On the job
I am enjoying my new job.
Yes, it has taken a huge chunk out of my free time which has been a real adjustment. But it's been a long time coming. It's nice to work for a large company again.
May people have asked me how shopgoodwill.com "works" -- so here's a quick explanation:
- shopgoodwill.com is an auction site, similar to eBay, where some (but not all) Goodwill thrift stores list items that have been donated; in this way, they can extend the reach of their customer base and, hopefully, earn more money from the donations. And you can go thrift shopping at Goodwills from all over the country -- from home!
- Every day I go into the headquarters office and sit at a desk and write auction listings for items that are sent to me from one of the five or so stores in my region. The managers/pickers of the different stores choose what they think is most interesting/valuable/has a wider potential audience than the store floor, and it's delivered to me at the e-store. It comes to me on a cart of mixed goods. More often than not, all the items have already been photographed for me. Sometimes I get to take the photos, too.
- I list more than 30 items a day.
- Some of the stuff I list is amazing, and some of it isn't.
- I don't get to choose what I list.
- After I write up the listing, I inventory the items and put them on a shelf. If they sell online, the customer pays for them online and another employee picks it and ships it.
- To find out if your local Goodwill sells online, visit shopgoodwill.com and click on "Search". Then use the pull-down menu for "Sellers" and you can view the list of shops/regions that sell on the site.
- Almost all of the auctions I list for Colorado start at
$9.99Edit 7/11/13: today we lowered that to $5.99!! Woo hoo!! (Some of the other Goodwills have a lower starting auction price than we do. I don't have a say in the starting price.) - I've been on the job 4 weeks now and am still learning about the shopgoodwill.com customer. It's a different customer than what I'm accustomed to and I find it fascinating to get to know what sells from their site -- and what doesn't.
- I love that my job keeps me busy every moment I'm there.
- I also love that I don't have a phone on my desk and I don't have to go to meetings (so far!)
- There is some awesome stuff available for sale on the site.
- I'm a little frustrated that the shipping system we use charges a lot and doesn't offer a lot of flexibility. But it doesn't seem to be hurting our bottom line -- and since that's the goal (raising money for Goodwill's programs) -- I guess I'll just have to try to look at it differently.
So far, I have only bought ONE THING from our online shop: this little steamer trunk.
Can you blame me? It was a total of $15, including tax and all -- and I didn't have to pay shipping, since I work at the "store."
It needs restoration. Oh goodie -- another project!
There's a crack in the lid and some of the hardware is missing.
But look at this sweet little label inside!
Did I mention it's petite?
I'm going to try to limit myself to buying just one item every pay period. Wish me luck!
I have listed many interesting things in the shop in the few weeks I've been working there. Here are some of my favorites:
Trophy (my very favorite)
Zandra Rhodes dress. (I listed this one for shopgoodwill.com on eBay to reach more fashionistas.)
I'm only one of the people listing in our online store, and we're only one of many stores that list on the site -- so there is so much more to choose from. If you've never shopped the site, you are in for a treat! If you try it, let me know how you like it!
Comments
I love that trunk, great find. I bought something from the Goodwill auction site many years ago and it was an easy process. I guess I'll check it out again...NOT that I need anything mind you! :)
This was a great post. I was surprised to learn that Goodwill also sells on eBay since I assumed that was a competition.
The little trunk is sweet, especially with the pink, and would have tempted me as well.
xoxo