posted on February 14, 2002 11:30:34 AM
I know you guys probably knew of this a long time ago, but I just found out from a Goodwill employee that they auction their items. Sure enough, I checked and each store can put their auctions on here. They've tripled the price on everything in the stores. The best stuff gets auctioned off, not just a rare antique or other exceptional item. This leaves mostly stained and ripped clothing for the low-income folks to buy. I know the sales generated go to Goodwill projects, but a lot of people depend on these stores just to make ends meet. Their book/toy prices are ok. I like to buy reading material there sometimes.
Your thoughts?
posted on February 14, 2002 11:51:34 AM
Hi alwaysbroke.
There was a huge Goodwill scandal here in Santa Clara County a few years ago, and it confirmed the suspicions of folks who would haunt GW stores regularly and never find anything good. (Now you're providing another explanation why there is never anything good in the stores.)
A group of sisters were managers at various stores. They'd "pick" the good stuff at the back door; the sorters never got to see it. Then the items were sold to a select group of antique dealers, or stashed in storage. After one of these managers was arrested, they found 50 barrels full of stuff she had stolen from Goodwill, not to mention hundreds of thousands of dollars still in Goodwill cash wrappers. This is just the tip of the iceberg, read all about it here:
It's a juicy and appalling story involving suicide, greed, family turning against family and more.
And it's not unique to Santa Clara County. Similar thefts are occurring in thrift stores all over the country.
As a long-time thrift store habitue, who sees the quality of goods that *used* to appear on the shelves of stores versus what *now* appears on store shelves, I'd say employee theft is going on at 70% or more of the stores I go to.
This may be why the charities are turning to auctions. With their revenues down and an apparent unwillingness to root out the thieves within, they've got to do something to raise cash.
posted on February 14, 2002 12:03:15 PM
They can also put a low price on a good item, tell a friend it is going on display, and when the friend walks in- out it comes, 10c on the $. All very legal.
posted on February 14, 2002 12:39:18 PM
I just read the article. This is making me sick. I shop at 3 GW's because my husband frequently gets laid off or his work slows down. Here are some things I noticed and it didn't make sense until now:
1. I over heard employees at the GW in poorest area talking. From now on they have to send all donations to another city to be processed. Their inventory was already nearly nonusable, and they are afraid they will get the dregs. Their videos were only copies or stuff most people wouldn't want. Clothing was pathetic. (The web site had brand new toys still in boxes, suits bidding in the 100's, purses in the near 100's)
2. At the GW which is in a medium income area I am most alarmed. Up until 2 weeks ago, they had wonderful stuff. I overheard employees talking about the vests. They had a huge rackful of the most gorgeous vests you've ever seen. Well, they vanish over night. Only a scanty amount remained and the girls were asking who took them. There are no girls dresses. The baby clothes are nothing but trash. The only ladies' clothes are damaged. The suits are old and out of date. When I started shopping there, it was great. I could get all of us a bunch of dress and school clothes. 2 weeks ago the prices were doubled/tripled. There is a new woman there I haven't seen before.
She resented giving me a discount card for my donations, resented stamping my card for purchases. She bristled when I mentioned 2 sets of baby dolls looked like they came out of someone's collection. These weren't play dolls, they were for adults to display. They wanted $20 each set, $10 for nic-nacks, $3 tshirts (used to be 50c or $1).
3. The 3rd store is in the best neighborhood. I don't see any of those problems there. I think their prices are too high if they are planning on selling to the poor.
posted on February 14, 2002 01:05:36 PM
Well, here's another GW horror story from prior to the ebay days. About 10-15 years ago, I sold collectible toys in an antique mall, and as such did some serious "picking" at Goodwill back in the days when you could come across decent stuff there. One of my regular customers, who was a police officer, told me that the regional manager for several GWs in his area got busted for this sort of scam (not sure if busted by the police or by GW higher-ups). It seems this guy would have the people at each store fill up boxes of toys for him, and he would pay GW $20 per box. Naturally, it turns out he had a flea market booth in the neighboring state. He'd pick out the good stuff for himself, then return the worthless stuff for the store to sell. The real kicker of the story is this: While it seemed that maybe GW was doing ok by getting his $20 per box contribution, it turned out the "boxes" he was using were actually full-sized refrigerator cartons!
I was just visiting the GW stores in the area today. Pickings are very slim and the competition is fierce. One employee brought out a Mickey Mouse telephone to place it in the electronics section, and you could see the eyes of all the dealers watching it, as if she were carrying the Crown Jewels or something. The best I can get at Goodwill these days are some half decent books or records (that don't make it to the overpriced "Special" racks) and sometimes something of value sneaks into the knick-knack shelves.
posted on February 14, 2002 01:25:25 PM
rgrem: Although I don't personally know of that happening, it certainly could.
One "upscale" thrift store in Menlo Park, CA has announced it is closing its doors. Sales are no longer enough to cover their expenses. This store had a particularly annoying habit of putting big HOLD tags on things literally minutes after they were placed out on the sales floor, so rgrem, you might be right on the money there.
posted on February 14, 2002 01:28:49 PM
alwaysbroke:
"I over heard employees at the GW in poorest area talking. From now on they have to send all donations to another city to be processed."
The Salvation Army does this already, at least in this area. Everything goes to a central warehouse, then is priced and parceled out to the various stores. Some of the stores have 'boutiques' in them and the supposed goodies go there to languish.
Still, the Salvation Army has always been good for basics (I got my 4-drawer file cabinet there) and I'd go there over GW any old day.
posted on February 14, 2002 02:29:26 PM
Much of the reduced GW pickings can be attributed directly to you, me, and all other ebayers. I go there about once a week, whereas I never darkened their door until a few years ago. Your situation is probably similar.
And when I go there I see numerous people circling the shelves waiting for the next batch of stuff to come out.
The most telling thing is all the carts staff use have signs saying if you pick up something from the cart before it is put on the shelf you will be expelled from the store. That's how desperate people are.
We've been shopping thrift stores since we had our 1st baby. A friend told us she got all her baby clothes there, and we've been going ever since. Our financial situtation fluctuates so much, this is how we make it, by buying used stuff. If I wanted to, I could go a few blocks away to a church that gives clothing away twice/month. I could load up on free stuff and turn right around and sell it. Most of my sales come from the closets of friends, family, and our home. The tell me "if you can't use it, sell it on Ebay."
posted on February 14, 2002 03:10:25 PM
alwaysbroke:
I hope you didn't take offense at anything I said. My only point was that the pickings for ebay sellers is so thin at places like GW because there are so many ebayers there grabbing anything they think they can turn a buck on. Including me.
posted on February 14, 2002 03:27:30 PM
Sorry, pelorus. I guess I'm over defensive. I quit going to the church's give-aways since I started selling on Ebay. I was afraid the ladies there would think I was selling their donations. It's a small town and everybody knows everbody's business.
posted on February 14, 2002 05:54:42 PM
As an employee I feel I MUST speak my peace and let you know how it is at the store where I work and a local Goodwill.
I will start with the Salvation Army where I work. Let me tell you straight up front that it is NOT the employees at my store. I will tell you that the merchandise you USED to see on the shelves rarely EVER get donated anymore. We talk about this all the time! People got wise to how they can make money on their stuff using the internet or consignment shops (they are popping up all over the place) and quit donating them. So, it is not always the employees that are getting the things before the reach the store.
We receive donations directly at our store. There is no warehouse that prices things and sends them to us. We do all the work ourselves. You would be SHOCKED to see the sh*t that comes into our store (literally). It disgusts me how people live. The clothes are absolutely horrid. We sort through them all to find the good stuff to put on the floor. Try sorting through clothes stained with bodily functions, loaded with animal fur or people's actual food garbage. It is not a fun job!
As for we employees. We are NOT allowed to buy ANYTHING directly from the back. We must put out everything onto the floor and wait 24 hours before we can buy it. No ifs, ands or buts. It may be different in other stores but at the one I work at, it is strictly enforced. BUT as I stated, we rarely get any nice stuff anyways.
As for the Goodwill in our area. The amount of people who come to our store complain constantly about Goodwill. The place is a rat's dreamland. Forget about finding anything in there and the JUNK is overpriced and thrown onto the shelves where you'd be lucky to even find it. Their book shelves are NEVER updated and their clothes are all priced the same no matter the condition. There was an article in the paper about Goodwill where the manager talked about the auctions and how she is "trained" to find the good stuff. Never mind rumors abound in huge numbers about several employees at the store who walk away daily with truckloads of stuff. Maybe it is a Goodwill thing....
So while there may be stores with employees who steal, don't assume that they are all like that. Or if you don't see any good stuff at your store, it may be because Joe Schmo decided he could make money off it himself by listing it on eBay or having it at the consignment shop down the street. For every bad employee, there are some good ones and some still great thrift stores to visit. You'll know when you walk into one if you found yourself a nice place with perhaps a surprise jewel or two!
posted on February 14, 2002 10:21:06 PM
TSQ, I can believe that you're not receiving the same caliber of merchandise as you used to. Here's another of my GW storeis: I recently donated a sofa to GW - it was only a few years old, clean and undamaged. As I and one of the GW workers were unstrapping it from the roof of my vehicle, I was approached by a woman at the drop-off location who wanted to buy it! I refused to sell it to her, telling her that I considered it to be GW's property at that point, and that she'd have to wait for GW to put it out for sale if she really wanted it. She told me that she was sorry that she hadn't gotten to me before we started taking it off the car. I was truly amazed to see that there's pickers at the drop-off point trying to intercept the goods before GW even gets them!
posted on February 15, 2002 04:47:15 AM
My original point was that up until 2 weeks ago, 1 store in particular had a regular abundant supply of clothing/etc. that must have come from well-off homes. It's all of a sudden that this has happened. I've never seen anyone at the back door except people like me dropping off more donations. They've had such nice stuff, that I go there before I go to Walmart next door.
This store has always been full of moms w/kids pushing carts around with a few clothes and usually toys for the kids. This Tuesday I saw a mom with a newborn with a very despondant look on her face pushing an empty cart.
posted on February 15, 2002 04:55:04 AM
BTW - I clean, remove stains, and repair clothing before I turn it in. Not all clothing we outgrow or other things we don't need are worth the listing fees to sell.
posted on February 15, 2002 09:20:56 AM
I was thrift storing before it was popular, before eBay. I can tell you how it is. I also live in Santa Clara County where the big scandal occurred.
Even after those managers stole millions of dollars worth of merch, nothing has changed. I go to Goodwill and see huge piles of stuff stashed right behind the counter for the employees. I also see the employees purchasing at the end of their shift. The cashier just charges them a small flat fee for anything they wish to take home.
The rules are not enforced. You can bet the customers never get a chance at the good stuff. That is, the good stuff that actually makes it in the back door.
I used to shop at Goodwill regularly. Several times a week. The store I patronized has doubled and tripled its prices, I'm talking $5 for a ratty old kids' t-shirt, and most of the stuff is just crap. It used to be I could find an occasional good deal, but I just get upset shopping at Goodwill anymore.
posted on February 15, 2002 09:48:02 AM
I used to do quite well at the thrift shops. I still manage to find some good deals now and again, but it's nothing like it once was. 99% of the time, you'd do better at WalMart.
posted on February 15, 2002 10:03:14 AM
I never shop at GW for ebay, but 8 years ago I needed a suit and I was a poor high school student so I went to goodwill. I got 3 decent suits for about $20 each. Recently, I went back to the GW near my home, b/c I had lost a lot of weight and needed more suits, and they didn't have anything worth using to start a fire... I don't plan to return to GW anytime soon.
posted on February 15, 2002 01:19:37 PM
One thing that seems to be happening a lot is that the for-profit thrift stores (Savers, Thriftko, etc.) have deals with Goodwill and Salvation Army as well as smaller local thrifts that allow them to buy donated goods at bundle or barrel rates. That may be having an impact on the quality of goods making it to local shelves.
But I have to say that I still have very good luck at our local Goodwills. I just picked up two Liz dresses and a Kaspar suit there, along with a few other pieces, for about $20 for the total. The GW I usually visit is clean and well-kept, and there is no "back room," just a cordoned-off area in the back of the store where deliveries are received and processed. Maybe the lack of a "place to hide" has something to do with it, but I am still a Goodwill fan!
The only thing I can't figure out is this: Why, when someone compliments me on my outfit, do I need to tell them "Oh, I got it at Goodwill?"
posted on February 15, 2002 02:19:26 PMthe for-profit thrift stores (Savers, Thriftko, etc.) have deals with Goodwill and Salvation Army
Well, that's one I haven't heard before!
I guess I wouldn't have too much of a problem with employees buying stuff as long as they paid full price like the customers. I think they make minimum wage?
I also feel like I have to tell people who compliment my clothes, "Thanks, it's only from Goodwill." I'm not sure why. Maybe I don't want them to think I spent a lot at a big store? I don't know.
I'd rather get a good quality used dress from GW than a new cheaply-made dress somewhere else. My best fits are Carol Little and Leslie Fay.
I still have 1 GW left that is great. I hope they can stay that way.
posted on February 15, 2002 04:44:45 PM
About the for-profit thrift stores selling to the non-profits.
What is happening here is that there is a non-profit organization (I can't recall the name offhand, let's just call it NPO) that employs a big staff of phone solicitors. They try to get you to commit to putting out bags of discards on the day NPO will be in the neighborhood.
NPO sells these goods in bulk to Savers locally and possibly to other thrift stores as well. I don't know if the stuff is sorted before it gets to Savers or not.
I also know that much of what is donated to the American Cancer Society is rejected as being unfit for their hoity-toity Discovery Stores, and is trucked off to the Salvation Army.
There's big money in junk. The thrift stores discovered this years before eBay came along.
posted on February 15, 2002 05:37:55 PM
>>>I guess I wouldn't have too much of a problem with employees buying stuff as long as they paid full price like the customers. I think they make minimum wage?<<<
I have a fun job and love it (most the time ) but unfortunately we do make minimum wage. The only downside. At least I don't rely it on to make a living.
With that said, we do have to pay full price on stuff that is on the shelves. We get 1/2 discounts on clothing BUT mind you we have to wait 24 hours before we can even buy anything so we miss out on MANY items. AND we work out butts off in the back room so I think we at least deserve the discount. At least we--at my store--are doing it honestly!
BTW, our store does NOT sell to for-profit stores. All the money from our store goes to the store's certain charity/cause. We don't have any deals with any other stores.
posted on February 15, 2002 05:51:22 PM
I can see people selling on ebay reducing good stuff coming in. I've sold stuff on ebay that I might have donated - i.e. an old but working answering machine, etc. Why not give it a try, it did better than I expected. I hate garage sales (I had two last year, but only because I moved out of state, and they were the first ones I had in 5 years, the last time I moved to a different state) - I would have probably donated them. In fact, a lot of decent stuff got donated, because I decided whatever I committed to the garage sale would get donated if it did not sell, it was not going back in my life.
It is unfortunate that things like this happen, the fraud, etc. Employees should not be allowed to purchase anything, but they still could have friends to it. Marking it down, and selling to a friend to make a profit is about as low as you can go, but I do believe what goes around comes around, I know I would not want to live my life like that even if it meant earning a few extra bucks. Look at those 4 sisters, they were rolling in the bucks, but they were working like 100 hours a week, and now are in jail. Was it really worth it? Doesn't seem like it to me...
posted on February 15, 2002 07:05:50 PM
We used to have garage sales, but it ruins the house. We don't have a garage, so everything is in the attic. We drag it all down, sort it, set it up outside. We did it for Memorial weekend. The 1st 2 years we made $350-400 because of all the baby furniture and equipment. But it is exhausting.
I discovered Ebay last year, and it is a whole lot easier. I only have out what I want to work on. I don't have to sit outside for 3 days (ha ha). I love creating back drops, adding flowers, & props for pictures. I like picture editing and creating the web page. I am working for myself after years of being secretary to as many as 4 bosses at a time. I was good, but I like this a whole lot more!!!! It helps keep the house uncluttered, too.
Whatever doesn't sell can go to GW. Sometimes perfectly good items just don't sell. Oh well, that's the way it goes...
I knew a fast-food restaurant mgr who had to fire employees occasionally. They would see their friends walk in, ring up a food order, and charge it off as trash (damaged food, cust rtn food, wrong orders). Amazing.
posted on February 15, 2002 09:48:53 PM
O.K. Now you hit on MY venue, the "GOODWILL" hahhahahaha. Long Beach!!!!!!! $5.00 just to get in!!!!!!!!!!! Yup! what a rip! annnnnnnnnnd. one former employee got them for over $50,000.00! And I don't believe to this day he paid one dime back.!!!!! arrogant and grabbed anything good you picked and took it back. start their auctions unbelievably high. it has been two years since I went to that "charitable organization." That couch someone spoke of earlier, probably went right to the city dump. I drove a trash truck back in the mid 70's and saw convoys of Goodwill trucks coming in and dumping GOOD appliances! They get it all for "FREE" from the niave that think they are helping the poor. ha! I donated my truck to the Salvation Army, Forgetting what I already new a year ago. Help those learn to repair so they can get a life. Hell,,,, they sold that truck to pick a part for $150.00 I saw it a week later in the junk yard in Buena Park. They fix nothing. No one learned any repair skills. Money is all they care about. and then,,,,,,,,,,,the embezzlers and the greedy who work there steal the money anyway,,,,,,,,,hahhahahha. yup they have pickers who have their own thrift stores and it goes right out the door at the end of the day with them!!!!!!!! I sat and watched!!!!!!! I am rambling I know. Also if they did not just take an item,,,,,,,,,,they would sky high price it knowing full well you would never pay the price. They also buy stuff from companies. Nothing wrong with that but,,,,,,,,,,,it just goes to show they are Company. Has nothing to do with Charity. Oh!!!!!! and here is a great one,,,,,,,,,,The Disabled Veterans Stores. hahahahhahahahha. They pay to use the name from the Disabled American Veterans Organization. I am a Disabled ( heck I got shot up in Vietnam) veteran and they would only give discounts to senior citizens!!!!!!!!!! 65 and older!!!!!! that woman cared less that "I" was the direct reason for that store . Then I called The real Veterans Organization and they informed me that they sell the rights to the name to them. It is strickly a private enterprise. Nothing is set up to help any Veteran at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a joke,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and the beat goes on ,,,,,,,,,,,and the beat goes on,,,,,,,,, also that Vietnam Veterans box on the corner,,,,,,,,hahhahahahha, They sell the donated goods to private thrift stores too. Yup, Went on one of my rampages a few years back and checked e'm all out. B.S. and Greed. Oh!!!!!!! and my last pathetic statement. The poor children who have no books to read. All those organiztions dump, and I mean DUMP!!!!!!!!! Huge trucks full of Books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could go on and on but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and the beat goes on.........But...............if the guy is dead,,,,,,,,,,,,and it was signed,,,,,,,,,,,e bay!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahhahahahhah.
posted on February 15, 2002 10:06:42 PM
One more thing, I bought 15 cars from the Goodwill years ago. $15,000.00 worth. the guy I was working with turned out to be a crook and I figured it out. He gave the manager,,,,,,,,,,$5000.00 And the manager new full well what was going on. Guess where the crook thought he was putting $10,000.00. not!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to threaten that manager with court for him to devulge how much he was REALLY paid. Not too Worry, I came out,,,,,,On top.
