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A friend worked at a domestic violence shelter and they had specific needs: definitely clothing, but also lots of food, cleaning items, disposable diapers, sheets, etc. For a very long time they had a standing rule that no donation was turned away. It became a dumping ground when Mom or Dad died: used underwear, half-used soap and cosmetics, worn-out shoes, Christmas decorations, etc. They had to pay to get rid of most of it. My church has an area for specific donations: food, toiletries for the poor, etc. In the last few weeks the "donations" have included the parts of a 1990s-era wall clock, a turntable and a half-dozen jars of "apricot body scrub". With our priest's agreement, I took the clock and the turntable home. I threw out the clock and put the turntable on Craigslist as Free Stuff, where it disappeared quickly.
I don't blame charities for curating donations. Read the threads on getting rid of loved ones' things after they die (especially the shopaholics and those with lots of "collectibles") and you'll see why people are eager to dump stuff the easiest and cheapest way they can. Even clothing may have to be discarded; according to a BBC podcast on "The high price of fast fashion", many items are so cheaply made that even cleaning and pressing them won't make them saleable- they're just not made that well.
I get that a lot of people think that if it was good enough for them then it's good enough for anybody, but I've always understood that thrift stores are in the resale business and not in the business of providing cheap mdse for the poor. .
I personally won't donate to any thrift store if they don't do some recycling and make charitable donations. If they just want a lot of nice stuff they can list on ebay, they're not going to get that from me - I can ebay it myself. People who donate nowdays have computers and can easily look up the value of their items. That's why thrift stores are getting frustrated perhaps, because they don't get the 'good stuff' as much anymore.
??? I'm talking about places like Goodwill, DAV and other charity stores, not privately owned secondhand shops. I've always understood them to be about using the money they get from sales to fund their charity, not about being a place where poor people come to shop. Of course they want better items, it means they can raise more money for their cause. If someone on a budget finds some good buys, well that's just gravy on top, but not the main purpose of thrift shops.
??? I'm talking about places like Goodwill, DAV and other charity stores, not privately owned secondhand shops. I've always understood them to be about using the money they get from sales to fund their charity, not about being a place where poor people come to shop. Of course they want better items, it means they can raise more money for their cause. If someone on a budget finds some good buys, well that's just gravy on top, but not the main purpose of thrift shops.
Goodwill and other charity stores also list items on ebay and amazon, and want nice items for their stores. There's really no difference. What I said applies to any store that takes donations. Sores want nice things they can sell for a real profit, so naturally they get frustrated when donors bring them ordinary items of lower value. But the fact is, more and more people these days will sell their nicer stuff, themselves and donate what's left over.
Goodwill and other charity stores also list items on ebay and amazon, and want nice items for their stores. There's really no difference. What I said applies to any store that takes donations. Sores want nice things they can sell for a real profit, so naturally they get frustrated when donors bring them ordinary items of lower value. But the fact is, more and more people these days will sell their nicer stuff, themselves and donate what's left over.
That makes no sense. So you only donate items of low value to charity stores because you want to keep the value of better items for yourself? That's kind of the entire point of thrift stores starting to refuse low or no value items. Why bother donating at all then, if you aren't doing it for the benefit of the thrift rather than your own need to de-clutter? They aren't meant to be a convenient alternative to the dump.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PriscillaVanilla
I personally won't donate to any thrift store if they don't do some recycling and make charitable donations. If they just want a lot of nice stuff they can list on ebay, they're not going to get that from me - I can ebay it myself. People who donate nowdays have computers and can easily look up the value of their items. That's why thrift stores are getting frustrated perhaps, because they don't get the 'good stuff' as much anymore.
That makes no sense. So you only donate items of low value to charity stores because you want to keep the value of better items for yourself? That's kind of the entire point of thrift stores starting to refuse low or no value items. Why bother donating at all then, if you aren't doing it for the benefit of the thrift rather than your own need to de-clutter? They aren't meant to be a convenient alternative to the dump.
I'm not talking about "me" specifically. I'm talking about people in general.
And yes, people are not obligated to donate high value items to thrift stores, such as valuable antiques, copper, gold, designer label good, etc. No matter how unfair, wrong or immoral that may seem to you or others, donors can keep their high value items and sell them on ebay for profit. Thrift stores must learn to adjust to this somehow and still maintain a profit, if they can. But it's not my personal responsibility to make sure they stay in business. IMO there are still plenty of customers going to second hand stores looking for practical items like kitchen ware, umbrellas, lamps, etc.
The last time we took a bunch of stuff to Goodwill, they just took it without looking. It was mostly paperback books, & a few bits of clothing. i toss out anything with a stain or a tear, I know they can't sell those. After our parents died, we did donate things we did not want or could use, but anything that was not in good condition, went in the garbage. I can't understand people donating a used soap bar or old underwear. Gross.
I'm not sure if this is the right forum to ask, but since there is already an active thread here in thrift stores, I'll go ahead.
Have you ever had a donation turned away at a thrift store? (snip)
If you have had a donation refused, how was it handled?
Sure. How? "We don't want this, thanks anyways!" which becomes another pile, that I put into the donation bin at another charity later. Assuming we're talking clothes. While a bother, I never take it personally.
Goods, I sell on eBay, Amazon, or other local forums to great effect. I made about a thousand bucks past few months selling crap laying around the house: old rifle, camera monopod, some nice clothes, a pistol. Put in the effort, price it right, it will go. Never get greedy, like 75% of people do, and then get all offended when it won't sell for your retarded price that is 80% of retail, for something worth maybe 33%.
I can't understand people donating a used soap bar or old underwear. Gross.
As someone else noted, it's a cheap way to dump whatever you don't want. I have a couple of pairs of shorts that no longer fit me (bought when I weighed more and I don't intend to gain the weight back). They're in the trunk of my car in case I run across a donation box but it's harder and harder to find donation boxes; I suspect it's because they had to throw away too much crap they couldn't use.
Yes, we had a sofa and chair rejected by Salvation Army when moving. It was a PITA because we had arranged to have them taken away, and didn't have time to figure out how to send them to trash or try to sell them, so ended up paying the landlord for the inconvenience, since we were moving out of state.
I understand what your'e saying, OP, but from a donors point of view - if it was good enough for our family to be sitting on, it really can seem arrogant to have Salvation Army turn it's nose up at it.
The stores know what will sell and what won't. Your family may have been happy sitting on the furniture, because it was familiar and had been around forever. No one else would give you a dime for it, though, so neither would the SA. They also don't have the space to have large items sit around for weeks or months, hoping someone will buy it.
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