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DPChallenge Forums >> Rant >> my local Goodwill... SUCKS!!!
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08/09/2008 08:11:38 PM · #1
well theres a acoustic guitar at the local goodwill in manitiwoc WI, today i asked how much it was, the manager said $350.00 "we found it online(which she later said was off of ebay) for $500.00" you could find any guitar on ebay for that price and say it was this one~!!! I looked it up and in a forum, yes this was the only place that had any info on this guitar, [a sigma model 52SGCS-4] and the guy said he bought his used for $260.00 and sold it to a guy for $150. how is it that they sell something they get from donation for that much, I offered her $100.00 for the guitar and she commented back, we got way higher offers than that already... what ever happened to goodwill being there for people who cant afford the best stuff? i mean isnt $100.00 enough for something you got for free!???? now i remember why i stopped going there... everything was so damn expensive! i really like the fact that if the china or any dishware dosnt sell, they smash it... an d throw it away... WT* is wrong with people now days.
08/09/2008 08:41:59 PM · #2
I agree, that's the reason I quit donating to the goodwill.
08/09/2008 08:46:46 PM · #3
Originally posted by Jimbo_for_life:

i mean isnt $100.00 enough for something you got for free!???? now i remember why i stopped going there... everything was so damn expensive! i really like the fact that if the china or any dishware dosnt sell, they smash it... an d throw it away... WT* is wrong with people now days.

Common sense doesn't come free, that's what I think the probelm w/people today is.
Have you tried to look for a nice used guitar from a guitar shop? They usually have decent ones around $100.00. I used to work in a guitar shop and we actually marked some new guitars as used for around $135.00.
08/09/2008 09:39:45 PM · #4
Oh, it's worse than you have any idea......there are no less than five organizations locally that are held in much higher regard as Goodwill's attitude turns people away right and left.

They will have you carry in your donations and then proceed to cherry-pick them.......they'll keep the stuff they know they can make money from and send you away with anything they deem non-saleable.

They don't even extend the pretense of trying to help by sorting and selecting goods for distribution to the less fortunate.

I think they're scum.
08/09/2008 09:56:14 PM · #5
Hmmm... Never had any bad experiences with Goodwill in this area. They've always taken everything I've brought in with no questions asked.

As for the guitar, I'm sure that's not the only used guitar for sale. Take a look at a music store, craigslist, pawn shop. I'll bet you can find something nice on your budget.
08/09/2008 10:18:12 PM · #6
grant it there are better guitars out there, this one is made of sapele wood, and the sound and resonance it produces is just amaizing (. but talking about it just gets me more angry, F that store.

Message edited by author 2008-08-09 22:53:49.
08/09/2008 11:12:29 PM · #7
We have 1 Goodwill store here. My mom found an old Dick and Jane book there for $1. The new young lady at the checkout said "oops, I'm not supposed to sell that." She disappeared for a sec then came back and said it wasn't for sale.

I've heard them 'in the back' sorting through donations and have thought about reporting them. ... but that was years ago, I imagine they've made a fortune on e-bay with absolutely no overhead.
08/10/2008 02:41:07 AM · #8
First, let me say that I've not had involvement with Goodwill, so can't speak from personal experience. I'm simply presenting the other side, for your consideration.

That said, Goodwill's mission, taken from their website, "has always been to create work opportunities and skills development for people facing serious barriers to employment - among them, persons with disabilities, youth at risk, the chronically unemployed, Aborginal people and newcomers to Canada."

They don't collect donations to redistribute for free. Donations are to sell, to raise funds for their other objectives. With that in mind, why wouldn't they try to get the most they can, and why would they want to take unsellable donations?

Charities who operate thrift shops spend a small fortune annually on garbage fees to haul away unsellable "donations"- money that should be going to their community programs.

As for charities such as Salvation Army, who DO distribute to less fortunate, if they're unsellable then they're likely not going to be given out, either.

I do have some experience with Salvation Army, having worked for a year in our city's biggest retail store. People in need could get a voucher from the Community and Family Services office, then bring it into any store to fill. It might be for something specific (common ones were a table and 4 chairs or a bed) or for a certain dollar amount (usually $50) worth of either household goods or clothing. They could then choose whatever they wanted, up to that amount. They got the same quality as anyone buying, not the un-sellables nobody else wanted.

I don't know what Goodwill's policy on staff cherry-picking through donations for themselves is, but I do know Salvation Army's. All stock had to go onto the floor for sale for at least 24 hours before staff were permitted to buy. All staff purchases had to be itemized, with price, by the manager, with a copy going to head office. We did get a 10% discount, but we did NOT get first chance at anything and we could not underprice for our own benefit.

Jewellery and collectables were priced before being sent to the store, supposedly by someone with some knowledge in the field. Where items were priced by an Ebay comparison a printed copy of the Ebay sale was included.

Only the store manager was allowed to adjust prices, mainly to avoid the staff being bullied, but also to prevent them giving deals to their friends.

Stock was rotated every 4 weeks, but the unsold was not trashed. It was boxed and sent back to warehouse, where it would either be rotated to a different store where it may sell with a different clientel, or held for a while then sent back out to try again.
I imagine some was likely also sent as donations to disaster victims, etc.

Maybe Goodwill's policies ARE sadly lacking, I don't know. And I'm sure that some individual staff members are uninformed, rude, dishonest, or simply make mistakes, just as you'll find in any business. But try to remember that, as a group, charity thrift shops are in business to make money for their charity, not as a dumping grounds for your unwanted junk, and not to give you something for pennies when the next guy will give them dollars for it.

08/10/2008 08:59:57 AM · #9
Originally posted by BeeCee:

They don't collect donations to redistribute for free. Donations are to sell, to raise funds for their other objectives.

I wasn't aware of that....I am now.

Originally posted by BeeCee:

With that in mind, why wouldn't they try to get the most they can, and why would they want to take unsellable donations?

I'm not disputing their right and intention to raise the most out of what they get.

But if you're going to ask for donations, to a certain extent, it goes with the territory to get items that may not necessarily sell, the same way a mass merchant gets stock that they *MAY* discover will not move at particular times in particular areas.

Originally posted by BeeCee:

As for charities such as Salvation Army, who DO distribute to less fortunate, if they're unsellable then they're likely not going to be given out, either.

Again, that's a tough call......but IMNSHO, not necessarily the call that should be made at carside on a quick scan-through basis......yes, obviously there may be unsaleable things donated, but on the other hand, why would someone go to the trouble of taking trash to Goodwill if they can just trash it?

Originally posted by BeeCee:

But try to remember that, as a group, charity thrift shops are in business to make money for their charity, not as a dumping grounds for your unwanted junk, and not to give you something for pennies when the next guy will give them dollars for it.

I realize this is an issue, but I was speaking subjectively as someone who spent a fair amount of time selecting items carefully, packing them nicely, and labeling them. I was treated pretty badly and approached as if I *aws* trying to unload trash as opposed to doing a nice thing.

I won't be back.
08/10/2008 10:46:16 AM · #10
the one thing i hate the most, if they dont sell this guitar for $350 like they want. they'll smash it just like everything else and throw it in the dumpster... and dont say they dont, Ive watched them in the back room take donations and smash them on the floors and sweep them into the dumpster.
08/10/2008 11:46:17 AM · #11
I can't afford Goodwill anymore.

Open Concern and Salvation Army do an excellent job!
08/10/2008 03:12:36 PM · #12
Originally posted by NikonJeb:



Originally posted by BeeCee:

As for charities such as Salvation Army, who DO distribute to less fortunate, if they're unsellable then they're likely not going to be given out, either.

Again, that's a tough call......but IMNSHO, not necessarily the call that should be made at carside on a quick scan-through basis......yes, obviously there may be unsaleable things donated, but on the other hand, why would someone go to the trouble of taking trash to Goodwill if they can just trash it?



Because they don't get a tax deduction for trash.
08/12/2008 03:41:15 AM · #13
Like all organized charities there are people who are getting rich off of the operations. They do a lot of good but at the same time humans being humans there are always those in these organizations that will take advantage. I personally know a driver for the salvation army who picks up donations and he says it is common for the best stuff donated to be more or less stolen by the employees.
05/25/2009 06:53:46 PM · #14
Yep, I call the local GoodWill the "Ripoff Thrift". When they first opened in my town, they had some decent prices which they occasionally marked down when the items didn't sell after a while. Nowdays, the prices are super high and they never mark them down. Also, they don't seem to like to take offers. Amazing how proud they are of stuff that wad donated to them!
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