SALT LAKE CITY — Inside an unassuming building in Salt Lake City lies a place where you can experience the competitiveness of Black Friday multiple times a day.
"Usually during the week it's like our resellers younger demographics; whereas, Friday and Saturday turns into like the families," said Ana Gomez, Goodwill Logistics and Recycling Manager.
The Goodwill Outlet looks and certainly is different than most thrift stores -- especially other Goodwill stores.
"We don't have sizes, we don't have different categories, there's really three main categories we have here which is textile, which is clothing and linen, hardlines which is pretty much anything not clothing and linen, so shoes, household stuff, purses, belts, accessories, and then we have books," said Gomez.
All the items lie in bins that are rotated multiple times throughout the day. They're covered by linen so as not to give away which bins might contain valuable finds.
"By covering it, it gives everyone an even playing field, you don't know what's inside we don't know what's inside," said Gomez.
When there's a new rotation, shoppers anxiously line up behind orange cones and when workers give the green light, thrifters like Ethan Dodini are off the races.
"The first 45 seconds I'm just picking up piles and throwing stuff and it's all kind of just feel for me if I'm feeling materials of nice shirts or Carhart that denim material that's like thicker," Dodini said.
Dodini says finding that lucky vintage item can require multiple hours of shopping, sifting, and sorting through the piles of clothing.
"I feel like everybody says they're good at thrifting or going to the bins, but I think it just comes down to luck," Dodini said.
What happens at "the bins" might seem a bit crazy and you'd be right, but when you hear how crazy the prices are you might understand why people are packing lunches and taking shifts to shop.
"The pricing is by the pound," Dodini said. "From 1-24 pounds it's $1.99 a pound from 24-99 pounds it's $1.79 and anything above 100 pounds is $1.49 usually that's kind of where people get hooked a little bit."
The bins are made up of everything that doesn't sell at the stores or isn't up to the stores' standard. That results in thousands of pounds of clothing, books, and more that Ana Gomez and other Goodwill Outlet employees use to fill the bins.
"I've been lucky enough to find Nike sweaters, one Carhart sweater for my little one, so super awesome stuff, it's really just luck and coming with time cause you do have to dig through so much stuff that you lose track of time," Gomez said.
Gomez believes everyone should give the outlet a shot once, but warning: you might get hooked on the rush of finding a brand-name item for the price of a soda.
"I think people will get more hooked than they think because it is so cheap and you find things you never thought you could find here," Gomez said.
The Goodwill Outlet is located at 1850 W 1500 S in Salt Lake City and is open Monday-Saturday.
