DrTrooth
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posted on October 8, 2000 07:35:25 PM
An ebay Seller is dropping off a box of items that are no longer wanted to the local Thrift shop. There are other donated items sitting in the same area and the Seller decides to help themselves to what goods they want.
Reportedly the items are not in the dumpster or collection box, but outside the box, but clearly the intent is that the items are to be for the benefit of the charitable organisation.
So....are they a thief or are they not?
Can we keep this simple? Just yes or no.
Thanks.
Dr. Trooth
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Valleygirl
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posted on October 8, 2000 07:37:52 PM
You really have to ask?
Not my name on ebay.
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yellowstone
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posted on October 8, 2000 07:44:32 PM
I think you know what my answer is and I might also add that even if they only do it OCCASIONALLY.
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gghost
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posted on October 8, 2000 07:45:22 PM
According to some cases in the area I used to live, Portland OR & Vancouver WA, items left for a charitable organization are the property of that org. whether or not in the donation box and people taking those items are prosecuted for theft.
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DrTrooth
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posted on October 8, 2000 07:45:40 PM
I knew that someone would have trouble with this question.
Just so you know, the party in question seems to have trouble with it and sees no problem with their action.
FWIW.....my answer is yes, yes they are.
Yes or no?
Dr. Trooth
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skwid
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posted on October 8, 2000 07:51:03 PM
Absolutely! Yes!
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coyote0
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posted on October 8, 2000 07:58:34 PM
I don't appreciate thieves like this stealing my United Way donations! (By stealing from a member organization.) YES THEY ARE STEALING! What some people will do to turn a buck! $$$coyote$$$
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kathyg
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posted on October 8, 2000 07:59:54 PM
Over a year ago, a local TV station did a series of stories on this very topic. They used hidden cameras to tape people pilfering through the donations late at night. Before the culprits left, they were confronted by a reporter and photographer - ala 60 Minutes.
Very entertaining to watch these creeps trying to justify thier actions on television. If they were smart, they would have run.
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labbie1
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posted on October 8, 2000 08:04:05 PM
yes
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koto1
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posted on October 8, 2000 08:33:00 PM
Yes, it is thievery
"Who's tending the bar? Sniping works up a thirst"
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mcjane
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posted on October 8, 2000 08:38:59 PM
yes
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on October 8, 2000 08:48:23 PM
Of course. And the law around these parts agrees with me 
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magazine_guy
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posted on October 8, 2000 08:48:45 PM
Yes. Theft- and in some ways it's worse when someone steals from a charity founded to help the disadvantaged.
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outoftheblue
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posted on October 8, 2000 08:54:56 PM
You people are a bit harsh. These miss-guided recyclers are just ethically impared.
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heygrape
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posted on October 8, 2000 09:01:43 PM
Just had a thought. Bear with me. I don't have many. LOL!!
If it was a homeless person trying to find a coat or a blanket, would you consider it stealing?
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jmjones6061
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posted on October 8, 2000 09:05:58 PM
Around here, they do prosecute for this - I knew someone who was arrested for it and was prosecuted. Six months prob, fine, 200 hrs community service. (Justifiably, I might add).
I also have problems with the goodwill employees sorting through donations and keeping what they want - or greatly discounting it to themselves.....
Jane
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nowwhat
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posted on October 8, 2000 09:13:01 PM
I certainly wouldn't take anything that was meant as a donation to a thrift store however aren't the people who are leaving things also out of line. My local thrift does not want items left in front of the store. They have a sign which says illegal dumping is subject to a fine. In some cases people who leave things are doing it just to get rid of stuff. I don't think they are doing it because they want to be charitable. Often they leave things that would not be accepted by volunteers if the store was open. I think people who dump things are also part of the problem.
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honestjonstoys
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posted on October 8, 2000 09:18:57 PM
You can dress it up with all the fancy words and qualifiers you want.
Its still stealing.
--------------
Don't take life so serious, it ain't nohow permanent.
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on October 8, 2000 09:45:36 PM
If it was a homeless person trying to find a coat or a blanket, would you consider it stealing?
He can't come by during business hours? Around these parts, anybody desperate can walk into any of several different thrift stores and get whatever he needs FREE (and even gets to shop the racks). The Salvation Army will give them a whole outfit every 2 weeks. No need to resort to theft.
I think people who dump things are also part of the problem.
Certainly "dumpers" are breaking the law (in some areas). But that doesn't excuse others' theft. Moreover, most folks have enough self-control to leave deciding how the "dumped" stuff should be disposed of to the charity for whom it was intended.
Back in Boston a number of Mom and Pop stores get their newspaper deliveries left on the doorstep well before opening. Would you find it acceptable to take a newspaper? After all, the shop owner and news deliverer are stupid enough to leave them there; they're obviously "part of the problem"...
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Crystalline_Sliver
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posted on October 8, 2000 10:19:14 PM
My response would be that check your local laws.
:\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
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outoftheblue
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posted on October 8, 2000 10:22:53 PM
honestjonstoys
[B]You can dress it up with all the fancy words and qualifiers you want.
Its still stealing.[/B]
If your post is aimed at me, I was just having fun with words. As you say: "Don't take life so serious"
[ edited by outoftheblue on Oct 8, 2000 10:25 PM ]
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victoria
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posted on October 9, 2000 05:32:40 AM
On second thought, I don't think I should jump on this bandwagon. I've done things that wouldn't bring me honor in the court of public opinion. I just don't mention them in front of God knows how many people who read these forums.
[ edited by victoria on Oct 9, 2000 06:10 AM ]
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brighid868
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posted on October 9, 2000 06:21:26 AM
technically it is stealing, but I really wouldn't care. I don't think all stealing is equivalent to all other stealing. Just like I don't think selling an ounce of pot is equivalent to being a drug kingpin or not reporting your garage sale *profits* on your taxes is equivalent to a billion dollar tax evader with offshore this and that. Luckily most humans have a large, well developed brain and are capable of judging multiple scenarios with multiple variables, when called upon to do so. I don't find a one size fits all morality to be especially pertinent to most human situations----if you do, we will have to agree to disagree.
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macandjan
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posted on October 9, 2000 06:46:07 AM
[ edited by macandjan on Dec 3, 2000 07:01 PM ]
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hcross
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posted on October 9, 2000 06:52:12 AM
I have had my own disagreements with Jeanyu, but this is a little unfair, she has taken a real beating around here the last few weeks so be a little nicer? I can see several interpretations of her comments, and only she knows what she really does. Heather
edited to add: No, I don't think it is right either. But, everyone does things in life that others may not think is right, none of us are perfect.
[ edited by hcross on Oct 9, 2000 06:54 AM ]
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captainkirk
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posted on October 9, 2000 06:54:14 AM
Actually, I don't know if a homeless person taking a blanket from the area around a bin at night is even technically stealing. Stealing is taking property without permission, and if the local institution has a policy of providing blankets to homeless people, it may not be. There is no legal requirement that items be formally distributed by a thrift store employee.
HCQ: When a cold front moves in, and the temperature drops by 30 degrees suddenly at 9 pm, perhaps they *Can't* "come by during business hours", especially if young children are involved. Surely you don't want a mother and child huddled all night, shivering, for the thrift store to open up at 9 am?
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furkidmom
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posted on October 9, 2000 07:20:07 AM
Without attacking the poster who initially made the comment about the Goodwill Containers, and forget the fact that the person tried to back track on their post by insisting it was playing with words, in a word it is stealing, plain and simple. By someone else saying a poor homeless woman with children should not be shivering in the cold so that too is justified, I do not go along with that. Just a brief story. A long time ago, I was raising a child, alone and with no skills but my wits to keep us going. I was on public assistance for 2 months, and in that 2 months, I eeked out enough money to put an ad in the newspaper to take in washing, and also house cleaning. It was that or stay a member of the $203 club, which was what Public Assistance gave out to people. I knew that not to do that would mean me and my child would be homeless, before the fact and did not sit and wait for the numbers on the calendar to change and find us out on the street. I never stole, nor begged, but utilized the free bulletin boards at super markets and a free newspaper to help me advertize as well. I shoveled snow, and cut grass and did odd jobs for other people. I built a small business doing that, and reported every dime to the assistance program, and in the end, even paid them back for the 2 months I needed the service. The moral is: None of us is so poor or needy that we must take from those, things that are designated for someone else. On the street or in the bin, it is meant for those that are not so fortunate as us to have the brains to plan ahead, and get offa their duffs to go out and make it happen. If the people that work at these places dive in and help themselves, they are the ones that have to live with themselves. They are stealing as well. (off my soap box, dusting it off, and putting it away)
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chiquita
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posted on October 9, 2000 07:26:42 AM
YES! And in response to jmjones6061 I also have problems with these goodwill employees. My sister knows a lady (not a friend) who "volunteers" her time to a local charity shop, but she only does it to get first dibs on all the good stuff to sell in her Vintage Clothing store. I find her actions even more repulsive, since she is disquising it as charity! What a saint!
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labbie1
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posted on October 9, 2000 07:34:31 AM
hcross Okay, I am totally lost here! What does Jeanyu have to do with anything? I didn't see a message from her here. What did I miss while I slept? 
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rarriffle
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posted on October 9, 2000 07:35:32 AM
I believe that before someone looks for dirt on the neighbors back porch, they should make sure their own is very very clean. nuff said!
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