Florida Goodwill is better!

I live in Virginia, but am currently on vacation in Florida and will be here for a month. While I'm here in Florida, I always love shopping, both at regular retail stores and at Goodwill. I pretty much don't bother with Goodwill at home as I think the prices are somewhat high for used clothing.

I've only been in Florida for a week, but I've already managed to purchase 4 pairs of jeans, 3 shirts, a pair of high heels, and an ugly hawaiian shirt(that's a whole seperate story). All of the items came from Goodwill, are brand names I've actually heard of(like Polo and Express) and everything came to a total of $24.50(with insane Florida tax). That's better than getting 1 item at the outlet malls. I can't wait to see how many clothes I'll be taking back to Virginia with me. I guess it's a good thing I drove...

Before I left Virginia last week, I went to Goodwill to see how the prices compared to down here. I was shocked to say the least. Here is a sampling of what I found in both stores:

1. Ralph Lauren Polo shirt(black, short sleeved):

VA: $7

FL:$3

2. Express Jeans(dark wash, boot cut)

VA: $17

FL: $4

3. Gap tank top(built in bra, cotton)

VA: $4

FL: $1

Across the board, Florida was cheaper. Now it may be the locations that I shop since the Goodwills I visited in Richmond were in the city and the ones here on the island in Florida are much further out of Jacksonville, but still.

Looks like there is a good reason that I do all of my shopping down here. I'll be continuing that trend for the next few weeks that I'm here. I'm keeping a running total of what I'm buying vs retail so I can do a Gather post. :)