DONE with Goodwill!

[meanpc]

Now that I think about it, Goodwill tried to do that to me one time to. They tried to take about half the stuff. They already had it unloaded, then they told me they COULDN'T take the rest. Amazingly, it turned out they could once I told them I was gonna load the stuff back up and leave. Real dick move.

 

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[Oregon Viking]

Our town got a GW a few months ago. I talked with one of the guys that accepts donations. He said we use completed Ebay sales to price merchandise, It goes to charity people will pay the price. No deals for me!

 

[RocknRoll]

I went to a Goodwill yesterday .....saw a decent pair of Nike sneakers....(nothing spectacular.....not new....decent shape)

Price: $20.00

Thought that was ridiculous. I almost said something to the manger (which I rarely do).

I like the Salvation Army much better.

 

[Lost&Found]

I've been to GW twice in the last 20 years. The most recent last year and definitely see the difference. After last years visit I will not go back.

At my local TS they buy in bulk donations from charities. Last week I witnessed a practice that the IRS would be interested in. They had a worker scan the price tags of items, then break it and toss it into the garbage bin. So the way I look at it hypothetically:

If the store sells $1000 and claims $750 in damaged goods then they are only paying 25% of the corporate taxes that they are supposed to.

Donors need to be educated as to what really happens to their donations.

 

[Beachkid23]

I had to pick up a friend and drive him to the condo their family staying at for the week down near Fort Myers Beach. There's a goodwill toward out here that I've never been to so I thought hey you know what richer people here they probably have nicer stuff. LOL or as I found out they have the same junk that all the other ones have. Only now the prices were a little bit higher I think maybe they were the same but five dollars for use T-shirt is too high. Oh well there are 15 other thrift stores from this one to my house so I will stop at them instead.

 

[boogeyman]

I'm with Rocknroll on Salvation Army! A couple times people I've known had hit hard times, like a lady in our club had her husband walk out on her & her two daughters leaving her with nothing. The punk even took the girls toys, books etc. We called several agencies trying to get her help. Salvation Army showed up THAT DAY! They outfitted the house, gave them food & clothes, got her a real cool job (she stayed at it for 9 years) and kept in contact with her to see if she was OK for quite awhile! Can't do better than that! Over the years, it seems when we've tried to get people help we don't bother calling the others that can't give you the time of day.

 

[GlenDronach]

There's one goodwill local to me that has a ridiculous pricer. I can get some of the things they're selling in their display case for 30% less, including shipping, on eBay. Who in their right mind will pay MORE than the market price out of a case at GW? I too want to complain to management, but with my luck I'd end up talking to the person that prices everything.

 

[OldSowBreath]

Done with Goodwill also. They've conned people into believing they help the underprivileged. They no more help the underprivileged than does Target or Wal-Mart.

 

[batcap]

What the heck are you all whining about!?! I'm killing it at Goodwill --yes KILLING IT!! It's incredible what you can get for old stretched out bras and filthy plastic toy parts. Those fools at Goodwill are hoarding the crumbs I tell you, the CRUMBS! Meanwhile, I'm loading up on the real treasure--well, if I was to blurt out the real treasure, it would get snatched up too, wouldn't it? I really enjoy talking about my finds, and reading about and learning from all of you. But nowadays virtually every trip to every estate sale/garage sale/Thrift Store/Auction has another middle aged white guy just like me looking up everything on his smart phone. So, when we're not increasing our own competition among buyers, we're alerting the corporate powers on just what to withhold or price higher.
Just sayin'.

 

[batcap]

The part I highlighted is what worries me. How much of that 83% goes for wages and benefits to employees and other expenses ? I know people should not have to work for nothing but numbers like these really don't tell you much. Our Goodwill store is in the most expensive retail district. It is a good place to dump your leftover yard sale junk and they will give a donation receipt for your taxes but that doesn't help you much if at all.

I know it seems wrong but paying people that are really good at fundraising very well is good business sense. Would you rather pay $20K to a guy that could raise $60K in donations, or pay $150K to someone who can raise $1M? How about paying the 2nd guy $400K or $500K, or even $750K? You would be so much farther ahead with the 2nd guy it wouldn't matter -- he's worth it.

 

[boogeyman]

Just for giggles, google up GW. Now, you have to go down 12 or 14 pages to get past the stuff generated to get their ratings up & bury the stuff they don't want you to see. How many of us regularly go down more than 3 or 4 pages? Once you get way down the list you'll find the comments etc. of employees, and even managers dropping the dime on how really crooked GW is. Just like THing you have to keep digging to get to the gold!

Bet you'll be amazed!!!

 

[silverdollarbill]

Most of these posts sound like sour grapes to me. The people who donated the items did so so that the proceeds would help people. They did not donate the item so goodwill could sell it to you for pennies on the dollar and you resell it for profit you pocket. No one forces you to go to goodwill.

Also, lots of accusations without supporting links/facts. And all you complaining about salaries must write your congress people weekly about the bankers/corporations that own our country.

 

[silverdollarbill]

I did not donate to goodwill to help people. I donated to Goodwill so I would not have to pay to dispose of my yard sale junk.

Valid reason for donating. Sounds like goodwill is providing you a service for free. You must be a fan.

 

[silverdollarbill]

If I were a fan I would be a 5 dollar fan and they would have stuck a 10 dollar price tag on me while I was over there. Some people think I am worth more than I really am. (just kidding)

That was a funny response...apologies for being salty.

 

[boogeyman]

Most of these posts sound like sour grapes to me. The people who donated the items did so so that the proceeds would help people. They did not donate the item so goodwill could sell it to you for pennies on the dollar and you resell it for profit you pocket. No one forces you to go to goodwill.

Also, lots of accusations without supporting links/facts. And all you complaining about salaries must write your congress people weekly about the bankers/corporations that own our country.

No....... Not sour grapes here. Back in the early 70s Goodwill DID do good for people. They have just evolved into a grab as much as we can get our grubby hands on organization. Would you "donate" to an organization that is nothing more than a lie? I'll bet bottom dollar you're intelligent and don't!

If you're gonna tell me you're an agency that helps people and does good for so many with my donation / money, then do it! Don't lie to me and line your pockets, there's other small agencies doing tons for people that need help, they deserve our donations / money. What's that old saying? "Don't pee on my boots and try to convince me that it's raining"

 

[silverdollarbill]

No....... Not sour grapes here. Back in the early 70s Goodwill DID do good for people. They have just evolved into a grab as much as we can get our grubby hands on organization. Would you "donate" to an organization that is nothing more than a lie? I'll bet bottom dollar you're intelligent and don't!

If you're gonna tell me you're an agency that helps people and does good for so many with my donation / money, then do it! Don't lie to me and line your pockets, there's other small agencies doing tons for people that need help, they deserve our donations / money. What's that old saying? "Don't pee on my boots and try to convince me that it's raining"

You should back up your comments with supporting links and facts.

Back in the 70s, lots of things where different. Pre-1971 the dollar was backed by gold, glass-steagall existed. There is probably some hypocrisy/greed going on at goodwill. As upset many are about goodwill, I cannot imagine how they deal with the big players in the hypocrisy/greed arena.

My point is that all these people who are mad at goodwill are mad because they are no longer able to take advantage of that org for their own profit.

 

[kali_is_my_copilot]

silverdollarbill, I can't speak for anyone else here but as I explained in my original post it's not about whether or not I can make money off of them. Yes, it's annoying to have entire categories of merchandise disappear from a chain of stores when those items are items you've made money from in the past. However I was thrifting many, many years before I started "treasure hunting" and that is where my primary complaint with the ongoing changes at Goodwill lie. From my late teen years on I spent countless hours really thoroughly going through clothes and housewares and records etc, at hundreds of thrift & antique shops, scattered across several states. I learned an incredible amount about the differences between things that are well-made and things that are not (also learned a lot about seventies rock); up until a year ago that learning was all dedicated to curating a wardrobe/home/library/music collection full of things that I really loved, not on making any money from those things at all.

Part of that process entails looking at and sorting through lots of random dirty broken flimsy junk that got donated instead of thrown away through sheer chance, but it's still enjoyable because sometimes there's a payoff, whether it's emotional or financial. The GW stores in my area are now essentially shelves and racks full of over-priced, poorly-made, roughly used mass produced junk (I'm into that because I'm American, obviously, but I just buy it new at the same price from Wal-Mart or Target). GW no longer cares about helping the community by providing quality second-hand goods at affordable prices, they would rather divert those donations to the highest bidder. They're doing this while still implying that "thrift" is possible in their stores when it generally isn't, at least in my area. As far as their books are concerned, items easily sell for tens or hundreds of times on their auction site what they would have in-store but I don't see them ramping up their charitable efforts accordingly. I don't think anyone here is trying to directly accuse them of mishandling assets so I'm not sure why you keep ignoring all other points and demanding references, it's more like a pile of poor business practices that have begun to rub a lot of people the wrong way.

 

[diggummup]

The part I highlighted is what worries me. How much of that 83% goes for wages and benefits to employees and other expenses ? I know people should not have to work for nothing but numbers like these really don't tell you much. Our Goodwill store is in the most expensive retail district. It is a good place to dump your leftover yard sale junk and they will give a donation receipt for your taxes but that doesn't help you much if at all.

There is not much difference in any of these so called charitable organizations nowadays. They are all driven by profits, even Salvation Army which is listed as a religious org. and doesn't have to file a 990. Anyone that thinks differently is living with blinders on, this is America after all. Where corporate greed is the king of kings.

ps- Those percentage figures refer to the percentage of total budget/expenses that each listed organization spends on providing charitable programs and services and does not include salaries.

 

[diggummup]

GW no longer cares about helping the community by providing quality second-hand goods at affordable prices, they would rather divert those donations to the highest bidder.

Their mission is not to sell second hand goods to poor people. That is where you are confused. Their mission is to make as much money as possible off of those second hand goods in order to use that money for their so called job programs. Listen, I agree that I think they try to squeeze too much out of the donated goods they get. No argument there. I also agree that I think the numbers are a little skewed as to the monies they put forth for their "programs". Because they actually make money off of many of these programs too. Did you know that Goodwill of S.Fl. Goodwill’s Apparel Manufacturing Department produced over 6,000 military uniforms and flags daily for our country’s military during 2013 (which is actually a lot less than in previous years)? They used mainly handicapped employees paid them minimum wage (sometimes less) and then sold those goods for profit also. I'm sure they didn't donate those flags and uniforms. They also have a document shredding company where they employ the people they've trained and hired. Their main account being the IRS. Now they've opened a multi-million dollar laundering facility in Liberty City to provide a laundry and linen service for the area's hospitals. Hire some people from the ghetto (preferably handicapped), pay them minimum wage and BAM! mo money, mo money, mo money! I thought this was a not for profit? Yet everything they do ends up as a Goodwill business that makes more money. Kind of like having your cake and eating it too.

BTW- Each region of Goodwill has an annual report available to read online. How much of it is true and how much of it is hype is somewhere in the middle as far as i'm concerned. You should search for your area. Here is the last annual report for the Goodwill's in S.Fl.- http://cdn.trustedpartner.com/docs/...news/Goodwill_2013_Annual_Report_ZGBWFFUE.pdf


Also, the only reason I donate to Goodwill is because it's the closest thrift to my house to get rid of my yard sale junk and Salvation Army isn't open on Sundays.

 

[RocknRoll]

Saw a new plastic can of 3 tennis balls at GW on Saturday....my dog likes tennis balls (I usually get a can of 3 or 4 at KMart for 2.99 or 3.99)....

Picked it up to put in cart...GW price...$4.00 !!!!


WTF?

KMart actually had to buy the balls to sell....GW gets them donated!!!!!!

Back to the shelf it went.