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03-6-2022 08:08:21  #1


Insights into Goodwill

For all of you observing and questioning the processes at Goodwill, here is a short article about them. It's not directly about shopgoodwill.com, but gives a feel for the whole organization. The comments are even more enlightening, so don't skip them, at least until you've had enough.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/former-goodwill-worker-explains-why-184412632.html

Cheers (I wish!)
 

 

03-6-2022 10:06:30  #2


Re: Insights into Goodwill

I was honestly expecting a completely different report, perhaps one that exposed how all the good stuff was being filtered out by those receiving the donations, and then being moved out the back door to be sold privately. However, the story is actually about how valuable items are being sold differently by Goodwill, and I'm not sure I understand the problem being implied by the Yahoo hack who wrote the piece.

If you run a charity that relies on selling donated goods to fund its projects, wouldn't it be that charity's responsibility to sell those goods in a way that maximizes its profits?

Take a donated typewriter as an example: a machine donated to and sold by a local brick and mortar charity might end up on the shelf with a $29 price tag. Depending on the location of that store it might sit on the shelf for a long time. If it was in a large urban center, it more likely it would be snapped up immediately by one of those nasty middlemen out there and find its way on eBay.

Conversely, if the charity sells that typewriter through an online auction it's exposed to a greater number of people, and will sell for a price that more accurately reflects what a middleman would have got for the machine through eBay. After all, nothing drives up the price like a gaggle of hipsters fighting over that rare, seafoam green, Hermivetti the charity has for sale.

The end result of shifting to a more popular selling medium is that charity makes more money - as it should - providing of course the money is actually being used to fund worthy community projects. 

 


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

03-6-2022 13:51:13  #3


Re: Insights into Goodwill

Yes, Uwe, that's the thrust of the article; the comments are what you expected, much more acerbic, pointing out skimming by staff and privileged dealers and very high pay to executives and a cynical attitude of the whole enterprise. Some examples are witness accounts and some are public record and I have not fact-checked anything except the dearth of anything interesting in the stores. I think the Yahoo hack who wrote the piece was constrained by an order to stay positive about the company and to let poor people know they aren't entirely abandoned.

I have mixed feelings about the story. I generally agree with your analysis of charity fundraising projects and their purpose, but Goodwill is suspect and I miss the bargains. I am not a poor person depending on charity shops to keep me warm and decent. I went to find interesting things from days gone by and more to enjoy them than to flip them. It was the ability to avoid the risks of shipping. It was the fun of the hunt and I think that is what people in our circle here are lamenting. That and the resulting higher prices.

Many people do not like to read comments, for whatever reasons, but in this case they add a lot.
 

     Thread Starter
 

05-6-2022 08:14:36  #4


Re: Insights into Goodwill

I have gotten my fair-share of $ 4.99 and $ 9.99 typewriters from the SGW web site.

Most great machines once I cleaned and serviced them. 

I did get a couple of dodgy parts machines...but I knew that going in. 

Every one was well packaged and arrived with no damage.  But I do send each seller/location an email with packing tips...which are always favorably received.

 

05-6-2022 11:01:27  #5


Re: Insights into Goodwill

M. Höhne wrote:

... Goodwill is suspect

Goodwill in Canada went out of business a number of years ago - it might have been a bankruptcy - and the newspaper reports of the time cited bloated executive salaries and questionable business practices. All of their stores that I was aware of in my area are long gone, so I was surprised when someone recently told me that they still shopped at Goodwill. It appears that the company has been reborn, and sure enough I stumbled upon a very modern looking Goodwill (from the outside) last week and took a look inside. It ended up being a complete waste of time, and I doubt that I'll bother revisiting it. 

M. Höhne wrote:

... I miss the bargains. I am not a poor person depending on charity shops to keep me warm and decent. I went to find interesting things from days gone by and more to enjoy them than to flip them. It was the ability to avoid the risks of shipping. It was the fun of the hunt and I think that is what people in our circle here are lamenting.  

I have a few friends who are frequent charity shop visitors for all of the reasons you mentioned. I used to infrequently try my luck, but never found anything of interest. One friend, who I'd describe as being addicted to the hunt, has extremely good luck with finding typewriters. I suspect this is because of persistence and the frequency of his visits, and some of the gems he's found have made it into my collection - at cost, of course, because he's a super-decent man.

I don't think he's ever come across a typewriter at a Goodwill, which is the roundabout point I'm trying to make: In my area there are a number of other charity shop chains, and it's in those stores that he continues to find those hunted for collectibles and good prices. Fortunately for us, there are Goodwill alternatives here that continue to scratch the itch you mentioned.

Conversely, while those of us living in large urban centers are fortunate to be able to hunt in a brick and mortar jungle, a significant number of others have never seen the doors of a charity shop. We can lament the effect online sales have on finding treasures, but I'm sure everyone else is celebrating the increased access to donated goods. 

Last edited by Uwe (05-6-2022 11:02:13)


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

05-6-2022 12:23:15  #6


Re: Insights into Goodwill

I've never found a typewriter worth buying at a brick and mortar thrift store of any kind. I don't know why I even keep checking them, but I do.

 

 

05-6-2022 16:06:36  #7


Re: Insights into Goodwill

overwood wrote:

I've never found a typewriter worth buying at a brick and mortar thrift store of any kind. I don't know why I even keep checking them, but I do. 

Exactly my experience too, and yet my friend seems to find them on a somewhat regular basis. Luck? Timing? Location? Checking a few times every week? Whatever it is, I'm not doing it right, and unlike you I've given up. 


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

13-6-2022 15:31:01  #8


Re: Insights into Goodwill

Just had an odd occurrence on SGW yesterday.

I bid $ 9.99 for a good electric Olympia SKE made in Western Germany.  Before I placed my token bid, I checked out S&H from the seller to my home in Idaho.  It was calculated at  $32 on the SGW web site.  Machine and case was listed at 28 lbs.

I was the only bidder so "won" with my $ 9.99 bid.

When I started to "pay" for the auction this morning, the total S&H mysteriously jumped up to $ 68.

I have sent SGW a message about what I saw happening and to let them know I would not be completing my purchase with the after-the-auction "jump" in their S&H price.  Will wait to see if SGW replies and makes good on their previous S&H estimate.
.

 

19-6-2022 08:07:28  #9


Re: Insights into Goodwill

No written reply from SGW...but I noticed my S&H costs for the auction are now at $ 79 total. 

So I take it that is their reply... LOL

SGW allows non-payment for an auction 2-3 times before they cancel your bidding account. 

So I will use one of my lives on this auction.

Just have to wonder how many auction winners this is happening to and if they ever notice the change in S&H from the time they win to the time they pay.  In my case, it was less than 1/2 a day before I went to pay and noticed the big change in S&H costs.
 

 

19-6-2022 13:04:05  #10


Re: Insights into Goodwill

Based on your experience this would undoubtedly account for some of the relisted machines; however, the change in shipping costs probably doesn't explain those run-of-the-mill models that get bid into the high triple digits and not paid for.


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

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