The Best Way to Shop at Goodwill if You Want to Find Hidden Gems (and Pay Less)

I pride myself on being in the know with thrifting methods, flea markets around the country, and antique stores, even when I travel outside where I live in the New York City tristate area. What can I say? I love to shop, and I’m all about a good deal.

While I do think secondhand shopping is a bit easier and often cheaper in person (since you can assess items and their states while in hand), I’ve begun to add more online sources into my rotation. I’ll check out Etsy, 1st Dibs, Live Auctioneers, and Housing Works (a local New York chain of thrift stores) from time to time. But the latest secondhand resale website I’ve been refreshing on repeat is Goodwill. 

I’m late to the game here, but I truly did not know Goodwill had e-commerce (through emailing with Nicole Morrison, Goodwill’s director of marketing and communications, I’ve since learned the site is in its 26th year of operation). Visit ShopGoodwill.com, though, and you’ll see that the website carries many of the same categories you’d see in store, from art and vinyl to clothing and home decor, and beyond.

Donated items are sourced from the chain’s stores, and they tend to be unique and sometimes rare. More than 130 Goodwill regions across the United States and Canada put up pieces for sale on the platform, and the website is operated by Goodwill of Orange County in California.

The bulk of the items ShopGoodwill.com are auctioned off, so if something catches your eye, you’ll have to bid and monitor the activity to “win” what you’re after. But a quick scan of the website at press time, and plenty of pieces were available without any bids at all. Bigger ticket brands — Ugg, Waterford crystal, Chanel (yes, I found a Chanel bag on the platform!) — obviously have more interest. Like other auction sites, though, you can set a maximum bid and then check in closer to the end of the bidding period if you decide you want to go higher to snag something. 

Typically, multiple pictures of each item are available so you can get a decent sense of something’s condition. A fun feature is that the photos bear a watermark of what Goodwill the item is coming from, just in case you’re curious. Items are organized into categories — antiques, for the home, and art are three I’m bookmarking — but you can also browse by featured items and newly listed items, too. You can also search by keywords for an even more tailored approach.

As Morrison pointed out over email, ShopGoodwill.com offers two additional ways to shop: 

• Buy It Now Auction: “This allows shoppers to purchase an item immediately at a set price before bidding exceeds that amount,” Morrison says. “If no one uses the ‘Buy It Now’ option and bidding continues, the item is awarded to the highest bidder at the end of the auction. 

• Buy It Now Non-Auction (Fixed Price Listing): “In this format, items are listed at a fixed price without any bidding involved,” Morrison says. “Shoppers can purchase the item outright, just like on a typical e-commerce site.” 

The “Buy Now” button only exists for certain items. Once you click on a pure “Buy Now” item, you can see what shipping and handling costs as well as where the item will be coming from.

Regardless of whether you win an auction or purchase a “Buy Now” piece outright, items can be picked up locally if you’re near the Goodwill you are purchasing from. And that’s another way to shop, too; if you click on a given product and scroll to the bottom of the page, you’ll see other items available for sale at that location. 

According to Morrison, ShopGoodwill.com is worth checking out every day, since items are added daily throughout the day. “More than 40,000 new treasures are listed online every day by the 130+ Goodwill regions who sell donated goods on ShopGoodwill.com,” she says. “Last month, in May of 2025, more than 977,000 items were listed on ShopGoodwill.com.”

Like other auction sites, it’s probably worth taking a look around the offerings any time you have a bit of downtime. And that’s it — no gatekeeping here! Just another way to secondhand shop and score deals at Goodwill, if you’re interested in putting in the time and effort. The bidding format lends itself to driving — and controlling — the sale price.