Goodwill Closes Online Marketplace GoodwillFinds, Leaves eBay Style Auction Site Open

Thrift retailer Goodwill has seemingly shuttered one of their online marketplaces, GoodwillFinds.com, after less than three years of operation, according to RetailTouchpoints.

Launched in October 2022, GoodwillFinds allowed various Goodwill stores to list items for sale and ship inventory directly to buyers. The creation of the site was reportedly an attempt to move into the growing online resale market, but failed to gain traction.

A bevy of customer complaints related to high prices and expensive shipping costs had plagued the business in recent months.

“We want to express our sincere gratitude for your loyalty and support of GoodwillFinds over the past few years. As of March 28th, GoodwillFinds.com is no longer able to accept new orders,” a message posted to the site’s landing page read.

“Where may I shop online for Goodwill treasures? Goodwill shoppers can continue to go to www.ShopGoodwill.com for great finds from 130+ Goodwill sellers, including art, antiques, collectibles, apparel, jewelry, electronics and much more. You can also keep supporting Goodwill by shopping at your local Goodwill store,” it continued.

GoodwillFinds Closed, But ShopGoodwill Continues as an eBay Competitor

As the company gestured toward, while GoodwillFinds has ceased operations, sister site ShopGoodwill is the preferred replacement put forth by the thrift giant.

ShopGoodwill operates very much like eBay, inasmuch as items are placed up for a timed auction, with the highest bidder taking down the purchase. Also similarly to eBay, many listings are created as “buy it now” events, wherein a static price is applied to an item and the first person to agree to said price can instantly purchase.

As RetailTouchpoints pointed out, many retailers have difficulty wringing profit from lower-priced goods when it comes to selling via online marketplaces. And while Goodwill, like other thrift operations, receives many of its products via donation ($53.6 million in 2023/2024, per the Goodwill website), it claims to return 90 cents on every dollar earned to its mission: to provide “access, information, and resources to help people improve their lives through the power of work.”