A Goodwill shopping fail
Know what this is?
An ironing board cover.
I bought a cover back in 1997 when I got married, and it lasted until about a year ago (at which point we cut it up and salvaged the good parts to make Christmas gift bags!)
I happened across a new-in-the-package ironing board cover at Goodwill at just the appropriate time, and I was very pleased since I wasn't about to buy a truly used ironing board cover (besides, who donates a cover to Goodwill without the board?), and I wasn't inspired enough to make my own.
Sadly, though, this cover was apparently made for people who don't actually iron on their ironing boards, because after only a year of use, the fabric has gotten burnt and now tears if you even look at it too hard.
So, now my ironing board has a new, heavy duty cover, just like the old 13-year-tour-of-duty cover I originally had.
It's made of the same metallic fabric.
And I'm quite sure it's going to last more than a year.
It cost $20 at Amazon
, and if it lasts for 13 years, that's $1.53/year. Definitely worth it.
And the Goodwill purchase was decidedly not worth it. Sure, it was a smaller upfront cash outlay, but the cost per year was astronomically higher.
Fortunately, most of my Goodwill purchases have worked out much better (I'm looking at you, new-in-the-package queen bed mattress cover!)
You win some and you lose some, but the Goodwill win/loss ratio is definitely in my favor.
Have you ever bought something from Goodwill and then regretted it?
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Sorry about your Goodwill loss, but glad you had a good outcome. Our Goodwill was shut down for a month due to construction, Ohhh the agony. It finally opened back up this week!!!!!
A padded ironing board cover is one of the things I have on my Christmas wish list. My family thinks I'm crazy, but I've been using a towel over a metal ironing board for too long.
I'm curious did it come new in the package burned like in the picture? Can you return things to Goodwill and get your money back?
Oh, no, it was brand spankin' new when I bought it! The burns happened just from me doing normal ironing.
I must not iron enough for this to be an issue. I can live with that. 🙂
I second that notion!
I never learned to iron. I figured if I didn't know how, I'd never have to do it. It's worked so far.
I'm with you, WilliamB. I stink at ironing. My hubby is much better and much faster, so that works out pretty well. 🙂
I had to learn by ironing pillowcases when I was about 8 or 10. I don't iron a lot, especially pillowcases, but when you line dry, there are some things that look like crap if they aren't ironed. Other things just look better, and thankfully, a lot of it can be lived with until body heat smoothes things out. And a decent ironing board cover makes it easier to do.
Consisidering all that you do save I'd have to say this fail is pretty negligible. You win most you; lose occasionally. 🙂
A recent fail was a pair of khaki pants I bought when all dressing rooms were full , so I went ahead and bought them, tried them on at home, looked in the mirror and LAUGHED. Out loud. This purchase was more than offset by the pair of new Coldwater Creek black capris I scored for 6.99, that fit perfectly.
I re-donated ( if that's a word!) the khakis.
I can imagine...I often think things look like my size on the hanger, but then I try them on, and sometimes I can't zip the item or it's too short, or, or, or!
I did buy a very fun green skirt without trying it on, but a skirt is so different than pants. The fit doesn't have to be nearly as precise.
I bought a stainless steel travel mug from a thrift store once. It was a complete fail because even though it looked brand new it leaked like crazy when I tried to drink from it. I ended up recycling it rather than donating it for another unsuspecting thrifter!
a near fail of mine is when i almost got a pair of rain boots from freecycle. the donor informed me via email that, yes the boots were still available, but they had a crack on the toes of one boot, and would i still be interested? well i don't know about many of you, but i sure did not know how to mend a crack in a rubber rain boot, so needless to say, i passed it on.
The last time I bought an ironing board cover I noticed that they were rated for frequency of use. "Occasional" ironing, "regular" ironing, and "frequent" ironing, or something like that. I thought that was pretty funny but also helpful.
My recent goodwill fail was candles that I thought would surely fit in our Advent wreath but they are way too small. Now we have some very tall, skinny, purple birthday candles, I guess. Only 0.95 Euro lost though (that would be about $1.30 for 10 candles.)
The vast majority of my thrift fails are pants, as the Salvation Army I frequent doesn't have a fitting room. I now have a policy of only buying pants there if 1) I'm familiar with the sizing of the brand, and/or 2) they're insanely cheap. Other than that, I think my thrift purchases actually have a lower failure rate than my new purchases. This could be due to my being pickier about quality from the thrift shop, as the secondhand pricing makes it easier for me to buy the really good stuff, and I'm more drawn to familiar brands and items made in America. Also, with regard to clothing, if something's still in good shape after it's been used by one family, then I think it's more likely to continue to hold up well, as opposed to new, unwashed items that haven't been tested by real-world ownership.
That's how I look at Goodwill shopping, the quality must be good if it has made it that far!
Claudia,
A quick but usually pretty accurate sizing tip is to button the pants closed then put waist around your neck...if the pants touch "closed" this size will fit you (I've had good luck...) and you will now only need to make sure the length is good, which you can usually eyeball...It's a great tip to use for stores with no dressing rooms or if you have no time to try them on!
Clothes are most often my secondhand fail. Our Sally Ann has a small skanky dressing room with no mirror. Not very helpful!
I am bad at clothes-thrift shopping. I'm sucked in by the low prices then never wear it!
So I have a new rule: Only buy something I would pay full (or well, okay, sale) price for.
I once bought a clothes drying rack there. I set it outside to dry cloth diapers on (and to sun-bleach stains). We by no means live in a windy place, but even the daintiest wind would knock the thing over. It broke the first day we used it. Needless to say, it went back to Goodwill.
Words to thrift by: Always look at an item very carefully when you are shopping.
I've been thrifting for a long time so I should know better but sometimes in the thrill of the hunt and the excitement of an initial impression I get carried away and make purchases I latter regret.
I was at an Estate Sale a week ago and found what I thought was a perfect box of Christmas cards.
I enjoy bird watching and incorporate that passion into several aspects of my life, such as bird motifs on clothing, or bird themed accessories for my home. So when I saw a box of Dayspring Christmas cards that showed a flock of Cardinals on snow covered evergreen boughs I took a look. Printed on the card's cover was "In the birds singing and snow falling, in fires crackling and trees swaying, all the world seems to be saying Jesus Christ is born!" Perfect, bird themed & Christian message. What could be the problem? I didn't look to see what else was in the box. I spent $2.00 and there was only one of those cards in the box, how disappointing! Five of the other cards were OK and I'll use them but I put the rest of the cards in my donate box. Live & learn.
"this cover was apparently made for people who don't actually iron on their ironing boards" Haha, that would be me!
Oh, that's rough! I too would have felt confident in the purchase being it was brand new/in packaging. The only problem I've ever had with Goodwill was some picture frames. The paint began flaking off within the first couple of months. I could repaint it, but I'm more worried about what hazardous things might be in the paint to begin with. Since then, I've taken to buying plain wood (no paint) frames at the dollar store and painting them myself. At lease then I can control what paint is used!
I once got a vintage dress that I thought was going to be amazing but it totally didn't suit my 20th/21st self. Pretty fabric though.
I've picked up some children's clothing that quickly lost buttons, zipper pulls, etc, once the kids started wearing it. I've become more skilled over the years at finding the items in good shape...more discerning would be a better way to put it! I'm still 100% devoted to buying second-hand! 🙂
I can't think of any real Goodwill stuff that I've regretted purchasing. I've bought some impulse stuff only to decide later that I didn't really want it...like a set of heart-shaped wicker baskets with lace trim, that hang on the wall. So I left donated those back.
I'm sorry about the ironing board cover...but I"m glad you bought one that actually works well. I'd be curious to know how long it lasts.You'll have to be blogging a long time now, so we can find out 😉 🙂
Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
I was at Goodwill last week and saw a brand new box of very pretty ornaments with the original Target brand price printed on the tip corner; Target price $4.50 cents and then I looked at the Goodwill tag and they were pricing it at $6.00. I thought it might be a mistake and asked the clerk and she informed me no that was the right price. It was what they were pricing all their "fancy" boxed ornaments set at, it kinda made me laugh and no I didn't buy them.
I've had the same experiance at Value Village. The least they could do is remove the lower price tag.
Two major fails:
a flea-infested blanket,
a sweater that only smelled of cat pee after I washed it.
About $1.50 all told.
My biggest resale store fails are kids' clothes and boots. I used to frequent Once Upon a Child because every other mom kept telling me how the clothes there were such a great deal. Well, for a kid who won't try things on in the store (he's 3), trying to find things that fit are challenging, since the best method for me is to buy them, then try them on at home.
The Once Upon a Child is not near any of my regular shopping areas, so I have to make a special trip to go there. My son seems to like the clothes I buy for him at Target and Meijer (usually $5 or less for shirts and $10 or less for pants), I know their sizes, the Target is next to the Meijer, and I do all my grocery shopping at Meijer. So in terms of convenience, ease of return, and knowing the sizing of that brand, I've given up on Once Upon a Child. It seems like the prices aren't much better than the Meijer and Target stuff. Maybe if I had an urge to put my kids in brand-name stuff, it'd be a "good" deal, but for now, I'll buy new.
Oh, and because of the many Once Upon a Child stores around here, Goodwill has terrible selection and quality in kids' clothes!
I don't go to Once Upon a Child anymore because they are much pricier than a regular thrift store and for a better quality find, try going every 3 days to your local thrift stores, you will find more good stuff, the good stuff flies fast!