I shop at Goodwill regularly. I have problems removing the price off of non-clothing items like dishes, etc. The price is written in black directly on the item. I have tried soap, bleach, etc. and nothing works. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
By Vera from Little River, SC
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As a former employee I can say the best thing to use is regular hairspray. It may take a couple of applications, work in a circular motion.
I used to get so annoyed at the way things were marked. Tried my best to change it but they wouldn't budge. My thoughts were it ruins an item where it is placed, no one seemed to care. Just move the merchandise. My local store has even over priced it's way from being a thrift store. Is a shame the company has seemed to forget it's founding fathers and why it was created.
8 PERCENT IS ALL THAT GOES TO HELP THE PEOPLE ,STORE EMPLOYES ARE BUYING THE GOOD STUCF BEFORE IT EVER HITS THE FLOOR AND THE GOOD STUFF GOES TO THE BOUTIQUE INpalm Beach..My girlfriend worked for them before she died..Sad non profit means they don't pay taxes
Do you happen to know what kind of crayon or Margaret is because I have tried like Googling and researching and I'm not able to find anything similar? I appreciate any advice you can give me
Saturate a cotton ball with nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol and see if that removes the black ink.
Try WD40.
Verified on 2 products - WD-40 does work
use a very small amount
I quit shopping thrift stores several years ago, because I thought things were too high priced, I also don't have a lot of patience to dig through things. I refuse to pay more than a quarter for used Harlequin paper back books that have been dontated. For me when it comes to used clothing it depends on what it is. What really turned me off at Good Will, was about 10 years ago when I was paying for my stuff, somebody from the back room came out and set an antique looking vase next to the register which is where they displayed special items. It was marked $10.00, and I picked it up to see if it had any markings on the bottom----it looked like something that should have been marked "made in occupied Japan" or something.
If the item can get wet without harm, like dishes, I soak it in warm water and dish washing liquid, then scrub with a nylon scrubby. Works on china, ceramics and glass.
Try baking soda mixed with a little dishwashing liquid. Works for me.
I have always used mineral spirits (from the paint department; inexpensive) and almost always have success. Mineral spirits also work well for removing the sticky residue from price tags on any product as well as marks on the floor.
Thank you Sunmer! I was going down the list and nothing was working-magic eraser-BAM!
I have wonderful results with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and a little water. Have also used Dawn Foam dishwashing solution. Also agree with others that the pricing at the Goodwill has gotten ridiculous. Last week I found a new unopened box of oatmeal, priced at $5.05!
Try hand sanitizer. It takes paint off lots of things and might work for this. Hope this helps.
Goo Gone is a citrus spray product that works wonderfully for removing the black grease pencil markings, pricetag adhesive, etc.
The people in Goodwill, will tell you rubbing alcohol, and it does work.
LA's Totally Awesome All-Purpose Cleaner will take the marks off. You can buy it at any dollar store.
I've never shopped at any thrift store that uses a marker for pricing! Every single one I've been to (and have been to lots in my life) use price stickers including Goodwill so I am really surprised!
Besides the ideas of what to use to remove the ink perhaps you could broach the issue with management about using price stickers instead.
For the record (a former Assistant manager to Goodwill) the black marker is used for things that price tags can be easily removed or switched. To avoid the $9.99 collectors plate being reduced to $1.99 or someone saying "This doesn't have a price, how much is it?". A lot of people shopping in Goodwill think it's a bargaining area, or they should get it cheaper (than it already is). The black mark makes is easier for the employee to say "This is the price, end of story".
Has it occurred to management that it can ruin the COLLECTABLE VALUE of what you ARE TRYING to sell and that HURTS your sales due to people not buying what has a big black mark? I buy paintings but I LOATHE yalls pricing methods as the dreaded black grease pencil because when I GO TO RESELL IT for potentially THOUSANDS or even TENS OF THOUSANDS- after the buyer PAYS $10,000 on it and they see "$8.99" can you imagine they don't feel ripped off?
Goo-Gone works great for me. I just used some today to get some prices off!
I have found that if you color over a permanent marker with a dry erase marker, then immediately wipe it, a majority of the time the permanent marker with come off. Sometimes I have to do it more than once to get it all off. This works best on glass, baggies, and dry erase boards for me. Hope that this will work for you.
If it is permanent marker try something alcohol based. If it is grease pencil like the red one they use at my local thrift store WD-40 does the trick, You waste less if you soak the corner of a folded paper towel and scrub it off with that instead of spraying it on the item.
We aren't smokers so have no use for cigarette lighters but lighter fluid is my household miracle wonder. It's cheap and effective on removing the goo from labels without ruining the finish. Even labels that are impossible to remove, tear off as much of the label as you can, squirt on some lighter fluid, it will seep into the bottom layer of the label and make it easier to peel off. It removes magic marker off most finishes. Scuff marks off the floor. Dissolves crayon and wax (squirt on lighter fluid and start wiping with a paper towel). I've even used it to get andaid goo off me but wash area with soap and water afterwards. I have a can under the kitchen sink, in the laundry room and one in the garage. It's never ruined a finish yet that I've tried it on. Couldn't live with out it!
Try heading out to 99Cent Store and buy their degreasing cleaning fluid in the bright orange bottle and be sure to use microfiber cleaning cloths. If you try these, I'm sure your marks will be gone
I used a regular pencil eraser and then finished it off with alcohol. There may be some smudge residue if the mark is on a fabric/leather material but otherwise it works great :)
Fresh lemon juice or the inside of the lemon peel. It comes right off and smells good too.
WD-40 ---VERIFIED WORKING ON 2 ITEMS ON Feb 2022
Baking soda and dish washer fluid - Not working
Isopropol alcohol or other alcohol rub - not working
Nail polish - Did not try but its basically paint thinner so it probably works
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