New gaming focused Goodwill store called Grid

[Addicted]

It looks like Goodwill has a gaming focused store in North Carolina called the Grid.

http://www.goodwillsp.org/shop/thegrid

http://imgur.com/a/YEMPF

Looks expensive but I would go If I was in NC.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Banana, any chance this is nearby you?

[GamerNick]

I think Disney might chime in soon and tell them to change the name - the grid is from Tron.  hahaha

[Shadow Kisuragi]

[singlebanana]

Banana, any chance this is nearby you?

This is about an hour and a half away from me. My parents live down that way and I'm headed there soon. I'll try to check it out if I can get away from family duties for a bit.

[singlebanana]

I have to say that I'm not very hopeful with this store in terms of their prices. It's a shame that charity shops such as these who operate off of donations are now gouging customers for profits sometimes much higher than sold items on eBay. I can't really find anything in my local Goodwills anymore. One of the stores has a separate "Computer Junction" section apart from the main store which only deals in games and computer supplies. All you can find in there are sports games and anything of value (in this store and the others in the area) is transferred to this main office and auctioned at shopgoodwill.com.

Also, went to "Value Village" today and saw a loose Intellivision console on the rack. When the employee brought it down, it had a price on it of $165!!!! The manager came and had an employee look into it (most likely on eBay) and they marked it down to the low low price of $45..... Oh yeah, the system was untested. It's a shame that so-called "charity stores" are getting greedy and profiting off customers in this way. The same store gets opened box items from the local Harbor Freight and charges more for them than the store (only 2 blocks away) charges for them new. I know this might sound like "sour grapes" on my part, but if you're given something for free, you don't exploit that generosity.

[Tynstar]

Between this and the Goodwill auction site no wonder I never find games there anymore.

[shaggy]

Yea, Goodwill has gone to shit now. If I do find something there it is usually so overpriced that it is ridiculous.

[singlebanana]

A friend of mine in the Charlotte area posted something about it on her FB page. Within minutes there were several people commenting on how bad it was.....oh well.

[shaggy]

It doesn't surprise me. Goodwill has been bad the past 5+ years now.

[singlebanana]

Yeah, I'm not saying that anyone specifically is profiting from these inflated prices. My point is that it's odd that thrifts, who are suppose to provide donated (free) items at more affordable prices for lower income families and individuals, are raising prices on certain items, including video games, to gouge specific audiences. I have no problem with paying a reasonable price for an item, especially when it goes to a good cause, but marking a loose, untested Intellivision for $165 is ludicrous and dare I say greedy.

[Ikariniku]

I was told byy an employee at my local Goodwill that all video game items were being sent out to be auctioned off at ShopGoodwill.com.  It was very disappointing to me.  I'd never had a great score there.  It was small stuff like Medievil for PS1 for $3, Mortal Kombat 1, 2, and 3 for Genesis for a couple of bucks, but it was sad knowing I'd never get that kind of stuff there again.

[Duke.Togo]

I don't think they're profiting off customers because they're a non profit organization.  If they are, that's pretty shady and they could probably get into big trouble with the U$ government.  I don't think they want to f*** with Uncle Sam. 

I can only speculate why Goodwill would need to gouge customers with certain items, but I really doubt the upper management is collecting big bonuses as that would land them in hot water. 

Being a non-profit doesn't mean that you don't make a profit, it simply means that you reinvest all earnings back into the business, and provide a public benefit in order to avoid paying taxes.

[shaggy]

I don't think they're profiting off customers because they're a non profit organization.  If they are, that's pretty shady and they could probably get into big trouble with the U$ government.  I don't think they want to f*** with Uncle Sam. 

I can only speculate why Goodwill would need to gouge customers with certain items, but I really doubt the upper management is collecting big bonuses as that would land them in hot water. 

Being a non-profit doesn't mean that you don't make a profit, it simply means that you reinvest all earnings back into the business, and provide a public benefit in order to avoid paying taxes.

I believe to be non-profit all the company needs to do is reinvest 25% or 33% of their profit back into the company, so yes they can make a tidy profit.

[singlebanana]

Well............looks like I'm headed down toward Charlotte tonight. The store is open until 9:00, so I'm going to stop by and check it out first-hand. Will report back.