Social media users say Goodwill prices are soaring. Here's what that looks like in Arizona

A steady flow of a dozen people walked between the neatly organized shelves as they browsed for affordable finds at a roomy Goodwill store in the east Valley on a recent weekday evening.

TikTok users have grumbled about a perceived spike in cost at Goodwill. But Phoenix-area shoppers are still finding affordable items.

Prices "are pretty steady," said 23-year-old Tempe resident Vanessa Landreth while at the store's front register. Her eyes squinted from behind her black-framed glasses as she added, "Maybe a little bit higher over the years."

Landreth checked out a couple of garment items. Sometimes Landreth may grab more merch as the store regularly offers special discount days. With a son in daycare, Landreth regularly searches for bargains.

A loveseat sofa towards the back of the east Valley store had a tag hanging off it that read $19. Several feet away, a set of five ceramic dinner plates was being sold at $5.49, while a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker had a $12.49 sticker label.

In the apparel section, a slightly faded black Sanctuary Clothing brand skirt with a flowery print was being sold at $5.99. Available at the same price was an off-white blouse decorated with red flowers and a fringe at its bottom. Hanging in a corner at a $5.49 price was a light blue cap branded with the logo of the pool supplies store Leslie’s.

In between customers, a store employee amiably confided that product prices have doubled in a year.

According to a local economist, prices may have shifted since a year ago due to the changing economy.

Social media users stunned

A woman filmed herself walking through a Goodwill in a TikTok video.

"Dude, Goodwill is tripping lately — tripping," the woman posting on the account beccaboomm says on the video as she points to a pink top being sold at the thrift store that still has the original $2.98 sticker price but is tagged $4.99 by Goodwill. She adds, "And they got it for free. They got it donated, and they’re doubling it."

Uploaded Aug. 10, the video has generated more than 1.6 million views. The most recent of the nearly 11,000 comments on the video include users expressing disappointment over the price increases at Goodwill.

Regarding a potential uptick in prices, Goodwill provided a statement pointing to how the revenue that stores generate from donated goods provides local residents with free occupational skills-building services.

"For that reason, when a store receives donations, they work to set a price that reflects fair market value for their local community while also making the most of the donated item’s value," read the statement.

The greater the revenue, the greater the help, Goodwill’s statement went on to say.

There are approximately 40 Goodwill stores across the Valley, according to the chain’s website store locator.

Goodwill Industries International was started more than 100 years ago in Boston by a Methodist minister seeking to employ the poor to sell the used goods of the wealthy, according to the nonprofit’s website.

Prices reflect economic change

George Hammond, director of the Economic and Business Research Center in the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, said the overall economy will impact the price of new and used goods.

Labor wages have been increasing in Phoenix at a "fairly rapid pace" not seen in 15 years, Hammond said. "At the same time, demand (for second-hand shops) is likely strong, partly because individuals' income has been rising."

Phoenix’s inflation for 2022 peaked at just above 13% last summer but it now matches the national 3.7% rate, Hammond said citing the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.

"Inflation has come down but when prices are rising rapidly as they have been over the past year, particularly for new goods, that will tend to increase demand for new goods as people look for cheaper alternatives," Hammond said.

Thrift shops like Goodwill, Hammond explained, play a useful role in the overall economy by helping shoppers stretch their budgets.

"They offer a way for people to find the things that they want at a reduced price. It's also possible to find kind of unique things in secondhand stores," like older goods such as jewelry, Hammond said. "The secondhand market plays a role in fashion trends."

Meanwhile, at the east Valley Goodwill location, 42-year-old Mesa resident Dora Garcia diligently perused the accessories aisle as her wide-eyed young daughter tried on a hunter-green wool felt hat. A mother of three searching for Halloween costumes, Garcia was unfazed by any shift in costs at Goodwill.

"The truth, (shopping here) helps," she said in Spanish as she nodded her head.

Republic reporter Laura Daniella Sepúlveda contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Are Phoenix Goodwill prices changing? Experts, shoppers weigh in