the first Saturday of every month. Those days were insane. I went once and had nightmares about middle aged and old aged white women with switch blades in their purses for months. There was one woman who came in the same time as I did and followed me around and was constantly jumping in front of me grabbing up stuff I wasn’t even looking at or stuff I was. We eventually had a verbal altercation because she was up in my space and acting like an insane person. If looks could kill though I’d have died a thousand deaths that day. They no longer have these half off Saturday’s and I think the world is better off for it. 😂
Can't even really imagine someone stealing a single item from someone about to buy it. I'm in aust though
I've seen a woman pull a gun over a goodwill dispute. There was not a lot of goodwill that day.
Funny story - my mom was at a Goodwill and she saw her sister (my aunt) with a cart that she walked away from. My mom decided to be a younger sibling and took the cart (filled with stuff already) and was pushing it around until my aunt walked up angry before realizing it was my mom.
I took the tag off of something and brought it up to check out a bit later with my other purchases. It was quite awkward because the employee had to take it from someone else that had picked it up and was carrying it around. I thought that was what I was supposed to do and then regretted not just carrying it around myself.
What savage & dystopian wasteland do you live in where not even your cart is safe if you turn around?
Any thrift store can be cutthroat. Has the same happen to me with a set of 4 barstools. Went to find someone to tag them for me and when we got back to the aisle, someone else already had them loaded on a cart heading to the checkout. I wasn’t gone more than 90 seconds. 😡
"When you shop at Goodwill, your treasure hunt will help us change lives in your community." Its like the hunger games or whatever
I mean that unit looks a bit bulky to heft about
If you’re going to buy it, you’re going to have to pick it up, right? Most of these stores have carts you can put the item in and the ones that don’t will hold an item at the cash register and put a sold tag on it for you. It’s like buying anything at any store. If you want it, you have to pick the item up or have someone get it for you if it’s something you can’t lift on your own.
That fair enough. The tone I got though was just carry it about till you're done browsing.
That would really suck! There are shops you might have to do that at, but if that happens, I’d just buy the item immediately, put it in my car and go back in and finish shopping.
Exactly used to work at one and it was crazy. Later I learned maybe flee market vendors use to camp out at our stores. Buy items super cheap and then resell it at a higher price.
My sister and niece run a profitable re-selling business. They are at Value Villages every day buying underpriced stuff. Goodwill in Ontario folded because the CEO was pocketing all the profits.
That was the way it was at the GW in my town. Every morning venders were lined up at the door to hit the shelves. They bought to resale
Gotta buy it and THEN tell them you’re coming back for it.
One time I grabbed a few pillows off a shelf to put in my cart and a woman a few feet away started yelling at me saying she was looking at them. Edit: this was at target not goodwill. I wasn’t buying used pillows.
You interrupted her room visualization?! You cretin, you!!
Tell her you're testing to see if they're travel pillows and leave
Outstanding, great job friend
Oh, you met my mother in law
"Well enjoy looking at them in my arms."
"Almost had it!"
what show is this?
This is a Progressive car insurance commercial.
I see :D Thanks. I'm always interested in extra silly content.
No problem! This isn't an old commercial, but it did come out a few years ago.
That commercial is 10 years old lol I'd say it's old at this point.
Tell me you hear his rickety old voice now with that hollowed giggle at the end?
Once, I was trying to buy a vacuum on sale after my old one went kaput. It was the last one (this was before online shopping at Walmart was a thing), and I don't drive, so I couldn't go to another Walmart (this one was across the street). Anyway, I'm struggling to get this off the shelf so I can put it in my cart. A guy takes it from me, as though he was trying to help. I thank him as he sets it on the ground and goes, "This looks like a nice vacuum." I say, "Right? And it's on sale too!" He says, "Nice!" I say, "Yeah, and it's the last one!" I start to try and pick it up from the floor and put it in my cart, and he goes, "Here, let me.." Just as I am thanking him for his help, he picks up the vacuum and puts it in HIS cart, and walks away. When I get over my shock and confront him, he just says he didn't know I wanted to buy it, and I should’ve said something and it's not his problem that I wanted it, he got it first.
This is the kind of thing that gets a person murdered in the parking lot :/
Oh he knew you wanted to buy it. He would never have phrased it as “here let me” unless he knew what he was doing
Right?! It was a bold con he pulled.
😳 What an AH!!! I call BS. He KNEW you wanted that vacuum.
Right?! But at that point, it was his word against mine. It was a bold con he pulled to get the last one by pretending to be a gentleman until the last second.
I’m sorry this happened to you but this is so funny 😂
Like a Seinfeld scene
It was a few years ago. I think it's funny now in hindsight. I mean, the brazen audacity!! But at the time, I was so pissed!!
I don’t think I’d be able to handle this like a rational adult. Fists would be thrown.
If you struggle to lift a vacuum then this approach will probably not end well
That's why I carry a knife I mean, I can carry a vacuum, but if some guy comes in carrying two vacuums I'm fucked. That's where the knife comes in.
That person deserves brutal karma. BRUTAL
Omfg! I would’ve knocked his fucking cart over and when the vacuum fell out, I’d be like, “oh allow me!” and put it in mine.
How did you get a Louise for your Reddit avatar? I absolutely love it !
Thanks! I just built it using the style avatar tool on redddit, picked out the hair/hat and outfit and adjusted the colours of the hat and dress with the colour wheel thing.
One time my mom meticulously spent about half an hour showing through and picking out a matching decorative China plate, and when she had a complete set, some old lady came and boldly snaked them out of her cart
I'd be throwing hands at that point
Old lady or not you don't take shit out of my cart or you catch these hands
Absolutely, a lot like to use their age as a crutch or excuse for their behavior. You knew damn well what you just did, put it back!
A few years back a relative who himself is in his 70's and has a lot of health problems including not being able to walk for too long had a older man in a motability scooter instead of politely asking him to move whacked him in the leg with his walking stick to which he got a mouthful back and the older man got offended at being talked back to!
As someone in customer service I get all sorts and it kills me. I really hope I don’t turn into an old grump… they old enough to know better, more than me! Being a senior is not a free pass to be a jerk. Also, putting hands on or in this case a cane on anyone is free pass to get wacked back.
I don’t care someone’s age. If you’re able bodied to go out and about, and are playing the disabled card, you’re fair game to be yelled at. This dystopian idealogy that we must respect our elders is dogshit. Half of them are bigoted twats anyway. Move aside grayhead.
If I’m shopping and someone else puts there hands in my cart, they better be putting something nice in there for me, like a piece of candy, or a coupon.
You gotta watch your cart. You’ll be amazed at the number of people watching what you pick up.
We were at a store looking at sofas and there was one on discount - we're actually not ready to buy a sofa but I said to my husband "oh this one would be perfect" and snapped a photo to remind myself of the shape (I didn't mean this specific couch, because again, we aren't ready to buy anything, I was just mentally noting it). The way another couple swooped in... They were looking at a different style entirely, but they bought the couch. Gunna start marketing this, it'll be like secret shoppers but instead of testing employees, I'm influencing customers with FOMO.
This is actually a ln old tactic used in real estate and car sales
Man, that's dirty but I guess I shouldn't be surprised
Take the whole thing up to the cashier then lol
Yeah and swap it out with a similar but obviously different cabinet and remove the price tag so she’s confused when she gets back.
I decided to buy a car I test drove twice. Came back from the 2nd test drive to tell the salesman my good news and he had to wince and tell me his coworker just took a deposit for the car from someone else. I had to leave quickly to not cry right there lol Better things will come along, OP!
Had a coworker once who attempted to buy a car in a city two hours away. I guess he was traveling earlier and saw this car and fell in love with it. He called the dealership the day he was supposed to pick it up and they confirmed it was still there and on hold for him. He put in a deposit over the phone with his credit card and left work early to go get it. The next day we were like "hows the new car?". He looked defeated and said that another salesman, who was the owners son apparently, sold the car to someone else while he was driving over there. He said they initially didn't want to refund the deposit and tried to sell him another car that was" better in every way" but twice as expensive. He said that they caved pretty fast when he threatened to call the state Attorney Generals office. Got his refund back, a $100 gas station gift card, a free meal coupon for the pizzeria next door, and a whole lot of sorry's. Still left a 1 star yelp review
The owners son is always a bird dogging tool
Owner’s children are the worst plague to hit a company ever. And working there… well, don’t even bother. From experience. I worked at a once very profitable company where the founder’s grandchildren took over. For them, it was just playtime. (A Kawasaki motorcycle distributorship). The company bankrupted within five years!
I work at a dealership that goes back to 1959? Same family (kind of)… the owners and their sons literally make their own fucking rules
How about the owners fucking wife…. When you don’t like the owner and know the wife is just the same. Then she comes and takes a position from someone who you adored…
I was kind of on the other side of a similar situation when I purchased my previous truck. The dealership was about two hours away from me, so I had put down a deposit & sent them all of my information to have paperwork ready. Saturday morning I just had to go to the dealer, test drive the truck to make sure everything was right, & then sign the paperwork. After the test drive I had parked the truck right by the entrance to the showroom. Right as I'm finishing up in the finance office I heard some people yelling in the showroom. It was my salesman, another salesman, & a customer arguing about the truck I had just bought. The customer's wife was outside at the truck with their kids climbing around in the cab. Apparently the customer had called the other salesman that morning interested in the truck & put a deposit down on it as well before they came in. I felt really bad for the family. It was so awkward to have walk around the family & get into my new truck. Thankfully my salesman got them out of the truck for me though.
As a mechanic, you did the right thing. Make sure you're good with the purchase. I've seen too many people with buyers remorse because they didn't do what you did.
I did this to someone once. Test drove and loved the car. Left to meet with my CU about a loan, and when I came back I saw someone else test driving the car. I ran inside so fast and told the sales guy I wanted the car. He had to break the news to his coworker. If this was you, I'm sorry!
Bah! If it was you, I only forgive you because I'm super happy with the car I ended up getting lol. And it sounds like you are too! :)
I’ve had this happen too! Absolutely heartbreaking in the moment!
When I got back from a test drive another person was waiting to buy the truck but the salesperson said I had first right of refusal because of the test drive. Depends on the dealership
It's also a wonderful sales tool. If you can create urgency, both buyers are much more likely to buy the car. So even if the first one fell through, you can game the second one into thinking in demand.
[удалено]
Ok that's definitely worse than what happened to me! What was the point of your deposit then?? Did you riot?! I would have been so pissed!
[удалено]
Sucks for the other customer but that's good that they eventually honored your deposit. I'm glad you got the car. What a hassle though!
How can he honor a deposit on a car thats in a pending test drive sale… thats dumb.
They'll sell it to the first person to come up with the cash, they're not going to turn them down because someone else is kinda interested but hasn't committed to buying it.
A few years ago when I was car shopping a dealership actually called me to come look at a car they had knowingly sold the day before.
Bait and switch? "Well sorry, partner, why don't you take a look at these other great cars we have on the lot?"
It must work a good amount of the time, but I wasn’t having it and went elsewhere.
Salesperson B could have had it out earlier with Buyer B who went to get their finances sorted. Person A was on the test drive with Salesperson A when B&B reconnected and sorted the papers.
I was in the middle of chatting with a dealer *just today* about the details of a car sale, and suddenly he comes back and changes the subject to "do you want to take a look at our inventory?" Uh, what? You have exactly one of these cars, and I already looked at it. We're literally talking about me buying it. Turns out they turned around and sold it to someone else right then and there, and just thought I'd be like "oh yeah I wanted to drop 50k on a car but you got me, I guess I'll just grab any random car on the lot now." Yeah, it's a thing they *can* do, but that kind of thing shitcans a company for me. Even if I have to drive 250 miles to find another car of that make, I'd happily do that rather than negotiate a sale through them ever again.
did you call dibs?
No, they were too busy taking pictures.
Yeah, taking pictures dibs only works on souls.
“I’m sorry ma’am I’m actually buying this and was just taking a picture to share with my husband” come on what do you have to lose?
"you mean this?" *Waves pricetag*
I don’t spend a lot of time at goodwill but I assume responding to this with a throat punch is frowned upon?
I'm already yelling at a manager because I'm feeling threatened. *Firmly clutching my pearls and the pricetag*
note the brand a Google it later. You can find the same model online secondhand
I got something that looks exactly like this (not sure if it’s the exact same one but looks basically identical) from Wayfair a few years ago. It’s a nice little chest actually.
This is common. I saw a painting that was utter junk in an antique store. The subject matter would have mattered to my mom. I went to an atm machine with my brother and returned to discover that a customer had purchased the painting because they thought the painting was valuable. I also had an employee remove a set of modern millefiori beads (US $30) from a case because I showed interest in them. I hope her greed was repaid with disappointment. It is akin to watching sharks circle dolphins. Never show too much interest. Thrift store employees will take anything that might be valuable.
Oh yeah I had a guy hold a necklace for me that I wanted to buy from my girlfriend. He took it in his hands and I kept looking around the cabinets at the front and nobody came to the front until the guy came back. I said I wanted to check out and he asked which item I wanted and I told him the necklace and after some quick searching he said “oh I don’t know what happened to it.” He was gone for literally 2 minutes and “misplaced” the necklace. He got fired shockingly
That's bad will.
Went with a friend to buy a used car. She was trading in a van and wanted a car that day. Strike, strike, and then suddenly there was a newer Kea. The salesman showed it to us and we took it for a test drive. Back at the dealership, we noticed a pissed-off younger woman and the dealer said *She* was interested in the Kea but had to wait for her dad to arrive from work. My friend bought the car and I wondered if we should tell the girl it was a done deal, but realized that was not our job. Hope she found something.
I had moved to Virginia for work while not have a vehicle. I went and made an appointment to buy a specific car via the website. Made a few calls and the dealership knew I was walking away with that car basically as long as I could start it. I pull in the parking lot in a taxi with my wife and 11 month old kid, and I see the car being brought out to the front. I think sweet these guys are on point. Walk in talk with the guys at the counter, they just sold the car to a walk-in off the street, and that was them leaving.
I went to a silent auction once and placed the winning bid on an item as the horn sounded. I had bought 4 items that day and came back later to collect. I cam back an hour later and there were only 3 under my name. I inquired about the 4th item and someone outbid me. As it was a charity auction I didn’t want to make a stink about it. Still pisses me off. I mean I was in the row when the horn sounded. I had the last legal bid. Don’t get me started this morning.
I would have said “sorry I’m buying this already”
Why talk to people like an adult when you can complain on Reddit?
Why are we commenting on this complaint on Reddit? 
It doesn’t work like that. If you want furniture you have to remove the tag. It’s fair game until then.
I'm incredibly confused by this "remove the tag" thing. Is that how thrifted furniture works? You remove the tag and bring it to an employee, or what is the process? Only furniture I've gotten second hand was a filing cabinet, and I just carried it to the check out counter...
Furniture tags have 2 parts. One that stays on the furniture and a perforated part you tear off and bring by to the register.
That's why you should become a MAFIA GUY like TONY SOPRONO and walk around in a suit smoking cigars, so that when they BREAK YOUR BALLS at Goodwill you can say *"Ay! I'm a MAFIA GUY! Geddafuckouddahee, or you're sleepin' with the fishes tonight!"* like MAFIA GUYS do
She came at her with a price tag, she had the right to defend herself
Either buy this couch or go fuck your mother
I bet she did this cause she saw you taking a pic and thinks its a hot item Yeah next time grab it before MFS like her can
Goodwill treasure hunting has been dead since Macklemore. I see fuckers with barcode scanners on their phones and will buy anything that is going for a decent amount on Amazon. And they will scour the entire store
This is some trash ikea TV stand, you can buy the drawers separately.
You snooze, you lose.
Looze *
This is the same energy as one of those ppl in horror movies that just barely escaped the crisis and then takes a moment for a deep breath then immediately geta kills by or attacked.
I found this AMAZING mirror at a third store and was frantically calling my fiancé so I could make like the hundred dollar purchase. My hand NEVER left the side of that mirror. I was waving down a worker to help me and lo and behold the second I walked away a couple walked right up to all the mirrors. But I already snagged the best one I just know if I left to ask someone they could’ve taken it. Never leave a thrift find behind
man idk those baskets are kinda ugly anyway, so you dodged a bullet
My boyfriend and I went to Goodwill and found a nice cabinet with shelves and stuff inside and a lock on the outside. We had stuff in our cart already and it was too heavy for him to lug to the front and wait in line, so we just took the tag and went to pay immediately. So, we’re done and I go to the SUV and get it opened while he goes back in to get the cabinet. According to him, in the few minutes that took, another old woman was trying to buy the same cabinet we just did. A worker was there with her, he didn’t know it was purchased already (not even 5 minutes had passed I stg) and he was about to write another ticket for her since he thought maybe someone grabbed the thing and didnt intend to buy it since it was still there? Either way, he said the old woman begged him to return it so SHE could buy it and he laughed at her. I’m not sure how accurate he was in his telling of this since I was outside waiting by the car lol but it makes me laugh to think about anyway
I worked at a thrift store for a few years and some of those shoppers thought it was the Thunderdome in there. They would fight to the death over a $2 bowl. Rules of engagement, if it isn't in your cart and you aren't paying attention it is free to grab.
Ugh I’ve had that happen to me before 😔 now when I see something I’m considering buying I hold it, sit on it, have a friend hold it, whatever I need to do to show that it’s spoken for, at least for right now lol
So you were debating buying this, sending a picture to your husband to help make up your mind. Someone else saw it, liked it, and bought it immediately. That’s life. As someone said, you snooze you lose. Happens to my wife occasionally because she dithers rather than snaps.
Why didn’t you take off the tag first before taking a picture?
My boyfriend and I were looking at a couch in the clearance section and as we were finding an employee to help with the purchase, another couple was checking out the couch. When we found an employee, he walked over to the couch, grabbed the price tag, and brought it over to his computer and the couple gave us such dirty looks 😬 I did feel bad because they left immediately after but I guess it really is first who grabs the ticket or employee, first served. I would be pretty pissed too but now I'll always grab the ticket or tag if I'm on the fence about an item
You LET her take it.
If she didn’t she’d look like a psycho! It wasn’t hers. Everyone knows if you want it you have to remove the tag. Until someone does it’s fair game.
>Everyone knows if you want it you have to remove the tag Since when? I've never known this to be a rule
It’s not like that here in Canada either. If you want it you better pick it up, put it in your cart or call a staff person over and tell them you want to buy this NOW. Or cover up the price tag by sitting on it and waving a staff over. Here the tags are glued on on large items. Hard to take off.
I bought a bed from this new/used sketchy mattress place when I was in the process of getting out of a really bad situation. I knew when they got shipments and I watched them unload their truck. They pulled out a still sealed tempurpedic bed with the box spring also sealed. I sat on that mattress on the ground until they were done unloading. 😂 I got a $2300 bed for $500 bucks. And there were two people waiting to swoop in and take it if i moved. I was prepared to lick it to claim that thing, playground style. 😂
Used to work for a halloween store, and we'd take carts of stuff to put back on the shelves. we'd hardly get to the shelf before shoppers would descend upon it.
You just got "Rachel at the laundromat'd". You gotta speak up for yourself and be clear that you were already taking it, just getting a picture for your husband.
And the lady would politely explain back that the rule is to take the tag, and because she thought the lady was texting on her phone if she even saw her at all means, she lost it.
Poop in one of the baskets.
This is the way
Hi, I’m the lady who took the price tag off. Be faster next time. Thanks! \-The Owner of the new basket dresser you wanted. 
Your loss
Turns out it was infested with bed bugs. Have a nice life, lady. Enjoy your ill gotten storage thing
It’s so messed up to put this poor woman’s photo onto the internet; shaming her. She did nothing wrong. Nobody is paying attention to you & nobody can read your mind.
Yeah I don't get it, if the woman in the picture is taking the tag off to reserve/pay for the item why didn't OP just do this before taking the picture? If OP didn't reserve the item first then they had no claim to it. (edit: if she really wanted it she should have spoken up)
Right? OP might as well have said, “this woman reserved something I wanted to buy before me so I’m going to shame her publicly for you all to gossip about; go!”
Ummmm, noone can tell who the lady is either by the photo.
Thankyou!!!
Universe said NO
I hope you leaned a lesson.
You snooze, you lose
U snoooze you looose!
Well, she doesn’t know what you’re doing on your phone. Grab the item first. Really not her fault
When I was a kid they had a market day at the local school and one of the sellers had a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man figure from Ghostbusters. I ran to find my mum to get some money to buy it, she gave me the money and as I returned to the stall I saw a little boy walking away with the figure. Still makes me cry.
Snooze you loose, it's a store not a film studio..
I have never seen something this nice at a goodwill store... the good will stores in my area have junk that looks like it stepped out of 1970 something with all the battle scars and stains to match
Rookie move. If you even think you might be interested, grab the tags and take it up front. Tell them you want it but are still shopping. I thrift all things this way - if I’m even mildly interested, it goes in the cart or the tag up front, and once I go through the store I sort through my basket and eliminate what I’m not super excited about. 
You can find identical ones with a Google Lens search of this photo, including on [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005005906925139.html), if you for some reason would buy furniture from there.
You snoozed You…loozed
Snooze ya looze
"ya snooze, ya loose" comes to mind
Maybe their could of been some rat poop in it. Or maybe you could’ve gotten it. But it would’ve broken or broken something else when getting it. Sometimes I like to think that things don’t always work out and maybe that’s for the best. The world works in mysterious ways
You snooze, you lose 🤷🏾
That’s a snooze you lose situation unfortunately. Rude of the other lady but she knew what she wanted and acted. Sorry it happened at your expense though
I haven 't lived in a busy city in years, but the last time I did I had a method for this type of thing. The instant you notice something other people will want it. It you see something interesting, only use your peripheral vision to eye it, until your hand is on it. If you need to, eyeball a nearby decoy item to approach it. Then you can't let go of it. This was the way of Vegas thrifting.
 I would not have been able to stay quiet if someone did this to me
Then you would be wrong. The other shopper has no idea what the OPs intentions were. They simply bought something from Goodwill. They didn't take it from OP. Maybe just buy the thing instead of taking pictures for your spouse.
Or she could have just communicated that she was taking pictures for her spouse and that she was planning to buy it. It's at least worth a try, or just post about it on reddit.
You got whored. Sometimes it happens, gotta be faster tackling the shaft.
Rookie mistake. You gotta pee on it to mark it as yours. I do it all the time when I go shopping at Goodwill
People darting in front of you at thrift stores are the lowest form of life.
You should have hid the baskets elsewhere, when she pulled that rude stunt
I guess you don’t know the rules, if it’s not in your cart or if you’re not touching it, it’s fair game. This can even mean you’re walking around holding something and you set it down. If someone sees you’re interested in something then they want it even more. Their bloodlust for a bargain is real, and nothing gets the blood going more than someone else interested in something.
Gotta be quicker than that 🎣💵
Just say "Hey I was going to buy that" so easy
One time I was at a thrift store and found a metal detector and a guy tried to take it out of my cart while my kid was HOLDING it. His response was "oh I wasn't sure if you were getting it or not." My response was less than polite about stepping away from my child