Goodwill opens electronics, gaming store

Call employees “Good Geeks.”

No, really, it’s OK.

That name is apt inside Goodwill Industries of the Big Bend’s new stand-alone store that will be selling video games galore (including retro favs), plasma and flatscreen TVs , computers, cords and all things electronics. Opening Sept. 11, the 6,500-square-foot outlet sits next to an existing Goodwill store on Capital Circle Northeast, across from Esposito’s.

“I think there will be a wow effect,” said Fred Shelfer, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Big Bend. “It’s a one-stop shop in concept for those looking for a good price and functional equipment and the parts to keep them running.”

The store, a unique entry among the nonprofit’s 26 stores in the region, represents Goodwill’s first electronics store in Florida.

Daily thousands of donations pour in, especially from businesses swapping out their computer systems. Goodwill officials saw a need for a separate store for electronics, and modeled the new store after one dubbed the “Grid” in Charlotte, North Carolina. The new local store will have nine employees.

Products within the store include:

Refurbished Mac Book Pros for $699, which can cost as much as $1,200.

Bluetooth speakers for $39, comparable to The Pill that could cost $200.

Resurfacing for CDs, DVDs and video games for $1.50 each or 10 for $10.

“No one has that price,” said Alan Malnofski, Goodwill’s vice president of retail.

In addition, the store uses the Dell Reconnect Program, which allows anyone to recycle any computer brand, and the memory is wiped clean.

“Donors know that they are safe by having their information completely wiped from the system,” Malnofski said.

Store details:

Goodwill’s new gaming and video store opens at 9 a.m. Sept. 11 at 2734 Capital Circle NE, across from Esposito’s. The first 50 customers get 25 percent off their entire purchase.

Store hours are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.