Generally, people’s understanding of charity shops is top-down in that charity shops are initiated by the government, their targets are vulnerable groups, and the focus of operation is to distribute basic living commodities. This narrow perception has been detrimental to the operation of charity shops. It has adversely affected charity shops’ contribution to the development of philanthropy in China. In order to promote the transformation of charity shops and the innovative development of philanthropy in China, this paper puts forward the important concept of a ″goodwill economy″. It refers to market-oriented activities directed at charitable fundraising, thereby expanding the narrow understanding of charity shops. This paper further proposes a new analytical framework based on the concept of goodwill economy. Based on the two dimensions of commodity form and transaction form, four different types of goodwill economy are developed: ″community reciprocity″、″public welfare″、″e-platform philanthropy″, and ″e-commerce charity″. In order to distinguish different types of goodwill economy, this paper adopts a multi-case research method. We select four typical cases to prove that the framework is reasonable and widely applicable in the Chinese context. The characteristics and development paths of each type are also described in detail to better understand the similarities and differences. Finally, in order to test the development prospects of these four types in reality, this paper reviews relevant literatures of non-profit and social enterprise researches. We extract two key indicators of sustainability and replicability and establish a two-dimensional evaluation system of goodwill economy. Based on these two standards, this paper analyzes the development status of four types. At the end of the article, we put forward some suggestions, such as cultivating community culture, standardizing management rules, establishing cooperative relations and implementing brand strategy. In general, the contribution of this paper is mainly reflected in the following three aspects: Firstly, this paper innovatively puts forward the concept of a goodwill economy, which expands the understanding of traditional charity shops. It also proposes a new topic for the field of philanthropy. Secondly, this paper establishes a new framework of goodwill economy based on the two dimensions of commodity form and transaction form. In practice, it will help organizations accurately locate their patterns and find the most suitable development path. Finally, this paper extracts two indicators of sustainability and replicability. They are used to evaluate the development prospects of fourtypes of goodwill economy. These two standards will contribute to the development level of philanthropy in China.