SEATTLE -- It's shopping like you've never seen. A Goodwill store in Seattle is attracting quite a crowd with its "bargains by the pound."
Every morning around 9 a.m., a couple dozen people stand in line, passing the time as they prepare to go to work at the Goodwill Outlet Store in South Seattle.
"Yeah. It's a good living," said one employee.
"It's like a 9-to-5 job, only the hours are a little odd," said another.
Goodwill - the organization that has long had a tradition of raising money by selling second hand goods -- has gone big time. That is, Goodwill has a couple of huge warehouse sized outlet stores, one in Seattle and one in Everett.
The small army of workers assaults blue bins full of all sorts of stuff – so much stuff, it's sold by the pound.
"Well, it's just easier for us than to try and sell each item each," said Bill Callaghan, Goodwill.
And once the doors are open, it's a shopping frenzy. You've got to see it to believe it: People literally toss books, clothes, toys, electronic items -- you name it -- into their carts. When it comes time to buy, they actually buy by the pound. That's how inexpensive this stuff is.
"A good deal of our shoppers here are not only the individual but the vendors that maybe are reselling on eBay or have their own little store or whatever, and they're crazy," said Callaghan. "They just can't get to the product quick enough. They want to be the first for the best."
"These are the things I'm going to consider, that I'm looking at. Almost all of this will go back," said Andy Ahlstrom, bookseller and Goodwill customer.
Goodwill "recycled" 24 million pounds of items last year, stuff that ordinarily would end up in a landfill. Best of all, the Seattle-area Goodwill was able to use the money it made on sales to help 2,700 people get back on their feet and re-enter the workforce.
The Seattle Goodwill Outlet Store is located at 1765 6th Avenue South in Seattle. Phone (206) 957-5516.
