Companies Circling The Drain: What about Chapter Elevenses?

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Krispy Wafer: Jul 26, 2002; I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat; Grimey Drawer

WithoutTheFezOn posted:

Only 30% of US households itemize deductions.

Upper-middle-class then.

# ? Aug 13, 2017 17:17

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# ? Apr 26, 2024 04:26

You Are A Werewolf: Apr 26, 2010; Black Gold!

Gann Jerrod posted:

I could talk about how bad Goodwill has become for ages. Part of it is that 75% of their merchandise is Target leftovers that they price at 50% of MRSP.

This is true, too. I've seen a lot of smooshed boxes Mainstays product (from Walmart) and smooshed boxes Target product that are just a few dollars less than what it costs new at each store because, you know, the boxes are smooshed.

Goodwill has also started selling small new items near the registers that you can find at the 99 cent store. Nothing is less than $4 on the racks, and the selection is weird. Like, who the hell thinks people want a spatula, hair scrunchies, a magnifying glass, wood pencils, or a sippy cup for toddlers as you wait at the checkout?

# ? Aug 13, 2017 18:19

Puppy Time: Mar 1, 2005

Krispy Kareem posted:

The only reason Goodwill�s business model even works is because middle-class people need the tax break. When I pull up to drop poo poo off I have to wait behind 5 or 6 other suburbanites already in line. If it wasn�t for that steady stream of disposable consumption, the company would fall apart almost immediately.

But I do like that tax break.

I think it's less the tax break and more "Welp, I gotta get rid of all this poo poo... let's dump it on the poor! That way I have space AND get to feel good about it!" See also: charitable "donations" to clothing rooms and the like which consist of old and busted poo poo nobody wants.

# ? Aug 13, 2017 18:40

ANUSTART: Jun 26, 2013; ur jiri3-pax(PAD)-ra2 al-tukur2?-re
gu-du-ni an-na-ab-be2
a-ra-/ab-gig-ga\-[(X)]-e-ce

- Wisdom of the ages.

My friend works at a Goodwill and yeah it is a bit sad to hear about, especially the people 'donating' grocery bags of used underwear and garbage. Just fuckin throw it away wtf that is not charitable to donate. Also yes employee theft, so much of it.

# ? Aug 13, 2017 19:17

AvesPKS: Sep 26, 2004; I don't dance unless I'm totally wasted.

Dylan16807 posted:

That seems to be a myth, sadly. Going by snopes the real marketing trick was treating that cake as a blank canvas to frost/layer/fill/decorate/present.

Really? I'm sure David Halberstram would like to know (from beyond the grave as it were). Next you're going to tell he he was off on his staple count for the first issue of Playboy.

# ? Aug 13, 2017 21:11

Haifisch: Nov 13, 2010; Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!; Taco Defender

ANUSTART posted:

My friend works at a Goodwill and yeah it is a bit sad to hear about, especially the people 'donating' grocery bags of used underwear and garbage. Just fuckin throw it away wtf that is not charitable to donate. Also yes employee theft, so much of it.

Last time I was at my local Goodwill I saw shitloads of candles, some already partially burnt.

But at least it's not in a landfill! :downs:

# ? Aug 13, 2017 21:56

AlmightyBob: Sep 8, 2003

You need to try a goodwill outlet then

# ? Aug 14, 2017 07:41

Sic Semper Goon: Mar 1, 2015; Eu tu?; Switchblade Switcharoo

You Are A Elf posted:

Like, who the hell thinks people want a spatula, hair scrunchies, a magnifying glass, wood pencils, or a sippy cup for toddlers as you wait at the checkout?

Tweakers?

# ? Aug 20, 2017 04:38

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

Goodwills are absolute horseshit now, to the point that in Portland they now have a Goodwill for the "fancy" stuff they get donated, which I think is entirely against the spirit of a thrift store. Their stores in Oregon are super posh now too.

The only good deals are at lovely thrift stores in busted out old downtowns.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 05:40

there wolf: Jan 11, 2015; by Fluffdaddy

Goodwill's primary function is job placement for people who would otherwise struggle to find work, not a place for people to pick stuff up cheap. It's not really fair to compare them to stuff like Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity stores which are explicitly about providing low cost clothes and household items for people who can't afford them elsewhere.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 06:17

big dyke energy: Jul 29, 2006; Football? Yaaaay

Pick posted:

Goodwill is more expensive than Target here. I don't know why anyone would bother.

I wanted to buy a butter dish, so I went to Goodwill. They had a really lovely looking one (like it just looked crappy and also was a lil chipped and stuff) for $8, which I didn't think was worth it for a used butter dish. I went to Macy's and bought a Martha Stewart brand butter dish for seven loving dollars. That feels like bullshit.

It is a good way to get rid of poo poo I don't want but isn't useless. I dropped off a TV stand I didn't need. The donation area strongly smelled of cat piss. But I can also leave poo poo I don't want in the laundry room at my apartment complex, and someone will take it. I left twenty lovely rear end ps2 games in there and someone took them. And I didn't have to drive to get there.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 06:42

JnnyThndrs: May 29, 2001; HERE ARE THE FUCKING TOWELS

Pick posted:

The only good deals are at lovely thrift stores in busted out old downtowns.

Yeah, the general rule is that the more terrifying the neighborhood, the better the thrifting. The best thrift store in my area is on a street so permeated with hookers that the cops don't even mess with 'em. Some jackass broke the side window in my old truck in broad daylight to steal a broken iPod that was lying in my ashtray, but I still go there.

The really scary places are the Salvation Army clearance depots, it's like Black Friday every day. People shoot each other over busted toys at the one near where I work.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 08:51

90s Solo Cup: Feb 22, 2011; To understand the cup
He must become the cup

there wolf posted:

Goodwill's primary function is job placement for people who would otherwise struggle to find work, not a place for people to pick stuff up cheap. It's not really fair to compare them to stuff like Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity stores which are explicitly about providing low cost clothes and household items for people who can't afford them elsewhere.

If you're looking for cheap used electronics, your best bet is to go to a pawn shop or an electronics store that also offers used or refurbished equipment. I wouldn't have found my $150 24-inch Dell Ultrasharp monitor at any of the local Goodwill stores.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 08:56

Krispy Wafer: Jul 26, 2002; I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat; Grimey Drawer

[quote="�there wolf�" post="�475553668�"]
Goodwill�s primary function is job placement for people who would otherwise struggle to find work, not a place for people to pick stuff up cheap. It�s not really fair to compare them to stuff like Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity stores which are explicitly about providing low cost clothes and household items for people who can�t afford them elsewhere.
[/quote]

Goodwill is weird like that. To most people�s perception it�s a store for poor people, but that�s just their most public image. They don�t care what they sell or how much it sells for as long as it funds their job placement. If covering baby clothes with kerosene and striking a match somehow paid the bills, they�d be lighting rompers and onesies everyday.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 15:01

Kirk Vikernes: Apr 26, 2004; Count Goatnackh

A little off topic, but the Goodwill Excel Centers here in Indiana have partnered with an organization named Conexus that provides manufacturing training to people that attend adult education through Goodwill and has helped people with few skills and little hope of working anything other than low wage jobs. I teach the same manufacturing course to regular high school students as a dual credit college class, but we I've talked with the teachers from the Goodwill centers when we have training refreshers and they're teaching and getting these people jobs in good companies (Coke, Rolls-Royce, Roche, etc.).

The Goodwill I donate to never has anything good. The last time I went, the pick up in front of me was a nerd goldmine. CED that looked like new with movies, an audio reel-to-reel machine that also looked new, and a wooden console with pop-up turntable. I asked the guy unloading cars about it and he said none of it would ever hit the sales floor and would be sold by other means (auction?).

# ? Aug 20, 2017 16:28

Killswitch: Feb 25, 2009

Mammal Sauce posted:

I asked the guy unloading cars about it and he said none of it would ever hit the sales floor and would be sold by other means (auction?).

Employee theft.

To jump on the Goodwill-isnt-goodwill anymore wagon, we have Value Village up here in Vancouver and there are several locations that have earned the nickname VV Boutique. IDK. It's depressing how even goodwill stores are either going to profit-at-any-cost models or straight up shutting their doors.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 16:46

Goober Peas: Jun 30, 2007; Check out my 'Vette, bro

Mammal Sauce posted:

The Goodwill I donate to never has anything good. The last time I went, the pick up in front of me was a nerd goldmine. CED that looked like new with movies, an audio reel-to-reel machine that also looked new, and a wooden console with pop-up turntable. I asked the guy unloading cars about it and he said none of it would ever hit the sales floor and would be sold by other means (auction?).

Yep - I've gotten Goodwill stuff the last 2 or 3 times I've bought used on Amazon.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 16:46

there wolf: Jan 11, 2015; by Fluffdaddy

They recently opened one by me that pretty good. Maybe they just stock new stores better to get interest up, but I got some jeans and a really nice coat for my niece. I've never been to a Goodwill that had anything worth a drat in electronics, though; always figure that was just something they didn't really bother all that much with.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 19:55

walrusman: Aug 4, 2006

I got a very nice ~$80 handgun holster there one time for like $4. It must have slipped through the cracks because I am pretty sure they have a no-gun-stuff policy, and it was filed in the automotive section. I was able to assemble a decent set of mostly-matching golf clubs for $20, and I've probably bought a thousand nice golf balls there, in bags of 20-30 for a couple bucks each.

Most of the store, though, is seasonal decorative junk, dogeared romance novels, and crappy Target kitchenware for 70-150% MSRP.

# ? Aug 21, 2017 00:23

Randaconda: Jul 3, 2014; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML1mhoKftDU

Look inside the last remaining Super Kmart

# ? Aug 21, 2017 13:51

Iron Crowned: May 6, 2003; by Hand Knit

The secret that no one knows about donations, especially clothing donations, in the US is that the vast majority of it gets packed in bulk and sold of to African countries.

Did you know that during the major playoffs, they actually print winning shirts for both sides. The losing batch gets donated to somewhere far away, somewhere out there, someone is wearing a shirt proclaiming the Atlanta Falcons the winners of Super Bowl LI.

# ? Aug 21, 2017 15:12

Nut to Butt: Apr 13, 2009; by FactsAreUseless

Iron Crowned posted:

The secret that no one knows about donations, especially clothing donations, in the US is that the vast majority of it gets packed in bulk and sold of to African countries.

Did you know that during the major playoffs, they actually print winning shirts for both sides. The losing batch gets donated to somewhere far away, somewhere out there, someone is wearing a shirt proclaiming the Atlanta Falcons the winners of Super Bowl LI.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/amc-preacher-takes-dig-the-falcons-super-bowl-loss/IJzHLB4WdfCgIxoDJO5xwK/

# ? Aug 21, 2017 15:16

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Exploration is ill-advised.

Iron Crowned posted:

The secret that no one knows about donations, especially clothing donations, in the US is that the vast majority of it gets packed in bulk and sold of to African countries.

Did you know that during the major playoffs, they actually print winning shirts for both sides. The losing batch gets donated to somewhere far away, somewhere out there, someone is wearing a shirt proclaiming the Atlanta Falcons the winners of Super Bowl LI.

One African country actually had to ban American clothing imports so they even had a chance at developing a local textile industry.

# ? Aug 21, 2017 16:01

tactlessbastard: Feb 4, 2001; Godspeed, post; Fun Shoe

Somewhere in Africa, the Buffalo Bills were an unstoppable juggernaut.

# ? Aug 21, 2017 16:50

Choco1980: Feb 22, 2013; I fell in love with a Video Nasty

Iron Crowned posted:

The secret that no one knows about donations, especially clothing donations, in the US is that the vast majority of it gets packed in bulk and sold of to African countries.

Did you know that during the major playoffs, they actually print winning shirts for both sides. The losing batch gets donated to somewhere far away, somewhere out there, someone is wearing a shirt proclaiming the Atlanta Falcons the winners of Super Bowl LI.

Even worse are those clothing donation bins scattered about. Usually they pay the charity to advertise on the side of their bin, and instead sell the clothes to 3rd world scrap textilers. Your clothes ain't helping noone in those bins.

# ? Aug 23, 2017 23:41

Haifisch: Nov 13, 2010; Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!; Taco Defender

Choco1980 posted:

Even worse are those clothing donation bins scattered about. Usually they pay the charity to advertise on the side of their bin, and instead sell the clothes to 3rd world scrap textilers. Your clothes ain't helping noone in those bins.

I always wondered about those, since half the time they don't even have a specific charity listed.

Good to know they're as sketchy as they look.

# ? Aug 24, 2017 00:07

Bonzo: Mar 11, 2004; Just like Mama used to make it!

Its turned into a turf war in Canada

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/clothing-donation-bins-spark-turf-war-in-ontario-1.1246132

# ? Aug 24, 2017 00:20

Grumbletron 4000: Nov 30, 2002; Where you want it, bitch.; College Slice

Choco1980 posted:

Even worse are those clothing donation bins scattered about. Usually they pay the charity to advertise on the side of their bin, and instead sell the clothes to 3rd world scrap textilers. Your clothes ain't helping noone in those bins.

I always wondered why there are so drat many of those things. They're everywhere around here. Every strip mall and grocery store has a few. There used to be one in this little paved area in the middle of nowhere. Not even a parking lot. Just a little turnaround where cops like to sit. I noticed people were dumping mattresses and other junk next to it. The donation box disappeared but people are still leaving poo poo there.

# ? Aug 24, 2017 00:57

there wolf: Jan 11, 2015; by Fluffdaddy

Choco1980 posted:

Even worse are those clothing donation bins scattered about. Usually they pay the charity to advertise on the side of their bin, and instead sell the clothes to 3rd world scrap textilers. Your clothes ain't helping noone in those bins.

What happens to the book ones? I always shove stuff I can't/ am too embarrassed to take to the used bookstore in them and would love the idea of some shady, secondhand dealer having to deal with that.

# ? Aug 24, 2017 02:25

Choco1980: Feb 22, 2013; I fell in love with a Video Nasty

there wolf posted:

What happens to the book ones? I always shove stuff I can't/ am too embarrassed to take to the used bookstore in them and would love the idea of some shady, secondhand dealer having to deal with that.

Bootleg Bookseller: "Sigh, another day, another bin full of There Wolf's porn collection..."

# ? Aug 24, 2017 02:59

there wolf: Jan 11, 2015; by Fluffdaddy

Choco1980 posted:

Bootleg Bookseller: "Sigh, another day, another bin full of There Wolf's porn collection..."

Great uncle's porn collection. Thirty-something volumes of military thrillers about destroying the Islamic menace one and for all.

# ? Aug 24, 2017 03:27

Bonzo: Mar 11, 2004; Just like Mama used to make it!

there wolf posted:

Great uncle's porn collection.

I volunteer for an organization that takes in used electronics. Any computers we get are refurbished and donated to a group that gives them away to families and other people in need. The rest of the stuff is sent for recycling or resold to help pay for our storage unit. At least once a month we'll get someone turning in a bag of old printer cables along with 4 boxes of random junk. One time someone dropped off an old VCR and about 15 VHS porn tapes from the late 80s. They were in near mint condition with the original boxes and everything. We sold them on eBay for about $150.

# ? Aug 24, 2017 03:51

ReidRansom: Oct 25, 2004

Inescapable Duck posted:

One African country actually had to ban American clothing imports so they even had a chance at developing a local textile industry.

I think Mexico does that too. For secondhand stuff, at least. Or maybe they used to.

# ? Aug 24, 2017 04:21

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

there wolf posted:

Goodwill's primary function is job placement for people who would otherwise struggle to find work, not a place for people to pick stuff up cheap. It's not really fair to compare them to stuff like Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity stores which are explicitly about providing low cost clothes and household items for people who can't afford them elsewhere.

I don't give a poo poo, there's no reason a Goodwill has to cost more than a Target. It still smells like rear end, they get their product for free, and they don't have to pay minimum wage.

# ? Aug 24, 2017 07:47

there wolf: Jan 11, 2015; by Fluffdaddy

Pick posted:

I don't give a poo poo, there's no reason a Goodwill has to cost more than a Target. It still smells like rear end, they get their product for free, and they don't have to pay minimum wage.

The reason is "to make a profit" dear.

# ? Aug 24, 2017 08:20

Alan Smithee: Jan 4, 2005; A man becomes preeminent, he's expected to have enthusiasms.

Enthusiasms, enthusiasms...

quote:

�Leftists need comfort at times like these. Gift them this pacifying item that will give them something to do in between pulling down monuments. Or keep one for yourself!� the copy hawking the toys reads on Breitbart News website.

oh poo poo I got owned

# ? Aug 24, 2017 08:23

Double Punctuation: Dec 30, 2009; Ships were made for sinking;
Whiskey made for drinking;
If we were made of cellophane
We'd all get stinking drunk much faster!