Are you familiar with Goodwill? If you missed it, back in October Piper and I visited Goodwill’s Milgard Work Opportunity Center and learned about all the amazing things they do. Goodwill is so much more than a thrift store.

I invite you to learn all about Goodwill’s Milgard Center and hopefully share it with someone, located in Downtown Tacoma it is a school house that serves 9,800 unemployed with training/job placement programs. The center is also open to the public with a coffee shop and a bistro that serves lunch made by the culinary students. Just fyi the food is delicious!

I’m here to tell you a little secret, you may not know…..Goodwill has an online store!

That’s right, you can shop Goodwill from the comfort of your own home. Grab your phone, computer or tablet and start bidding!

How is https://www.shopgoodwill.com/ different then a physical store?

Most of those rare finds that people donate are scooped up and moved from the thrift store to their online business. Find everything from antiques, LEGOS by the lb, vintage toys, pop culture collectibles, Star Wars, higher end electronics, higher end decor and more. They’ve auctioned off a Michael Jackson jacket valued at $2 million; an original copy of the Declaration of Independence $477,650 at auction; Vince Lombardi’s West Point coaching sweater – $43,020; even a 360 year old painting which sold for $190,000.

When’s the best time to shop online?

Anytime is a good time 😉 But they do receive a large number of donations at the end of the year and builds volume through March. But again, like shopping at a physical store you never know when you’ll find a treasure!

Support your local Goodwill.

Each participating Goodwill has a virtual “storefront” where their current auction items are listed ahead of the offers across the rest of the site. Tacoma and Seattle’s storefront can be found at www.shopgoodwill.com/goodwillwa and only receives revenue from the items they put on the site. Check out the site for one-cent shipping and an instant purchase price for an item(buy it now).
Tips for bidding. 

·Know what you are willing to bid as a maximum at that time (do the research on google, previous shopgoodwill.com auctions, other sites ahead / treasure hunting is 85% research, 15% action).
·Refresh your page in the final minutes frequently to get the action taking place.
·If you want to be the fastest bidder entering your maximum bid just ahead of the final 3 – 4 minutes knowing how many bidders you are really bidding against. (Maximum bid = $1 usually above the highest bid at the moment)… if you get a message you are outbid, then you know someone has topped your top bid and you need to make a decision whether to enter one last higher bid…
·If all the frenzy is too much then enter your maximum bid at 3 – 4 minutes and just let the automation work for you and either win or live to bid another day (your net will find more similar items down the road)

Don’t be afraid.

The site can be very easy to use; do a simple key word search, or set up your own personal shopper where you can add up to 10 words/items. Set up email notifications. If you don’t feel like bidding then look only for items that have a buy now option.

Another fun fact!! It’s tax time; did you know families/singles that make under $54,000 per year can receive free tax assistance and electronic filling?  The tax center, located at Goodwill’s Milgard Work Opportunity Center, 714 S. 27th Street in Tacoma, is one of 75 centers throughout western Washington serving singles and families making less than $54,000 per year. Goodwill, the IRS, the Pierce County Asset Building Coalition, and financial supporter KeyBank reopened the FREE Tacoma tax center on January 23 – hours of operation are Tuesday – Thursday, 3:30 – 7 p.m. Due to high demand reservations are necessary at Milgard (253.573.6832) and many other locations. Visit http://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/ and type in your zip code for other nearby sites.

I’m off to browse ShopGoodwill and if you’re interested in my finds please go follow my Instagram, I love sharing my treasures! And please leave me a comment with any of your finds, it makes me so happy seeing the things people find and knowing we are all helping the environment!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Goodwill, however all opinions expressed here are my own.