Ok, so I have been frequenting Goodwills and Salvation Armies every now and again to maybe come across an old TF, and my girfriend looks for old My Little Ponys. Well, someone told us it's good to ask if they have stuff in the back rooms that we might want. Well, we did at a Goodwill and the lady told us that when they get in a good namebrand toy, they don't put it out on the shelves, they sell them on ebay to get more money. I haven't looked at them yet- but I was really kinda surprised. I was thinking that it made sense since they could make more money- but then I thought, they are supposed to help their community, and by not offering the good stuff that they get donated to them in stores, then why shop there? It seems to be a way to keep people with less money even down further. I would say their general customers aren't shopping there because they shop on ebay, but then that's just a stereotype of their customers I have, but it seems to make sense. I guess I'm just trying to say that I don't think this is right of them to do, and when you donate, it may not be going to where you think it is. Any thoughts? Edit: Here is a link to the site http://stores.ebay.com/Seattle-Goodwill UPDATE: Check out this story my GF sent me a link to! http://www.mlparena.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=112568.html
I agree. That sounds fishy and wrong to me. Why even have Goodwill stores then when they could just make "bank" on e-bay?
I concur. Maybe if they kept the 'good' stuff in the bank to prevent shoplifting, but to make a profit on what others can't afford. Since you asked did they let you see tha back?
They didn't let me see the back. At the time, there was kind of a scruffy My Little Pony my girlfriend found there, and we were going to use that to show the lady what we were looking for, and the lady honestly told us "That one must have been put out there by one of our new girls- she's been having some issues."
That raises even more questions. Next time I go to Goodwill there will be a scene, and perhaps cops. But no paramedics. I promise.
I thought the whole point of goodwills was to make money, so they could in turn give it back to the poor. If they are making better money on eBay with some things, how is that a disservice to the people they are serving?
Good luck! Most of the employees at my local goodwills look less then enthusiastic to be there, so I generally don't argue with them.
That's just it, I don't know if they do give the money back- I know salvation army does a lot of things but I thought Goodwill was meant to be a cheap retail outlet for those with little money. I may be wrong, but I still don't see the sense in even having outlets if they are only going to put the worthwhile things on ebay. I am not trying to make rediculous claims about it either, just wanted to bring it to attention.
I don't think that's the purpose of a goodwill at all. If they are really meant to be a low-cost retail outlet for poor people that takes donated stuff as stock, then why not just give the stuff away? How is it benefiting the poor to pay for stuff that was given away in the first place?
Goodwill is a non-profit, all of the store's proceeds go towards their job training and placement programs for the underprivileged. In fact, if you see something rare in there for cheap and you buy it, you're ripping off charity.
I just checked their website, and what you guys say is true. Then just take this thread as a way to inform fellow hunters that you don't have much of a chance of getting a decent haul at a goodwill!
They are not really price gauging on ebay either... It is just too bad for the local’s who are looking for a lost treasure.
The funny thing about Goodwill is that I've seen items sold there at higher prices than the final clearance price at Target. A Target employee told me one time that when items are "salvaged" at Target (i.e. sit on clearance a while and aren't purchased) they go to Goodwill as a charitable donation. So sometimes you'll see Target items, still in their original Target packaging, and they're sold for about 50% of the retail price, and the final clearance price at Target was 75% off. It kind of cracks me up, because poor people go to Goodwill to find cheaper prices. How ironic.
I have always considered goodwill stores as "off-limits". I figure the cool toys and game systems that pop up there for dirt cheap are better off going to someone who can only afford it at their prices. a lot of parents cant afford to get their kids toys at toy stores, so they get them at goodwill where they're cheaper. so I leave the stores alone. if I want something, I have the money to buy it somewhere else without taking away from the less fortunate.
I know what you mean, and when I look there I am hoping to find something vintage that I doubt any kid whos mother is shopping there would really appreciate as much. I could be wrong, and it doesn't matter anyways because I have never found one there. I still think this also backs up my point though- those kids aren't going to be getting anything decent from goodwill unless their not-so well off Mother goes online. That's what bothers me- not that I can't get anything myself. I can afford something if I want it enough, but why not check thrift stores? They want you to buy the stuff, and I even generally donate various things when I go anyways.
I shop at "thrift" stores for old video games like Genesis and SNES games as no kids these days will have one ("thrift" stores here are not allowed to sell second hand electronic items that run off mains). I'll have a look in the toy section out of interest. I once bought a really bad condition Crankcase. Another time I passed on a G1 Prime cab as I figured some kid would enjoy that a hell of a lot more than I would (or at least I hoped so).
OMG my GF just sent me a link to this story, completely crazy: http://www.mlparena.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=112568.html
Okay, this "Goodwill is for poor people" crap is really pissing me off. Just because it's a "thrift store" doesn't mean it's just meant for "poor people" to shop there, and I'm appalled that this has been a repeated opinion in this thread. My wife and I regularly shop at Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other thrift stores. Does that make us "poor people"? HELL, NO! We just bought a house and a $900 riding lawnmower to go with it. And we're about to shell out up to a $1000 to get carpets replaced in three rooms. We make a very decent 5-figure income combined, and we're smart with our money and try to live on a budget so we are able to save money for future needs and expenses. There's a whole cross-section of the populous shopping at these places, and not just people that some apparently would look down on and stereotype by calling them "poor people" simply based on their appearance. That's utter BS. They're called "thrift stores" for a reason: it's second-hand merchandise sold at great discounts for people who are "thrifty" or "frugal" with their money. Take a look at the wikipedia entry and you won't see any such judgmental, biased, opinionated comment about them being for "poor people": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrift_store And you're not "ripping off charity" by buying anything there. And not only do we shop there, my wife and I also regularly donate items there by the boxes. I've had some great collector finds at thrift stores, especially TFs since I prefer buying vintage stuff loose anyway. Here's some of mine just from the last year: - Set of 2 1984 TF pillowcases feat. Prime that are in such great shape I wonder if they were ever used. I paid $1 each. - Vintage TF pinball game still in working condition for $2 - G1 Galvatron. No accessories, but still in fair shape for $1.17. - Bagged lot of vintage TFs and accessories for $5 that included Cosmos, Hoist, 2 Stunticons, Ramjet, and one of Metroplex's mini-con type accessories. - Energon Unicron near complete with bagged accessories for $15. (This was one of my wife's finds, I'm very proud to say). - Energon Prowl for less than $2 - Energon Landquake for .99 - Armada Starscream for .99 - G1 Prime loose no accessories but in pretty good shape for $6. - Go-Bots Hauler-Bot for 2.99 + .55 for the beast-bot that goes with it -- one of my nephews had wanted this toy for nearly a year, but his dad kept telling him it was too expensive. It was missing part of the trailer, but I did find the pterodactyl thing that goes with it. - One of those Beast-Bot Go-Bots for $3 for one of my nephews, and then I got home and looked it up and discovered it was a Japanese import called "Tigertron". - And just last week, I found the trailer for Armada Prime for $1.50 which I only had the front cab for previously (got in a trade). And there's one other recent thrift store find that's mentioned in my sig line. So, yeah--I like thrift stores. They're fun and cheap. Half my wardrobe is brand name stuff that I got dirt cheap at thrift stores. And no one can even tell the difference.
