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Did you know that Goodwill sells on eBay? Of course, you did, that’s why you’re here.
It’s common knowledge that people buy items from thrift stores and resell them on eBay. In fact, we have been doing so for more than 5 years and had over a quarter of a million dollars in “side-hustle” sales during that time. However, if you want the best deals, you should always go to the source (meaning not buying from resellers).
Couple that with the fact that tons of people are still at home because of the pandemic and most people have a shopping itch that they’re unable to scratch. Well, luckily for you, if you’re the thrift-store-loving type you can still get your fix via Goodwill’s eBay stores!
My 11 Favorite Goodwill eBay Stores
Store #1: Seattle Goodwill (Visit Their eBay Store)
- Average Number of Items for Sale: 5-10,000
- Types of Items Sold: Everything
- Listing Type: 80% Auctions
Seattle Goodwill’s eBay store is one of the largest with over 250,000 positive feedback. You can find pretty much anything on here if you’re willing to wait and, with so many items, you can bet that there’s always a deal.
Some interesting recent sales of theirs:
Store #2: Goodwill of Arizona (Visit Their eBay Store)
- Average Number of Items for Sale: 1,000-1,500
- Types of Items Sold: Clothing
- Listing Type: BIN
Goodwill of Arizona mostly lists low-dollar clothing on their eBay store. While it’s not great if you’re looking to resell, it has a real thrift-store feel to it and you can find some great deals for yourself!
Store #3: Goodwill of Spokane (Visit Their eBay Store)
- Average Number of Items for Sale: 300-500
- Types of Items Sold: Everything
- Listing Type: 90% Auctions
Goodwill of Spokane seems to be quite picky about the items they list. If you didn’t know better you’d think you were looking at the eBay store of a typical reseller. The main bonus here is that they put almost all of their items on auction with a low starting price so you can score some huge wins.
Store #4: Goodwill of San Francisco (Visit Their eBay Store)
- Average Number of Items for Sale: 5-8,000
- Types of Items Sold: Everything
- Listing Type: 50% Auctions / 50% BIN
Not that I’d expect anything else from a California-based store, but the San Francisco Goodwill eBay store lists a lot of expensive items, nearly all on auction. The quality of their listings often means that things end up reasonably expensive but if you’re in the market anyway…
Store #5: Goodwill of New York/New Jersey (Visit Their eBay Store)
- Average Number of Items for Sale: <100
- Types of Items Sold: Electronics
- Listing Type: Auction/BIN
Whoever works at this store has a penchant for selling cameras on eBay. They aren’t particularly high-end cameras but you can get some good deals if you know what you’re after.
Store #6: Goodwill of Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties (Visit Their eBay Store)
- Average Number of Items for Sale: 10-15,000
- Types of Items Sold: Media
- Listing Type: BIN
If you’ve bought a book, CD, or DVD on eBay it’s not unlikely that you’ve purchased from this store or a Goodwill on eBay that specializes in media. Its entire store is made up of books, CDs, and DVDs but we’ve got nothing against that!
Store #7: Goodwill of Mers (Missouri) (Visit Their eBay Store)
- Average Number of Items for Sale: 800-1,000
- Types of Items Sold: Everything
- Listing Type: 75% BIN
To be honest, there’s nothing exciting about the Goodwill of Mers eBay store but it’s another solid option to add to your eBay-surfing-rotation.
Store #8: Goodwill of Chattanooga (Visit Their eBay Store)
- Average Number of Items for Sale: 600-800
- Types of Items Sold: Everything
- Listing Type: 90% Auctions
Chattanooga needs to get their crap together. When they actually list items on their eBay store there are great deals to be had but they also go long periods of time with nothing for sale. So if you’re lucky, you’re lucky.
Store #9: Goodwill of Maine (Visit Their eBay Store)
- Average Number of Items for Sale: 2-3,000
- Types of Items Sold: Everything (only 30% clothing…)
- Listing Type: 50% Auctions
I’m a big fan of this store as it has tons of non-clothing items for sale. Typically this means that there are more one-off collectibles which, in my experience, bring more money when resold.
The major bummer here is the shipping cost. Since Maine is literally as far away from me as possible I end up paying a mint in shipping when I win something.
Store #10: Goodwill of Ft. Waynes (Visit Their eBay Store)
- Average Number of Items for Sale: 2-3,000
- Types of Items Sold: Everything
- Listing Type: 99% BIN with Best Offer
If you like making offers, this is the store for you. You’ll be able to find what you want and make an offer, without waiting for an auction to end. Ft. Waynes apparently knows what they’re up to when pricing items so don’t expect any resalable deals.
Store #11: Goodwill’s Own Websites (Not on eBay)
I sort of cheated on this last one since this isn’t technically a Goodwill eBay store. However, it’s the next best thing!
Several Goodwills contribute items to a main listing center and list over 1,000,000 items on their own auction platform. So if you have the time and aren’t committed to shopping only on eBay, it may be worth your time to check out the Goodwill sites:
- ShopGoodwill (just like Goodwill, but online auctions)
- GoodwillBooks (not only books but all types of media)
Prices typically start low and you can find items not only for yourself but also to sell on eBay, Mercari, Poshmark, etc.
How Goodwill eBay Stores Function
Each area of Goodwill stores operates independently and has a separate name. For example, the Goodwills in my area are actually “Easterseals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain Inc“.
Operating autonomously gives each store or group of stores the ability to do things pretty much how they please. Because of this, the larger and more profitable stores have the manpower and excess inventory necessary to support an online operation in addition to physical retail.
There are tons of Goodwill locations that sell on eBay but many of them list only sporadically or only a certain type of item. I have included only stores that I peruse on a regular basis that I feel offer unique items for a great deal.
If you’re looking to source items from eBay to resell on eBay, good luck! It can definitely be done if you put in the time but competition can be fierce. However, with tens of thousands of available items, you can bet there is always something that everyone else overlooked!
So, whether you’re window shopping, buying for yourself, or buying to resell, spend lots of time looking and you’ll find that luck favors you!
How To Get The Best Deals On A Goodwill eBay Store
If you really want to get the best deal on an online Goodwill store (or any eBay store for that matter) then your best bet is to Save a Search. You will then be notified when something that matches your search results is posted.
For example, we used to sell iClickers on Amazon. We had an eBay search that notified us anytime one was posted for under $4. We would buy it immediately knowing that we’d be able to make 4x our money on it.
The Ninja Tip for Resellers
Researching sold listings on eBay is a fantastic way to learn about new items to flip. However, not every store is equal research fodder. Since eBay is so big, it’s best to concentrate your efforts where there is low-hanging fruit.
You can sort existing eBay store listings by “most bids” and see what’s hot or sort the sold items by price and see what’s going for big money.
Goodwill stores really aren’t that knowledgeable about what they sell (most of the time) but due to the huge number of shoppers looking at their items the cream usually rises to the top and you can put in your due diligence to find out how much money things are likely to be worth.
At the end of the day, thrifting is meant to be fun and it’s no different on eBay. The online Goodwill eBay stores are a great option to kill some time, find some treasures, and (if you’re lucky) make some money. So have fun!