‘Come on’: Wisconsin dad goes to Goodwill for cheap kids clothing and finds a 50-cent sticker hiding under a $6.99 price tag

A Wisconsin father of five named Max recently went to Goodwill to find affordable clothes for his kids. But instead of a good deal, he found something that made him angry and frustrated. He shared his experience in a TikTok video posted under the account @maxandjess24, and it quickly went viral across social media.

In the TikTok video, Max is seen looking through boys’ swim trunks at Goodwill. He noticed a pair of swim shorts priced at $6.99. When he looked more closely, he found a sticker hidden at the bottom of the shorts. That sticker showed the original price, just 50 cents, which is a massive difference from what the store was charging.

Max did not hold back his reaction. “Come on, Goodwill,” he said, clearly frustrated and disappointed. According to The Nerd Stash, the video has since gathered a lot of attention, with many viewers sharing their own bad experiences with Goodwill’s pricing practices and joining the conversation online.

Goodwill’s pricing is drawing serious backlash from thrift shoppers who feel let down

Commenters on the video were quick to respond, and many of them were just as frustrated as Max. One commenter said, “Please don’t go to Goodwill anymore. You will be disgusted with that company if you dig deeper.” These comments show that many people feel Goodwill is putting profits ahead of the people who depend on the store for affordable clothing.

The core issue that many shoppers have raised is that Goodwill relies entirely on donated items from the community. People give away their old clothes and household items for free, with the expectation that those items will be sold cheaply to people who need them. When those same donated items show up on the shelf with price tags far higher than their actual value, it feels like a betrayal of that trust. 

Finding a 50-cent item being sold for $6.99 is a clear example of just how wide that gap has become. Other shoppers pointed out that this problem is not limited to Goodwill alone. One commenter wrote, “People at garage sales r upper their prices too. Walmart is the cheapest. It sucks but anything to save money.” 

This is a feeling shared by many thrift shoppers who are now finding that second-hand stores are no longer the budget-friendly option they once were. Wisconsin has also been in the news for other shocking stories, such as a Wisconsin husband who faked his own death and left his family with $200k in debt.

Another commenter brought up a separate but related issue with thrift shopping, saying, “Isn’t that the same thing that everyone does by cheap and sell high.” This is an important point for shoppers who are already tight on money and cannot afford to take a chance on items they cannot return if something is wrong with them.

Thrift stores like Goodwill depend on donated items from the community. So, when those same donated items are resold at prices far above what they are worth, it raises real questions about fairness and who these stores are actually serving. Many people who shop at thrift stores do so because they simply cannot afford to shop anywhere else, which makes the inflated prices even harder to accept. 

Max’s video has opened up a wider conversation about how thrift stores price their items and who they are really serving. As the cost of living continues to rise, more families are turning to second-hand shopping to stretch their budgets, which makes fair and honest pricing at these stores more important. The state has also seen other deeply troubling cases, including a Wisconsin widower accused of killing his wife and proposing to a new girlfriend shortly after.