I was inspired by what you wrote about karma, especially when it means possible stellar shopping in the future and helping out a friend.
I don’t know if you’ll be interested in this, but I sure was, and if not maybe you could post the tip so someone can score it.I saw a seriously GORGEOUS black leather satchel in the window (at Goodwill Upper West). I went to look and found out it was Coach (yum) and looked to be in great condition. Unfortunately the sales lady snapped at me before I could do a full inspection…when I asked if I could buy it she told me that window display items don’t go on sale until Friday (what’s the freak?). Well, today is Friday, and I thought MAYBE I could make it back to NYC to get it, but alas, the shopping gods were not with me on this one. So I’m hoping that you Cheap JAP, or another Cheap JAP in training, can have it…I mean we all have to stick together with these kinds of deals.
The lady told me it was $35…which is slightly pricey but in my opinion the item was wahayy worth it. It looks quite similar to this:
…I thought a fellow lover of all things handbag and leather would want to know. Hope your wallet and shopping bag stay full!
Firstly, a note to Goodwill: Being written up in the Times doesn’t mean you get to act like a high-end boutique. We don’t shop you because you’re attractive; we shop you because you’re cheap. You want to keep doing well in this recession? Stop farting around with window displays, start working on those people skills, and don’t forget that who keeps you in business isn’t a trophy wife slummin’ it for kicks – it’s those of us who can’t afford to shop where she usually shops.
If one of your regular customers wants the handbag in the window, and the handbag in the window isn’t technically available until Friday, you do not deny her request. This isn’t fucking Bergdorf Goodman. You swap out the item for something else, thank her for her business and send her on her merry way, because the customer is always right.
If Jen’s story were written in children’s book form, it’d look something like this:
Girl finds handbag.
Girl loves handbag.
Girl can actually afford handbag.
Girl not allowed to purchase handbag.
The conclusion of this story is one of the warmer, fuzzier things I’ve ever read…so why didn’t I post the tip, as per Jen’s request? The way I see it, any girl who selflessly shares info of this kind – who tips off her fellow shoppers in lieu of competing with them – truly deserves the bag she wasn’t allowed to buy. So, upon receiving this email last Friday afternoon, I hit the Upper West Side Goodwill in an attempt to remedy this situation: I figured I’d buy the bag for Jen on the off-chance it was still there, and have her reimburse me for it on her next shopping trip into the city (this is Cheap JAP, after all
)Me: Hi! I’m looking for a black Coach bag a friend of mine saw in your window display earlier this week.
Goodwill: Oh noooo. We sold that early this morning.
Me: Are you sure it was the same bag? Did it look like this one? (showing pic sent by Jen of similar-looking bag in red)
Goodwill: Was it this one here? (showing disgusting-looking, no-name maroon messenger bag)
Me: No. It looked like this picture, but it’s Coach.
Goodwill: Red or black?
Me: BLACK.
Goodwill: I TOLD you, we SOLD it already. Someone else got here first.
Me: Well, technically, my friend got here first, but was told she couldn’t buy it until Friday.
Goodwill: Well, nothing in the window goes on sale until Friday.
Me: That’s a shame, don’t you think?
Goodwill: (Icy glare).
I’m fairly sure Jen and I encountered the same saleswoman, based on the above interaction. Thankfully, what goes around comes around, which means a better bag from a less asshole-ish Goodwill branch is certainly in the cards for her.
A big fat kudos to Jen for her good deed. I hope your wallet and shopping bag stay full too, dollface.
tags: 
This is easily one of my biggest pet peeves. My friend and I were similarly denied at a Ross — ROSS! You would think that, in this economy, people would try harder to provide good customer service.
Priceless!!!!
Most stores will strip the mannequin to get you the item you want. If you’re in the business of selling things, it makes sense to sell an item when someone wants to buy it. I’ve had a few stores tell me that display items aren’t available until a certain day. It takes out the fun and makes me realize that I don’t really need the item. It also makes me think less positively of the store. Honestly, those stores have stopped some impulse buys so I guess I should thank them.
haha this is such a sweet story!
That was very sweet of you to try and get the bag for Jen! Good karma to both of you!
The Goodwill’s around here are notorious for their outrageous prices. The closest Goodwill to me I will never, ever shop at nor donate to again. They have been rude, changed prices even though they are clearly marked, and priced higher for chain store crap than our local consignment shops with quality, high-end designer goods. Seriously, they wanted $250 for a dirty, disgusting faux fur from someplace like the Gap or Banana Republic, and at the consignment shop I scored Louboutins for under $100 in pristine, worn once condition.
I recently read that they are trying to upgrade their image into a high-end thrift store. I have no idea what this reasoning is, especially in this economy when more and more people are forced to thrift shop rather than do it for the enjoyment or the recycling benefits. Boo hiss. I’ll stick with our local small charity run shops that know what second-hand should cost. Plus, more of the money actually goes to the charity rather than a board of execs or advertising and marketing teams.
Cheers!
Suzanne
Goodwill on the upper east side is the same. Window items are only sold on Saturdays. They also raised their prices.
You should both be blessed with good thrifting luck! I can’t believe the way the woman is acting, you should complain to the manager!
She was probably abusing her employee status and had already called dibs
I live in Boston, an even unfriendlier city than New York (though, actually, I find nyc VERY friendly, but maybe it’s b/c I’ve lived in Boston too long).
Anyway, a friend from Chicago was visiting me here, and she noted that our cab had a plexiglass barrier between the front and back seats. She asked the driver, a 50something man from one of the banana countries, why that was. He turned around and said, “Because People are Asshole.”
Yes. As Goodwill cashier proves, people ARE asshole.
We can only hope that someone who really loved the bag ended up with it, and that all who admired it but were told “NO” will find an even better bag deal in their futures.
In the meantime, is there a manager, or someone to speak with about their policy? At the very least, I would think the sales (or “NO SOUP FOR YOU!”-sales) people would say, “If you’d like to pay for it now, you can pick it up any time after Friday when we change our display…”