Just last week in Ypsilanti, a brand new Goodwill store opened its doors in high hopes to benefit the community and create affordable options for those in need and students.
In order to gain press and raise community awareness to donate and shop at this new location, the store held private tours between Jan. 11-16 for community officials and reporters. Their grand opening took place at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16.
Many college students are known to shop at secondhand stores such as Goodwill because they are typically short on money. The Echo asked Vice President of Donated Goods Operations, Jeff Ukrainec a few questions in regards to his expectations of the store and the low prices that are being offered.
“I believe we will attract all demographics,” Ukrainec said about the type of crowd he believed the store will attract. “Goodwill will always have items of value. Our stores are a shopping destination for those on a budget, that includes students, and a frequent option for the larger college population looking to find that treasure or those trendy items that may be hard to find in traditional retail.”
So, just because the store is located in a college town doesn’t mean its main purpose was to cater strictly to college students, but to have diversity among shoppers. This purpose might have been construed by comparing the trends of other Goodwills located in college towns. The only real trend among students those stores see are when, “…students begin to fill their homes or dorm rooms, they look to resale for value. And as the year ends, they tend to come back to donate their items, instead of taking them home or storing them for the summer.”
According to Ukrainec, the store has had plenty of donations to fill it up in preparation for its’ grand opening. About 90 percent of items are donated and roughly 10 percent of items are brand new.
Once the store is filled up, what approach does Goodwill take to set the prices? By doing “price comparisons within the local community to ensure our prices are consistent with the surrounding areas and local competition.”
In addition to providing secondhand items to those in need and students in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area, the opening of this store has also created 20 new jobs for those who were in need of work.
If you are interested in checking out this new secondhand store, store hours are Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Interested in donating? Donation hours are Monday – Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The store is located at 3760 Carpenter Road, Ypsilanti.
