Given the increase in demand they may very well have discovered that they can get that much for them - from the uninformed anyway. ;)

Still, it can't hurt to mention it and see what the response is.

Dave

Like everything else today. People want to try and make as much money as they can. Canning jars are only a single item thats headed towards price gouging. You can let them know the price is high. Hard water lines? That might also mean that if they were in a BWB, it was not covering the tops of the jars with at least 2 inches of water.

Is it some kind of Salvation Army / charity / Church-run thrift shop, or a private enterprise?

If the former, I'd let them know. If it's a private outfit, I wouldn't bother.

As an aside, I dropped off a trunk-load of used kids clothes the other day for the local volunteer-staffed, Church-run thrift, and there almost wasn't room in their cavernous reception room for more stuff, and there were a dozen people sorting stuff out of bags. The shop itself was jammed. Which, I guess, is all good - people giving away stuff they no longer need to those who do. You'd have to really look to find anything priced over $5.00.

It was a Goodwill in SW Ohio in a highly commercial area.

I've noticed that Goodwill is pricing themselves right out of the thrift market, at least for me. I visited a new one just this morning and laughed out loud at some of the prices. They're more than regular retail in some cases.

Do you think they'd care if you did tell them? You'd thnk these stores would just disapear after a while with no business.

The Goodwill is ridiculous in their prices here, too. Sometimes you can find a box of jars for a decent price, but I also saw single jars for a dollar each. Just crazy. Those needing a bargain can't afford those prices. You can buy new cheaper. I don't know when their insane prices will stop. I rarely bother going there any more.

Ahhh! So it's not just me thinking their prices are a bit steep. Our local Goodwill had a lot of new, still-in-the-box merchandise that was priced higher than regular sale-retail when I was in there about a month ago.

The Goodwill Store here also has outrageous prices. I seldom stop there to look for bargains anymore. Unless you want clothes or books, forget it. I saw well used comforters there for more than brand new ones at Wal*Mart.

The Goodwill in this area has been pricing on par with and sometimes higher than the local Walmart for a few years now. If there's something in particular I'm looking for, I check the Walmart prices online before I hit Goodwill. The Goodwill here is also carrying more of the "Liquidation/Dollar Store" type items and it takes up a large portion of the store. Luckily, there are a couple of other thrift stores nearby that actually feel like thrift stores.
I know Goodwill puts people to work, but it seems they've been stretching the "goodwill" part of their pricing. And just how much do they spend on those TV ads? Seems awfully commercial to me.JMO

It's very interesting. Our "local" Goodwill stores (On I-70 in Indiana a half hour and an hour west of this one respectively) have nice stuff at decent prices. This fall, I was shocked to find school uniform pants for my daughter with the tags on, paid $3 or so each and probably saved $50 on 5 pairs. Having just moved into a large victorian home, I've been picking up nick-nacks and tools and baskets and things, and I've felt good about what I've spent...

I'm still looking for a dehydrator...hoping...

I think, but I'm not sure, that Goodwill makes more money selling their stuff in bulk. There is a chain of thrift stores here in Chicago area that buys the stuff by the pound. This thrift is a for profit place, no charity involved. (At least the Goodwill stores are semi-clean. The Salvation Army stores, are filthy, stinky AND over-priced.)

I laugh at high prices too, wonder who does the pricing? One of my favorite thrifts run by the women's shelter has recently jacked up the prices. They have lots of bored housewives volunteering there doing the pricing. Someone needs to tell them it's not Neiman Marcus. LOL. So I know what you mean about being hesitant to say anything, gosh, wouldn't want the ladies to think I was cheap!!!

The only clothes I buy new are jeans, otherwise everything's used. I hate to buy anything retail, nothing is made here.

I was in the SalVal recently and noticed they dropped the prices on glassware, they were getting too pricy, I didn't ask the manager what was up.
You never see canning jars on our Thrift stores around here, people either, keep them in the cellar forever, give them away or toss them.
The neighbor cleaned out the grandparents house and was taking boxes of canning jars to the dumpster, I rooted thru them and found a 1/2 dozen blue Mason qt and pint jars with zinc lids to save from the landfill last weekend.

There are good buys at Goodwill - I bought an almost new KitchenAid mixer (in blue) for $15 (they probably had no idea the real value). But, on the whole, the prices for housewares are quite high. I did tell the store manager and she did drop a lot of the prices on housewares. The clothing prices are fixed and on a board above the racks. Shirts for $3.59 are good deals in my mind since I use a bleach solution in my kitchen and am always spilling or spraying some on my clothes.

You know they don't do any training or repairing by the handicapped like they used to. Now they are just a for-profit who gets their stuff free from donations. Such a deal. Must be quite profitable over all.

Never see canning jars or decent mixing bowls here. I don't think there are very many canners in my neck of the woods. The dumps must be full of jars. I can't even get my regular jam-buying customers to return the jars to me!

Nancy

I like to shop at our local Salvation Army store. They do a lot for our community. I also shop at the Senior Thrift shop and the ARC shop. I like to think that I am helping out organizations that help the people in our own neighborhood. Sometimes if I can't find anything I need, I will just write out a donation check. Who knows, my family could be on the receiving end of their services some day.
Donna

Nancedar,
Suggest that you charge a $2 deposit on each jar. Who knows, you might get lucky and someone brings you a bunch of them!

Ken - I already charge $5 for half-pint and $7 for pint. If I upped that they'd walk away. I did put a basket out, at our first Market day last Saturday, with a big sign for "Return the jars for Reuse and receive a free cookie." Had one with the gall to ask for a free cookie for a Smucker's jar. PUH-LEEZE!! I just laughed and told him that the dump has a glass recycling bin that was more worthy.

Nancy

Thats a big price to pay for a jar. At least you get the money back to buy more empties and supplies. I used to give jars of stuff away and soon realized that no one was giving me any empty jars back. Now I just don't give much away anymore. At least that person meant well, but I too would be offended a slight if I got commerical jars back that were not suitable for home canning. One elderly lady gave me a whole box of jars, but many were just for things like commercial mayo and jellies. Most were headed to the trash. She also gave me several boxes of pectin. Dates on the boxes were very old, like from the 1970's. Not usable. She gets the beets I grew every summer. Now, I can't grow those anymore due to kidney issues.

I'm in Seattle about two miles from the single largest Goodwill store. About two years ago I got so angry at the ridiculous prices on their used canning jars (most without lids) I started posting photos of the jars, showing the prices, on their Facebook page. Once I found two wide-mouth one-qt jars priced at 5.99 each. I shared links showing how much they'd cost at a grocery or department store. Eventually this shamed them into ceasing this practice, maybe for more than a year. But now they're doing it again. I don't have a Facebook account anymore but I'm tempted to open a new one just to protest this insanity again, or simply stop giving them any of my money or donations. Anyway, this is a tactic that can work.