Goodwill Industries of Eastern NC - New Bern — Local services in New Bern

I LOVE LOVE thrifting, but what I don't love is thrifting in a place that jacks up prices just because. They offer a lot of clothing in all sizes, colors, seasons, materials and etc which is great but after having not gone in there for a bit I walked in to higher prices.....mind you those same clothes that had been there months ago are now costing more due to their increase. You still get a fantastic deal....I got my son his JR High prom out there for a total of $13, you can't beat that (and he was named Prom King!!!!) I love going in and seeing if there is Pyrex, Fire King or Glassbake dishes. And my boys head straight to the suits. All I am saying is there is no need to raise the prices as high as they do on the items they have. I have 5 kids and to be able to afford clothes and Prom Suit thrifting is the way to go.....and it's intention was not to drain folks pockets but to do the opposite and help folks afford to buy items they need (used or a lot of times you can find things new) at next to nothing or very low cost. It seems GCF has gone they way of making it more about a profit for them and less about the people it was first started for in 1902. Their Mission Statement has long since been lost it seems.....I don't doubt it helps those in need though jobs, schools, scholarships etc This stores staff is friendly but often "missing" when people need to check out. I often wonder what the turn round time is for items that are brought in. I have dropped bags of clothes, toys and furniture and it was about 2 months before I saw the furniture and toys out and 3-4 months before I saw the clothes, the only issue was by then the clothes were out of season. Someone could of used those winter jackets, sweater and hoodies. Their back room is always full.....I just started giving it away or posting it on FB...

Sorry to tell you that most of what you give to this organization goes to the dump. That's what I was told by one of the workers there. I had to clean out my father's home when he died and I had a lot of household things and clothing to deal with. I brought pristine quality clothes to Goodwill, but it was older stuff, so no doubt most of it wasn't put on their shelves. Goodwill New Bern just gets too much and they don't have great solutions to deal with it. The worker said some of the clothing and blankets, etc. that isn't trashed is shredded and made into door matts for Lowe's or places like that. Personally, I think it would be much better to bring your stuff to a poor area and offer it there rather than bring loads and loads to this place. New Bern has become a popular place for retirement, so eventually many older people pass away here. Their relatives often don't live in the area, so that's why there is so much sent to places like Goodwill or just thrown out with the trash. You could also put a free advert on Craigslist and offer others to just take it away. Well that's all. I just wanted to let you know with the hope that less is wasted and sent...

I agree with a previous rating on here that it is disorganized in here. All clothing sizes are mixed together. At least they try to group the mens shirts by color. Very frustrating that you have take the pants off the hanger, look for the size, and then if you are polite, hang them back up again. Out of fustration many just throw them back over the rack...which I bet really ticks off the employees who have to re-hang them. So if they had a better solution, it would eliminate aggravation on both ends, and I've seen better situations and other thrift shops where they are sorted by waist size, no guarantee people put them back in the proper place, but it's a start. Also have seen another thrift store hang them in such a way that the waistband it is showing and easily accessible. I think my biggest complaint though is pricing. And although the clothing may still be somewhat reasonable, even though I did notice an increase there as well, I have noticed that other things in the store are priced very high! To the point that they really are not good buys at all anymore, especially considering most things that are in there aren't in...