Wisconsin is home to four Goodwill Outlets, also called Goodwill Bins, located across Milwaukee, Madison, Appleton, and Sturtevant. These unique thrift stores offer a completely different shopping experience from regular Goodwill locations, where you pay by the pound, which makes it easy to score deals on valuable items.
Unlike traditional thrift stores with neatly organized racks, Goodwill outlets feature large bins filled with clothing, shoes, home goods, and electronics that you dig through treasure-hunt style.
Bins are rotated with fresh inventory throughout the day, which keeps things interesting, giving shoppers multiple chances to find hidden gems. What makes Wisconsin’s outlets particularly appealing is that they offer a more laid-back shopping experience compared to outlets in other states, making them perfect for both casual bargain hunters and serious resellers.
Goodwill Outlets in Wisconsin
1) Goodwill Madison Outlet Store
The Goodwill Madison Outlet Store is located at 5525 Tradesmen Drive in Madison, Wisconsin, and features a unique shopping experience where items are organized in large blue bins and sold by the pound rather than individually priced.
Most clothing, home goods, and accessories are priced at approximately $1.59 per pound for purchases under 50 pounds, with discounted rates for larger quantities. Items like books, DVDs, and CDs are typically sold per unit at around $1.00 each, while oversized items such as furniture and bikes are individually priced.
All shoppers must wear gloves while browsing through the bins, which is both a hygiene requirement and proper outlet store etiquette. The store rotates bins 5 to 6 times throughout the day with fresh merchandise from regular Goodwill stores that didn’t sell within five weeks.
Customers must wait for staff to complete bin rotations before shopping, and only one customer or family is allowed per table at a time. All sales are final with no returns or exchanges, and merchandise is sold as-is.
2) Goodwill NCW Outlet Store – Appleton
The Goodwill NCW Outlet Store in Appleton operates as a unique “bins” thrift shopping experience located at 1341 W. Spencer St. Items are sold by weight at $1.89 per pound for wares, textiles, shoes, accessories, and electrical items, with individual items weighing 5+ pounds capped at $8.95 each.
Books and media cost $0.99 per item, while glass and breakable items are priced at $0.89 per pound. The store offers bulk discounts for larger purchases, such as $1.79 per pound for textiles when buying 25+ pounds. Items come from regular Goodwill retail stores that didn’t sell within five weeks and are continuously brought to the sales floor in blue bins throughout the day.
Bins are rotated every half hour with new merchandise, requiring all customers to step away from the bins during these rotations until staff gives the all-clear to resume shopping.
While gloves are not required, they are recommended when digging through bins due to potential broken glass or dirty items. Shopping carts are available but can run out quickly, and items are sold as-is with no returns allowed. The store does not provide bags at checkout.
3) Goodwill Outlet – Sturtevant
The Goodwill Outlet in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, located at 1630 Enterprise Dr, sells items by weight with clothing, home goods, and textiles under 50 pounds priced at $1.99 per pound, while items over 50 pounds cost $1.59 per pound.
Electronics and glassware are priced at $0.89 per pound, and media items like DVDs, CDs, and books are sold for $1 each. The store features large bins filled with unsorted merchandise instead of traditional racks, creating a warehouse-style shopping experience where items are separated by category with clothing in some bins and housewares, books, electronics, and glassware in their own designated areas.
While gloves are not officially required, experienced shoppers strongly recommend wearing them due to the dusty nature of digging through bins filled with donated items.
The store rotates bins with fresh merchandise every 30 to 45 minutes throughout the day, and when rotations occur, all customers must step back from the bins until staff completes the changeover.
4) Goodwill Outlet – Milwaukee
The Goodwill Outlet in Milwaukee, located at 6055 N 91st St, follows a pay-per-pound pricing system where clothing, home goods, and textiles cost $1.99 per pound for purchases under 50 pounds and $1.59 per pound for purchases over 50 pounds. Electronics and glassware are priced at $0.89 per pound, while books, DVDs, CDs, and VHS tapes are sold for $1 each.
The Milwaukee outlet uses a bin layout system where items are sorted into different categories including clothing/textiles, housewares, books, electronics, and shoes, with everything placed in large rolling bins rather than on traditional shelves.
The bins are rotated every half hour with fresh merchandise from regular Goodwill stores that didn’t sell within five weeks. While gloves are not explicitly required for customers, many experienced shoppers recommend wearing them due to the unsorted nature of items in the bins.