Shopgoodwill.org-good or bad?

IAmTheCheapestGamer

IAmTheCheapestGamer

Banned
I'm wondering what some other CAGs opinions are of Goodwills' auction site, since some of the prices seem a tad high for my liking and the shipping for some items is ridiculous($17-18 for a system n 2 games? from who, ripoff package service?). Another item of the same size and weight shipped for HALF that. Gouge much?

I mean, even some of the opening bids for items are high, but I guess they're just trying to get a bunch for the items like my local Salvation Army stores, which think anything gaming related=gold.

So, if you've bought or bid on anything on there, good experience or not? And from what section of the country are you and did you bid on an item from?
 
i bought a few consoles from there. it isnt too bad and they ship pretty fast since they always do priority mail no matter what. the only problem i have is that when they say that its untested, usually means that it doesn't work. there are a few good deals on there but mostly nintendo stuff.

not a whole lot of people know about this auction site. its almost like the second ebay only that its uncrowded. lately theres been alot of people i think since their online inventory mainly consisted of games (i think it is the most popular and most profitable for them). this site is also responsible for their B&M stores pricing their game library at a not so thrift friendly price.

edit: don't take any chances of getting stuff thats untested. thrift store policy applies the same to the website: all sales are final.
 
Hmmmm this seems all wrong, I know it benefits people like us who get this video game stuff cheaper but in all this seems wrong for Goodwill to be getting stuff donated and then putting it up for auction to turn profit.. if some of this stuff was rare it would go for big dollars...

Didn't goodwill get in trouble years ago for something similar to this but I think it was for selling things instore for profit and not online??


this type of thing is exactly why I won't donate to goodwill anymore and only give to places like purple heart..
 
LOL Apparently SOMEONE did erehwon and I laugh because when I last checked it, it was up OVER $100.

I mean, some of the stores selling on the site want almost $20 for an opening bid, others have a 'buy it now' type deal for $25 and almost NONE of the Playstation or Genesis auctions contain anything really GOOD. And, those that do, you immediately KNOW that they do by the $50-70 auction price.

Typically, our local Salvation Army stores want $19.99 for an old grey Playstation and even MORE for a SNES($29.99). And, wouldn't you know it, the ONLY time a local Sally had decent prices on games and systems, my money was at home. Only reason I did that was because I had this tendency to buy Star Trek novels(another harder to find commodity amongst thrift store shelves here)and almost anything gaming related and most of it has sat here collecting dust since I bought it.

So, by the time I rushed home(since my family I was there shopping with wouldn't lend me the damn money, then let me pay them back when we got home later)and grabbed my money, you guessed it, all of the systems I was looking at were LONG GONE.

And we're not talking about some pos dust covered Saturn with no wires here. I'm talking about not one, but TWO NES systems(one a near mint TOP LOADER) and a SNES for around $10 in a huge box with an assortment of games for both. AND, all three systems had wires and spare controllers.

This is why I keep at LEAST $10 and change on me anymore, so this never happens again.
 
they really need to come to their senses and sell it at a reasonable price. im sure all over the u.s. all goodwill stores have some sort of auction on there. the ones that are not so lucky, well they are probably waiting for a computer or laptop to be donate so they can start posting auctions.
 
http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=3033249

DAMN! $95+ for an SNES with two controllers and:

Aladdin
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Donkey Kong Country (x2)
Final Fantasy III (VI)
Mega Man X
Secrect of Mana
Street Fighter II Turbo
Super Adventure Island
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario World (x2)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
Yoshi's Cookie

A good chunk of those games are made of win. Whoever gave those us was INSANE.
 
[quote name='mrelusive']I smell a mother on a Spring Cleaning binge was responsible ;P[/quote]
If that was the case, then I feel sorry for the person who owned them. I know my mom's tossed out some of my NES and SNES games before, which pissed me the hell off.
 
Goddamn you Goodwill.
Why oh why did you mock me that cold February morning?
Warming up in your bosoms, sweaty but plump
A mint NES with Super Mario Bros. 3 and Battletoads
A Genesis with Sonic 1 and 2
And a Nintendo 64 with Conker's Bad Fur Day?

Why oh why did you decide to put out for the fat dude with ten more bucks than me?

fuck you Goodwill. fuck you.
 
[quote name='Derrick1979']Hmmmm this seems all wrong, I know it benefits people like us who get this video game stuff cheaper but in all this seems wrong for Goodwill to be getting stuff donated and then putting it up for auction to turn profit.. if some of this stuff was rare it would go for big dollars...

Didn't goodwill get in trouble years ago for something similar to this but I think it was for selling things instore for profit and not online??

this type of thing is exactly why I won't donate to goodwill anymore and only give to places like purple heart..[/QUOTE]

Okay, first off, I work for Goodwill. Second, I'm not 100% I understand your complaint about Goodwill, but I will attempt to educate everyone a bit more about it.

Goodwill is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that assists people with disabilities and disadvantages in achieving their education and employment goals. Through our services, we help people achieve independence and economic self-sufficiency.

In English, we prepare people for work. We help people get jobs through offering them training classes on a variety of fields. How do we fund all these programs? By being one of the few non-profit organizations that doesn't solely rely on government funding. We are 80% self-sufficent. We are that way because of our Goodwill stores and the generous donations we receive. We sell the items in our stores, online or through silent auctions. While there isn't a set price for all items, there are guidelines to follow and we do need to find a balance between maximizing what we get for the items, plus giving the shoppers a good deal. Sometimes items are priced too high, sometimes too low, but the purpose of selling these items in our stores and online is to get the most money for it to support our mission.

As for shopgoodwill.com, each state runs it's own area, but there are guidelines to follow (no buy it now, listing items a certain way, etc.). Part of the reason they can't test everything is because there is a lot of stuff to go through, they can't hook up every piece of equipment they get and test it out. It is like a mini-ebay and there are some good finds on there.

Hope that helps out and gives you a better idea of what Goodwill is all about. Feel free to visit goodwilleasterseals.org for more information and links to books, car auctions and more shopping online. And if you have any questions about Goodwill, just post here.

Have a great day!
 
This is why I prefer to do donations on freecycle/craigslist since if its a really heavy item you don't have to haul it further than your front porch, we are a family with 4 adults in the house so there is always someone home to be there for pickups, and usually it goes to someone who can really use the item.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']This is why I prefer to do donations on freecycle/craigslist since if its a really heavy item you don't have to haul it further than your front porch, we are a family with 4 adults in the house so there is always someone home to be there for pickups, and usually it goes to someone who can really use the item.[/quote]
I don't know about that last part. My experience is that if you're donating stuff with any resale value at all, then most of the people responding will be resellers.
 
[quote name='LuisRM']Okay, first off, I work for Goodwill. Second, I'm not 100% I understand your complaint about Goodwill, but I will attempt to educate everyone a bit more about it.

Goodwill is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that assists people with disabilities and disadvantages in achieving their education and employment goals. Through our services, we help people achieve independence and economic self-sufficiency.

In English, we prepare people for work. We help people get jobs through offering them training classes on a variety of fields. How do we fund all these programs? By being one of the few non-profit organizations that doesn't solely rely on government funding. We are 80% self-sufficent. We are that way because of our Goodwill stores and the generous donations we receive. We sell the items in our stores, online or through silent auctions. While there isn't a set price for all items, there are guidelines to follow and we do need to find a balance between maximizing what we get for the items, plus giving the shoppers a good deal. Sometimes items are priced too high, sometimes too low, but the purpose of selling these items in our stores and online is to get the most money for it to support our mission.

As for shopgoodwill.com, each state runs it's own area, but there are guidelines to follow (no buy it now, listing items a certain way, etc.). Part of the reason they can't test everything is because there is a lot of stuff to go through, they can't hook up every piece of equipment they get and test it out. It is like a mini-ebay and there are some good finds on there.

Hope that helps out and gives you a better idea of what Goodwill is all about. Feel free to visit goodwilleasterseals.org for more information and links to books, car auctions and more shopping online. And if you have any questions about Goodwill, just post here.

Have a great day![/quote]

This is what gets me though, many of these supposed 'charities' end up charging retail or close to retail for anything with a real 'worth' or a perceived worth and many times they don't even take the common courtesy to see if the shit works before just plunking it out on the floor in the case of electronics.

So, am I more willing to pay for something that says 'untested' or 'unable to test'(usually also means too f'n lazy to hook it up if it came in complete)? You better believe I'm NOT gonna wanna pay the highway robbery price for what could be an overglorified doorstop.

Mind you, I know some people trade in electronics incomplete and some stores get in assloads of stuff every day, making testing of such items almost impossible. But, some of the smaller shops here seem to act like they get in tons of electronic stuff every day and just take it from the cart they bring it in from the truck in and slap a price sticker on it and that's it.

Then, you have the $7 shirts(for another $1-3 I can have 2 that're brand new for that price) the $10 sneakers(for $15, I can get a decent pair from WallyWorld that're NEW) and so on and so forth.

I mean, I definitely understand wanting to help people, but people DONATE this stuff out of the goodness of their hearts(well, aside from those who request tax receipts)and many may think that these items will be given or sold at a REASONABLE price to others, so that others may get some use out of those items they donated.

But, I think the days of almost ANY thrift shop run by a large charity(Goodwill, Salvation Army)being reasonably priced are long since gone. Or at least it seems that way around here.

I'd certainly love to score a $1-2 SNES/Genesis game or a complete system for $5-7, but around here, these 'charities' premium price anything they think is 'valuable' and in many cases, that just gets me to scoff at their prices and walk out, having bought NOTHING.

I don't look down upon you guys trying to do some good with the money you make from donated stuff being sold, but I laugh at the way some stores seem to price it. It's NOT new stuff, yet many price it as if it is. And THAT is the problem I have with 'thrift' stores of all kinds nowadays.
 
[quote name='freshzen']I was scoping out some auctions on shopgoodwill.com at one point but gave up because everything kept going too high....[/quote]
yeah after this post theres definitely alot more people there now than before. but its been overcrowding lately that its not easy to buy items at a cheap price.

but, iamthecheapergamer has some solid points. those are the exact things me and my wife were complaining about. like for instance there was a FF7 original auction used that sold before for $90 (yes it sold that much on their auction site). now, if i was the donatee, and wrote that off as $5's worth, then goodwill sells it for $90, i have every right to be upset about it.. i know these people like myself would donate to goodwill or salvation army at our own free will. but to be taken advantage of isn't right.

there is HELPING THOSE WHO NEED and theres HELPING THOSE WHO NEED BUT WE MUST MAKE A PROFIT FIRST. i'd like to find out what the salaries of the executives at goodwill.
 
[quote name='phear3d'] i'd like to find out what the salaries of the executives at goodwill.[/QUOTE]
As 501(c)3 charities that information is public. The answer is a lot.

The President of Portland, Oregon's Goodwill branch was paid $831,508 in combined salary and benefits in 2005, which the Attorney General of that state called "unreasonable".
http://www.ncrp.org/AR-122005-Oregonian-GoodwillChief.asp


The president of Goodwill Industries in Tampa Bay received a package of $530,693 in 2005.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/08/15/Business/He_s_the_highest_paid.shtml
 
Yeah... they overprice the hell out of everything. I really can't see how a super-large organization, be it a charity or corporation, can have a executive that isn't paid highly. Maybe there are some that aren't, but I doubt it. They just got carried away with how much profit they could make off stuff that is given to them freely.

I use shopgoodwill regularily, and I just pick up all of the items at the Goodwill 2 miles from my house. I got some fair deals (50$ SNES with DKC 1&3, 30$ Genesis with Gunstar Heroes, these being the first "old" consoles I bought I didn't really know what I was doing, especially with the SNES), and then I bought 3 Genesises at 7-8$ (one of them was listed as "working" but had a broken power supply and RF switch) which I used for parts or sold to freinds.
 
[quote name='grahamwheat']I use shopgoodwill regularily, and I just pick up all of the items at the Goodwill 2 miles from my house.[/QUOTE]
Must be nice, there's not a single Goodwill in the state selling online. If I could pick them up nearby I'd check it out once in a while.
 
Yeah, I'm going to have to jump on the Goodwill is overpriced bandwagon. The stores I've been to in this area all seem to assume that any sort of electronic device instantly has to be worth at least 25 dollars. Thus, I see tons of console only PS1's and N64's all marked 39.99....
 
[quote name='Damian']Must be nice, there's not a single Goodwill in the state selling online. If I could pick them up nearby I'd check it out once in a while.[/quote]

Yeah, but they're only open from 9 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Monday-Friday, which means that if I didn't have a break in classes at noon on Thursdays I could never go. Still pretty nice, though.
 
[quote name='LuisRM']Goodwill is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that assists people with disabilities and disadvantages in achieving their education and employment goals. Through our services, we help people achieve independence and economic self-sufficiency.

In English, we prepare people for work. We help people get jobs through offering them training classes on a variety of fields. How do we fund all these programs? By being one of the few non-profit organizations that doesn't solely rely on government funding. [/QUOTE]


Someone that use to work there a long time ago told me that the whole Goodwill "job training" thing is just a scam and Goodwill exploits the same people with disabilities and disadvantages that they claim to be helping.

He told me that since it's technically "training", Goodwill doesn't need to pay minimum wage. So what they do is get sub-contracted to do menial work from big companies (like screwing bolts onto doorknobs or something like that), and then they pay the "trainees" a shitty wage like $2 an hour. In the meantime, the board of directors are the ones that are getting paid the real money.

This is just what I've heard though, so I have no idea if it's true or not. It does make a lot of sense though.
 
I only give items away on freecycle that have no resell value, if it has resell value, then I sell it, simple as that. But some items are worth too little or you have too much of it to even bother with the measly profit you will make.

We went into a salvation army that had 10$ USED and washed out 10 year old jeans, and shirts for 5-6$. I can get brand new shirts on clearance for way less than that, and I am not even gonna touch the issue of buying used jeans. I can pay 19.99 for a pair of new jeans and they last two years, I think thats a pretty good life-span for jeans.

We just bought some clothes at Sears, kids clothes were .79, (yep, 79 cents for a kids shirt, and like 2$ and under for the other shirts), pants for 2.49 etc.. Most adult womens shirts were under 5$ each, they also have a load of brand new in style mens t-shirts for 8.99 each. If you shop on the clearance racks you can get lower prices on NEW clothing than the salvation army or goodwill can ever offer.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']...
Then, you have the $7 shirts(for another $1-3 I can have 2 that're brand new for that price) the $10 sneakers(for $15, I can get a decent pair from WallyWorld that're NEW) and so on and so forth.

I mean, I definitely understand wanting to help people, but people DONATE this stuff out of the goodness of their hearts(well, aside from those who request tax receipts)and many may think that these items will be given or sold at a REASONABLE price to others, so that others may get some use out of those items they donated.

...[/QUOTE]

The point of the matter is that the charity doesn't exist to sell items for cheap. The point is to maximize the amount we get for every item to fund our programs and services. If you want a cheap item, there are many places to go to find them. If you want an item at a fair price that helps people/mission that is why people shop at a charity. A lot of it is the perception of what is a "fair" price. We wouldn't sell the items at the price we do if they didn't sell. They start at a fair price and if they don't sell they are discounted twice. If at that point it doesn't sell it is then salvaged.


[quote name='phear3d']...
but, iamthecheapergamer has some solid points. those are the exact things me and my wife were complaining about. like for instance there was a FF7 original auction used that sold before for $90 (yes it sold that much on their auction site). now, if i was the donatee, and wrote that off as $5's worth, then goodwill sells it for $90, i have every right to be upset about it.. i know these people like myself would donate to goodwill or salvation army at our own free will. but to be taken advantage of isn't right.

there is HELPING THOSE WHO NEED and theres HELPING THOSE WHO NEED BUT WE MUST MAKE A PROFIT FIRST. i'd like to find out what the salaries of the executives at goodwill.[/QUOTE]

People generally don't donate for just a tax break, they want to help and support the mission of the organization. If the organization sells the item for more than they think it's worth they should be happy that their donation brought in more money for the cause. It is the obligation of the organization to maximize the profit to support their programs.

As for the salaries, CEO's of non-profits make much less generally than they would if they worked for a for-profit company. Just because they work for a non-profit doesn't mean they don't have just as much responsibility and duties as a company that is for-profit.

[quote name='norkusa']Someone that use to work there a long time ago told me that the whole Goodwill "job training" thing is just a scam and Goodwill exploits the same people with disabilities and disadvantages that they claim to be helping.

He told me that since it's technically "training", Goodwill doesn't need to pay minimum wage. So what they do is get sub-contracted to do menial work from big companies (like screwing bolts onto doorknobs or something like that), and then they pay the "trainees" a shitty wage like $2 an hour. In the meantime, the board of directors are the ones that are getting paid the real money.

This is just what I've heard though, so I have no idea if it's true or not. It does make a lot of sense though.[/QUOTE]

Really, these are just a common misconceptions all around. It is just not true. Our participants get paid at least minimum wage when they are working with us. They do get trained when they are in a training program. When they get out of training and get placed into the workforce they earn a living wage (that is above minimum wage). Training is everything from specific job skills to how to act in the workplace and everything in between.


The one thing to think about is that don't assume you know what is going on at these organizations. Check out your local charities web sites or get involved and volunteer to find out how things really work. I can't speak for all non-profits, or all Goodwills, but I can tell you how we run our organization.

One last note, I just got a figure this morning from a team meeting, and it is this:
For every dollar we get, 92¢ of it goes back into the organization's mission and training.

Hope this clears a few things up.
 
[quote name='LuisRM']The point of the matter is that the charity doesn't exist to sell items for cheap. The point is to maximize the amount we get for every item to fund our programs and services. If you want a cheap item, there are many places to go to find them. If you want an item at a fair price that helps people/mission that is why people shop at a charity. A lot of it is the perception of what is a "fair" price. We wouldn't sell the items at the price we do if they didn't sell. They start at a fair price and if they don't sell they are discounted twice. If at that point it doesn't sell it is then salvaged.
[/quote]

But, the point is, if it has to be discounted twice, then chances are that people think it's being sold at too high a price. And actually, NO ONE I know shops at Goodwill/Salvation Army to 'help the charity', they shop there to try and find a good deal and hopefully it's also a CHEAP deal.

Most of these charities don't even look like they take the time to determine if the donations they receive are sale worthy, they just seem to slap a price sticker on them and throw them out on the floor.

Case in point, I found a desk at a Salvation Army that, had it been inspected, would've been cleaned out pretty quickly. It's drawers were loaded to the top with all sort of office supplies that were probably mistakenly donated with the desk. Don't get me wrong, as that was a bonus for whoever finally bought it, but it just goes to show that the desk wasn't checked before being put out there.

I can only imagine all the truly bad things that people have left in stuff that they later on donated. Whether it were done knowingly or unknowingly is another matter altogether, but the condition on some items that these stores want high prices for ($150 for a used, crap stained couch? highway robbery)is suspect at best.

The charities cause doesn't affect me at all, finding a CHEAP deal at a 'thrift'(maybe you or your bosses should look up the definition of it sometime) store does though.

I also take offense to clothing being 'scrapped' or 'salvaged' as you called it, when that was definitely NOT the intended purpose the person who donated it had in mind for their former possessions I'm sure.

Why not, instead of charging $6 for that used t-shirt, charge $1-2 for it, so at least someone can say 'hey that's not a bad price' and buy it, instead of it ending up as rags.

But, I forgot, you said your charity was out to 'maximize the profit' you make on the items you get. To me, that sounds like your 'charity' is a for-profit entity and should be TAXED as such.

As for me, I'd rather go to where the homeless congregate anymore and give them a bag of my used clothes, since at least I know they'd be getting used and they would be getting helped by my charity, unlike your definition of 'charity'.
 
CheapestGamer, I'm not here to change your perceptions or ideas, just to offer how it is done with our location. Like all stores (Target, WalMart, etc.) they discount their items as well if they don't sell. We're no different. Should they discount everything before trying to get the most for it? We have a very strict policy about putting clothing items in particular on the sales floor. No stains, rips, buttons missing etc. Of course things can get missed, but our processers take time to look at all the items.

I'm sure many organizations overprice things, but I can't only speak how we price them. I know many people don't even know our Mission and do only shop for good deals, and there are good deals to be found.

As for the clothes being salvaged, that does NOT mean thrown in a garbage dump somewhere to decompose. We bundle them up and sell them to vendors who sell/distribute them to other countries. So they are getting used.

It's too bad that these misconceptions and uninformed ideas are going around, but that is part of our job in marketing. We try and educate people on how your purchases and donations help get jobs for people.
 
[quote name='LuisRM']As for the salaries, CEO's of non-profits make much less generally than they would if they worked for a for-profit company.[/quote]
Generally, that's true. That's why I pointed out those specific Goodwill Presidents. They make far more than any other executive in their area, period. Profit or non-profit.
For every dollar we get, 92¢ of it goes back into the organization's mission and training.
Click to expand...
Which Goodwill is this? As you say, they are all individually run. Goodwill of Southern Indiana is horrible. They spend less than 48 cents of every dollar on programs.

The best one I can find is Goodwill of Southeastern Wisconsin and Metro Chicago is one like yours (if it isn't). They spend over 92 cents per dollar on programs.

Goodwill is not a homogeneous organization, more like a loose collection of "franchises". People having terrible experiences with their local Goodwill have no real way of knowing that or care necessarily.
 
I agree, those salaries you mentioned are pretty high. Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota, which runs 16 stores in the Twin Cities and some outstate is the one that gives back .92 cents per dollar.

You're right, it is almost like a franchise where different states run them around a loose set of national guidelines.
 
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