A few more things about Goodwill.

[quadcitypickers]

Since there is already one thread about Goodwill and re-selling, I'd figure I'd put one up that shows a little bit more inside info.

These are some insider and some public bits of info I got from talking to goodwill employees, reading accounts of employees as well as news articles about them in the past.

1. Goodwill often pays disabled people below minimum wage.

Some people defend this stating "they are basically babysitting them", but that is really beyond the point.

Goodwill gets all of it's stuff for FREE.

So their income has no "cost of good sold" line item unlike regular retail stores.

If you buy a $7 shirt at TjMaxx, the margin is probably 30 percent or so, their cost was probably $4-$5.

T shirts here are $3.88, which means they have a higher margin than TJMaxx.

If you look at precious metals, like gold and silver, they have sold on their own auction site (Shopgoodwill) for hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars. A jewelry store makes less money even though their margin can be as high as 50-60%.

Therefore, it is inexcusable to not pay disabled people aluminum wage, and while some may disagree, it's very dehumanizing as well as exploitative.

2. They have a dollar amount to price each day.

Stemming from the gross incompetency of modern management, Goodwill like other places is all about numbers. How the numbers are achieved are irrelevant.  Good numbers make managers look good, even though the reality can be way off.

Say for example a store has to price $1500 worth of inventory each day. This number can be higher or lower depending on the size of the store and foot traffic.

Towards the end of the inventory they have, if they are a few hundred dollars short, they will mark up remaining items higher. A normally 99 cent widget will now be $6.88, a $20 item in the showcase will now be $50.88.

Underperforming stores will see higher prices due to less being bought, and thus less to stock. This explains why some goodwills are highly overpriced compared to others. It makes no sense, but again, it's all about the numbers.

3. A lot of stuff never makes it to the shelves.

Depending on the area, certain items will never, ever be put out. They will be put into bins to send off to their own auction site (shopgoodwill). Some regional GW's even have their own eBay page.

What gets sent depends on what it is, how much it is worth, and other factors as well.

You will rarely see gold jewelry at a goodwill. If so, it was something missed. Some stores are better about it than others. Your probably thinking...people donate gold jewelry worth hundreds? Yes..in fact when I posted this, there were over 3,300 pieces of gold jewelry on their auction website.

[luckythewinner]

If you've been reading up on Goodwill, thm I'm sure you also know that:

1) Goodwill is a nonprofit

2) Their primary mission is to provide job training to people with barriers to employment, not to sell retail items 

3) The disabled workers who are paid less than minimum wage (legally, under the Fair Labor Standard Act) account for about 7% of their workforce

4) The fact that they maximize the income from valuable items (rather than selling them off cheaply to eBay resellers) is actually a good thing 

[lasantino]

goodwill may be a non profit..

but I guarantee you,  people donate to goodwill because they think goodwill is a charity..

goodwill is not a charity,,they do not give back to the community...

they simply employ people who have a hard time getting jobs..

they get free inventory,,they run the worst customer service of any resale store i've ever been to.
The american people who donate generously to goodwill are under the false impression that their donations go towards helping less fortunate families have access to things they might not otherwise have access to..

I could go on..

do a google search on greedwill not goodwill... it's a facebook group that has over 4000 members.. most are current and former goodwill employees who post about the corruption and gross abuse of the publics generosity..

the cold hard truth is.. goodwill would rather throw away perfectly good items than price them at reasonable prices...

it's the worst business i've ever seen operated.. the only reason they can continue to operate, is the get their inventory free, they have non profit status,,which is an IRS designation and has nothing to do with being charitable.,, they pay their employees below and living wage and after reading the facebook group pages,, it'

s obvious it's a nationwide problem.. there is absolutely no oversight..    the local goodwill chapters are in like flynn with the local media outlets.. 

Anyone who has spent any time doing the most basic research will be shocked and disgusted.. 

I've seen a manager taking a cart full of items to the trash compactor .. she passed a man who seemed to be down on his luck, and the man asked for something that she was about to throw away and destroy.. 

the manager yelled at the man to get off the property or she was going to call police..  all as she proceeded to throw the items in the trash compactor....,, the only job training goodwill provides is training is for working in their stores.. and I guarantee you.  From the way those stores operate .. no actual retail store would ever stay in business if it were run as poorly as goodwill.

[moo*cow*corner]

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@lasantino wrote:

goodwill may be a non profit..

but I guarantee you,  people donate to goodwill because they think goodwill is a charity..

goodwill is not a charity,,they do not give back to the community...

<snip>

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The Goodwill in my community has an office that is open everyday to assist whoever asks with job hunting, including translating, assisting with language barriers, specific resume help and filling out job applications.

I've also seen people shop at our local Goodwill with vouchers issued by community service agencies. Very recently, I was in the check out line behind a woman with about 6 kids getting necessary clothing and small household items for free. I have no clue what her actual circumstances may have been, but I don't begrudge these things at all.

I've seen and purchased things in smaller thrift stores that were unsold items donated from Goodwill. Nearly all of the thrifts around here schlep unsold merchandise back and forth to each other. I've seen items with pricing stickers 3 deep. And the final strike-thru and another price written with a grease pencil/china marker. I find it mildly amusing.

It's sad to read these negative stories about other Goodwills. Not all are like that. Ours here are pretty good. We shop pretty much every week.

[siayan]

There are a few things about Goodwill I don't like that I will not say here. What I will say is that I see a lot of employees there that are obviously trying to better themselves. They may not be hire-able at other places, they may be trying to get a new start or build a work history to get a better job. They may be recovering from something trying to lift up to a better situation I don't know but they are trying. All this is enough for me to just keep quite about the flaws. 

[cashvaluerecovery2011]

Nonprofit? There ceo and chief officers make millions and defer payments to make things look better than it actually is.

[tunicaslot]

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@quadcitypickers wrote:

Since there is already one thread about Goodwill and re-selling, I'd figure I'd put one up that shows a little bit more inside info.

These are some insider and some public bits of info I got from talking to goodwill employees, reading accounts of employees as well as news articles about them in the past.

1. Goodwill often pays disabled people below minimum wage.

Some people defend this stating "they are basically babysitting them", but that is really beyond the point.

Goodwill gets all of it's stuff for FREE.

So their income has no "cost of good sold" line item unlike regular retail stores.

If you buy a $7 shirt at TjMaxx, the margin is probably 30 percent or so, their cost was probably $4-$5.

T shirts here are $3.88, which means they have a higher margin than TJMaxx.

If you look at precious metals, like gold and silver, they have sold on their own auction site (Shopgoodwill) for hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars. A jewelry store makes less money even though their margin can be as high as 50-60%.

Therefore, it is inexcusable to not pay disabled people aluminum wage, and while some may disagree, it's very dehumanizing as well as exploitative.

2. They have a dollar amount to price each day.

Stemming from the gross incompetency of modern management, Goodwill like other places is all about numbers. How the numbers are achieved are irrelevant.  Good numbers make managers look good, even though the reality can be way off.

Say for example a store has to price $1500 worth of inventory each day. This number can be higher or lower depending on the size of the store and foot traffic.

Towards the end of the inventory they have, if they are a few hundred dollars short, they will mark up remaining items higher. A normally 99 cent widget will now be $6.88, a $20 item in the showcase will now be $50.88.

Underperforming stores will see higher prices due to less being bought, and thus less to stock. This explains why some goodwills are highly overpriced compared to others. It makes no sense, but again, it's all about the numbers.

3. A lot of stuff never makes it to the shelves.

Depending on the area, certain items will never, ever be put out. They will be put into bins to send off to their own auction site (shopgoodwill). Some regional GW's even have their own eBay page.

What gets sent depends on what it is, how much it is worth, and other factors as well.

You will rarely see gold jewelry at a goodwill. If so, it was something missed. Some stores are better about it than others. Your probably thinking...people donate gold jewelry worth hundreds? Yes..in fact when I posted this, there were over 3,300 pieces of gold jewelry on their auction website.

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Very interesting about the dollar amt to price each day. I have to say ours get lots of donations but t-shirts are still $4.95, sweatshirts 8.95 and pants 7.95 except if they are Nike then they are like $14.95. Ours is overpriced and why I usually only buy from there on $1 Saturdays but pickings have not been good lately as another reseller and her husband go running in with carts at opening - one taking one side of the store - one starting at the other and pull all the $1 tag items out.

[johnrj1226]

One  thing you need to remember about Goodwill - there are  some  different policies based  on the Goodwill Region - certainly the top  dog at  corporate dictate  common policies  to all GW retail stores.  For example - our local Goodwill store is  in the Goodwill of North Georgia - and  they extended a discount to senior citizens (above 55) a 25% discount on Tuesdays.  40 miles to the east  the Goodwill Store is in the Goodwill Coastal Region - the  coast is  still about 150 miles away) by  the extend a 15% discount to  those 55 or above of 15% on Wednesdays.

Buying of  equipment like forklifts (~$20K piece of  equipment on an 5  year operating, full maintenance lease) which I sold to them are acquired at the regional level- one per retail store  (20 locations)- we made  a ton of money on them - due to low abuse  and usage.  Plus we sold them other  items - like display and sorting tables - they paid well.

[clearsphere]

GW has maximizing profit down to a science and use all the tools available to them. Out of all the thrifts, I think SA helps the most directly-from job training, basic necessities-like food, clothing and shelter to rehab services. A list of CEO salaries will tell you all you need to know about where the money goes.

[stickboy1974]

I have walked into a goodwill with an area in the back where I cringe when I hear the sound of glass breaking. I had thought it was the employees DUMPING the donations on the floor - less work as you can then throw broken stuff out as opposed to taking it out to put on the shelves. Now I guess it is stuff that did not sell that they are breaking.

My family had the sad job of cleaning a cousins house after he had passed away. Instead of Goodwill, local men's shelters received the both the used and brand new shirts, toiletries, shoes, etc. We did this because of the prices that our Goodwill charge. A person who needs that type of stuff should not have to pay their prices.

The funniest (or not so funny) items I see in Goodwill are the ones that the Dollar Store next door is selling. I can pay Goodwill $1.99 for a used item that the Dollar Store is selling brand new for $1.00. And of course some of their other items I can get for the same price brand new at other stores.

[johnrj1226]

One more thing -  have stopped donating to GW as  they  have greatly increased  prices on  many items -  example a pair of  used denims were $5.99 now $7.99  (33.3% increase)- about  1/2 of what you can buy a new pair of 501  Levi at Wal-Mart and return them if they don't fit. A common  t-shirt used to be 99 cents now $2.99  302% increase) - glad the price of tomatoes  haven't gone up that much recently.  a 10 year old flat  screen TV priced at about 75%  of a new and sold "as-is" zippo warranty or return.  Their  acquisition cost  is still zero - the floor people aren't getting a "big" raise - guess the bonuses are  need to get bigger.

Low income people get  hurt by these  leaps  and bounds price increases.

Salvation Army now gets all of our donations.  They actually send stuff to areas when  disaster strikes.

[luckythewinner]

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@lasantino wrote:

goodwill may be a non profit..

but I guarantee you,  people donate to goodwill because they think goodwill is a charity..

goodwill is not a charity,,they do not give back to the community...

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As I said before ... if you had really looked into Goodwill as you claim you had, you would know how silly and incorrect these statements are.  But that's okay - these days people tend not to let facts get in the way of their pre-conceived narrative. 

[kim_y_buran]

LOL, so much teeth gnashing about no longer being able to rip off Goodwill stores to resell with a 10x markup.

[dhbookds]

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@kim_y_buran wrote:

LOL, so much teeth gnashing about no longer being able to rip off Goodwill stores to resell with a 10x markup.

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I rather agree with this.........if the prices were low enough, we could put up with all the negatives..........

This kind of local bashing........my store "does this" can be done of any chain.....with the 1000's of people that any place serves over the years, some people will have trouble and NEVER forget it..........  I remember one thread about the Red Cross.........one person would never donate because when x family member came back just after WWII, the RC wouldn't give him a toothbrush............

[mvls1]

I don't now about ripping ANY thrift store off, but our job is to find the diamond in the rough and we do from time to time. We have to work with what we are given and they can't know everything about all things donated to them. Since everything was donated to them, they are free to sell it for whatever they can get, but we are also free shop elsewhere.

That said, you would be surprised what can still be found just because they don't know everything. What amazes me is people that we know are sellers and some of the junk that they buy. Unless they want it for their personal use, I am talking they couldn't make even a dollar on it, but they buy it and a lot of it. Mind boggling.