A used goods store which can be an amazing place to acquire great clothing and other neat stuff. Sadly, they have expanded and the chain has become much more upscale. As they departed from their crusty retail roots, they jacked up prices and the interiors of the stores have started to become vacuum packed and sparkling clean. Goodwill stores in small rural communities often maintain low prices and a strange assortment of used items, so they can be great places to stop and scavenge while passing through. The stores claim to funnel a fair amount of their earnings to community based projects such as literacy programs as well as employing disadvantaged workers.

Goodwill is also an important concept in accounting that occurs when a company is bought or sold.

Imagine you're buying an ice cream business. The assets of the business (premises, freezers, scoops, blenders, etc etc) might be worth $100,000. But you are willing to buy the company for $150,000. Why? Because the business has established customers, it's got a good reputation, it's in a good location, etc etc etc. In other words, you're willing to pay $50,000 extra for all the customers and stuff. This difference between what the business owns and what someone's willing to pay for it is called the goodwill.

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