No evidence at thrift stores that Seahawks fans are shedding their colors
Oct 20, 2015, 7:06 AM | Updated: 8:38 am
Goodwill Seattle spokeswoman Katherine Boury models Seahawks Halloween gear. She says anything blue and green has been flying off the shelves ahead of home games and Halloween. (Jillian Raftery/KIRO Radio)
(Jillian Raftery/KIRO Radio)
After Sunday’s Seahawks game, listener Phillip in Everett reached out with an ominous message.
“I shop Value Village, and lately I’ve been seeing a lot of Seahawks shirts.”
Yes, it’s been a tough time for our Seahawks, but have the 12s really begun shedding their colors?
At the largest Goodwill thrift shop in the country, located in Seattle just off Dearborn, there’s no evidence that fans are jumping off the bandwagon. Manager Julie LaPuma says they’re seeing about the same amount of gear donated, and none of it is this year’s merchandise.
Related: Is it fair to be more panicked about Seahawks this year than last?
“I just went out and checked their floor and there were like five or six items,” she said. “There was something from 2013, 2014, there was one 12’s fan shirt. And the other ones were just kind of your generic Seahawks shirts with some other logos and other merchandising on it.”
In fact, LaPuma says she’s seen demand for those donated items go up over the last two or three years.
“When we get them in, they sell right away. People are always looking for them. It’s great because they’ll stop by here before the game, and it works out really well for us anyway,” LaPuma said.
By the time I arrived to the store, a woman was already checking out with a Russell Wilson jersey. All the other jerseys were gone, leaving just two off-brand shirts.
At the South Lake Union and University District locations, the story was the same: just a handful of donated items, and a display of new merchandise like Seahawks signs and gloves near the counter.
George White, spokesman for Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region, says stores in the southern half of the state have to stock up year-round to keep up with demand, and then go on a Seahawks blitz starting on Labor Day.
In a nationwide survey of Goodwill stores, White found that shoppers in Washington are even more football crazy than any other area this time of year.
“One big thing is that football costumes trend for Halloween more here than the rest of the country, at least the last couple of years. And Seahawks attire has been very popular for Halloween for obvious reasons,” White said.
LaPuma echoed that for the Seattle stores, saying their most popular request from customers this season has been for zombie Seahawks costumes.
