posted on December 22, 2005 06:25:53 AM
(a Santa postcard) will you consider donating it to a Santa Museum in XXX Ohio?"
THE NERVE!! This is the second email I have received from this person about Santa postcards not selling etc... am I wrong to be po'd about this? I plan my giving to charities, church, cultural organizations etc.... one of the last places I would think of donating to is a Santa Museum!
I used to get such email whenever I would list a piece of wildlife jewelry. There wasn't any of this "If it doesn't sell..." nonsense; it was just an out-and-out solicitation to donate the piece to the sender's favorite wildlife cause for fundraising. As if.
If this gets to be more of a problem, I'd think eBay would take an interest. After all, soliciting you to GIVE the item away isn't any different (from a lost-fees standpoint) than soliciting you to SELL the item offline.
Dear Cheapskate,
I would be happy to sell you this Santa postcard for $x.xx; just push the Buy It Now button.
It is a violation of eBay policy for you to solicit donations using eBay's system. I don't want to have to report you, but will if you persist.
posted on December 22, 2005 11:10:17 AM
I've had those requests, too. I tell them if the item doesn't sell, twice, I will consider donating it. But the item always sells--and sometimes to the person who asked the question in the first place.
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posted on December 22, 2005 11:26:02 AM
The last time I talked to someone that works at a museum they were still BUYING items for their collection. Can't say I have ever seen a museum that only works off of donations. I would tell them you would be happy to SELL it to them.
posted on December 23, 2005 07:12:13 PM
It works the same as spam or junk mail. Send out a hundred requests, and if one sucker bites, they've had a prosperous day. If you're going to donate items of value, don't fool around with a phoney Santa museum. Instead, donate to an established, well respected and reputable organization, such as the Sparkz Self Help Benevolant Foundation.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
