Thrift Store Relents : Inflated Price Tags Turn Goodwill Ill

The toy stuffed bears at a Goodwill store in Canoga Park were spreading ill will Thursday.

So were the panther, the parrot and the lions.

Each was on a high shelf, out of the reach of most children. And each sported a $99.99 price tag, out of the reach of most adults shopping in the thrift shop.

The animals produced growls--from customers.

“This isn’t right,” said shopper Debbie Brenner of Calabasas. “This merchandise ought to be available to people who can’t go to Neiman-Marcus to buy kids’ toys.

Assistant store manager Annoula Oskian pulled a four-foot lion off the shelf and explained the unusual pricing policy.

“We don’t want to sell the big animals,” Oskian said. “We need them for displays to make the store look nice and attract attention.”

She said the large animals will be kept on display through the store’s busy Halloween shopping period. “We’ll drop these prices at the end of the month. It will be $9.99 after Halloween,” Oskian said.

Prices Set Last Week

The high prices for the toys were set last week, according to Goodwill customers. Until then, the large stuffed animals were not for sale at any price.

Shopper Mary Galpin of Hidden Hills said the $99.99 stickers were attached after she attempted to buy an untagged stuffed animal last week. When a clerk said the toy was not for sale, Galpin complained to Goodwill Industries officials in Los Angeles.

The officials told her that all merchandise in the store was supposed to be tagged and available for purchase. They assured Galpin that she could purchase the stuffed animal on her next visit to the store.

“But they had the $99 price tags on them when I went back,” Galpin said Thursday. “I was infuriated. As far as I’m concerned, they are not ‘for sale’ if they’re $99.”

At Goodwill headquarters, officials promised late Thursday to take the bite out of the animal prices.

$9.99 Today, Official Says

“They’re going to be sold for $9.99 tomorrow,” pledged Mary Cochran, vice president of operations for Goodwill’s 18 Los Angeles-area stores.

“It’s not our policy to hold anything back. If they put merchandise in the window and, two seconds later somebody wants it, it’s sold. That’s our policy.”

Cochran said the Canoga Park store manager erred by reserving the toys for display. “It’s unfortunate she lost sales from kids who like to play with them. The more money we can bring in, the more we can do for the 830 handicapped people we employ,” Cochran said.

News of the 90% price rollback was welcomed by shopper Brenner.

“I pass things on to Goodwill so people can get good use out of them, not so they will sit there and gather dust,” Brenner said.