With the opening of a Goodwill Outlet store in Heidelberg, bargain hunters in the west suburbs have an opportunity to find better goods at a discount price.

That's what brought Janice Weatherly of Washington County to the grand opening of the store Dec. 8.

“I came up here to get some shopping done,” she said. “I left with more than what I expected to because there was so much to choose from.”

The Heidelberg location previously was a traditional Goodwill retail store.

This Goodwill Outlet, the second in Western Pennsylvania, operates differently from a traditional Goodwill. Cost is on a per-pound basis, as opposed to an individual price per item.

The other outlet, in North Versailles, has been around for five years.

“The benefit for the shopper is seeing quality goods at an even cheaper price,” said Andrew Marano, assistant vice resident of retail for Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania. “It gives the shopper the best chance to stretch their dollar.”

The shelf life of donated goods at most of the 31 Goodwill stores in the region is four weeks. After that, those items are brought to an outlet store.

“The outlet allows us to give items a second chance to sell,” Marano said. “It creates additional jobs to handle the donations. Part of our mission is to get as much value out of the donations that the community gives us.”

Items are placed into large bins and fresh merchandise is rotated onto the sales floor every half hour.

“We're looking for anything and everything,” said Amanda Jenkins of Carnegie. “I was just here last week and there is a lot more stuff to choose from now.”

Marano said plans for this Goodwill Outlet have been in the works for more than a year. The idea to expand on the existing Heidelberg location became a reality two months ago.

“This one fit the proper demographics,” he said. “You need to have the proper docks set up because this requires a lot of truck support.”

The 14,500-square-foot store features a drive-through, canopy-covered drop-off center. Donations can be delivered seven days a week.

“This one is important to not only allow our customers to experience a different opportunity, but more importantly, this helps our donation flow throughout the entire retail division,” Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania President and CEO Michael Smith said. “This is going to help generate revenue for the mission, which is to put people to work.”

The Heidelberg store employs between 15 and 20 people, leaders said.

Matthew Peaslee is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.

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