Not Good Enough For Goodwill?
Posted on February 8, 2008 by Melissa
Filed Under Charity, Household
I’ve been donating a lot of stuff to Goodwill and have discovered they can be pretty picky sometimes.
A few years ago, we brought a U-Haul worth of old furniture (Eric’s old stuff) to Goodwill and the manager came out to sort through it. She took most of the things but the biggest items (two large black couches) got rejected because they had some white cat hair on them.
We laughed about it for days, saying that our couches were so lousy that even Goodwill didn’t want them. I hadn’t considered that something as simple as cat hair would disqualify them from being donated. Unfortunately, those poor hairy (but still useable) couches ended up at the curb on trash day. We figured if Goodwill didn’t want them that no one would.
After another unexpected rejection I started to wonder why these perfectly useable things weren’t good enough. By talking to my friend who used to work at Goodwill, I learned that many people, including myself, have misconceptions about what Goodwill really does. I assumed Goodwill resold donated items at very low prices to help people who need to make their paycheck really stretch. That isn’t their true mission, though.
Goodwill sells the donated items to help raise revenue so they can offer employment opportunities and workforce training. Their focus is on getting people back into the workforce, not necessarily providing low cost goods to lower income families.
If you’ve ever been in a Goodwill store you may have noticed that the prices weren’t at rock bottom levels. The prices are a little higher than what you might think a thrift store would have. My friend said it seemed that middle class shoppers looking for good deals were their primary customers instead of low income families like you might expect.
So, now it makes sense. Goodwill doesn’t want everything you have to donate; only the items that they can resell at decent prices without additional work. The items need to be in good sellable condition when you drop them off. That way they can get the highest price for that item and raise the most funds for their employment programs. I think the work they do is wonderful and now that I know what they are looking for I’ll make sure to screen my donations more carefully.
OK, now I know why Goodwill deemed my hairy couches unworthy but I hate having to throw out useable items I no longer want because they aren’t in top condition. For example, two perfectly good but scratched up end tables or a stained coffee machine. They may be ugly, but they are still functional and could help out someone in need.
They don’t belong in the trash just because I no longer need them and they aren’t in sellable condition. I’m sure that there are plenty of people that would be willing to take in a scratched end table. Maybe someone who doesn’t have the money to spend on end tables might have the time to refinish them. I need to find a way to reach those people.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a place where even slightly damaged (but fully functional) things could be given to people who need them? I’m sure there are lots of families that could have benefited from having those black couches, even if they had some cat hair on them.
My friend suggested that next time, before trashing the rejected items, I try contacting other organizations that could use them, like:
- Homeless shelters
- Women’s shelters
- Rehabilitation centers
- Thrift stores
Furniture can be especially helpful in shelters where they provide transitional housing for people getting back on their feet. My friend mentioned that she donated several pieces to our local shelter that provides temporary housing for abused women. What a wonderful way to give that old furniture a second life.
If donation isn’t an option there is always freecycle. Someone is bound to want your extra stuff and this way it doesn’t hit the landfill before it is completely used up. Everybody wins!
What do you do with the things you want to donate or give away but don’t have the time to fix up? Please share your ideas!
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My husband and I have been donating some things through Free Cycle. In our particular chapter, there are more wants than donations, and sometimes people tell you they want your things and then never come and pick them up. Still, it’s nice to hear when you have helped someone. A service family thanked us over and over for a closet organizer we hadn’t used in eight years. Anyway…that’s what we do with things before we donate to the mission.
I joined FreeCycle[mycounty]. You post what you have to give away [ no selling or bartering] and people call if they are interested and will come and pick it up. They are all over the country so you might want to check on-line for the closest to you.
Miss Meg
We list them in our community’s free paper…
Under the “For Free” section. We also set things out at the curb with a big “Free” sign and they are usually gone before the scheduled pick-up by our trash collectors. A lot of times just a little bit of communication gets the word out, too. Like put up some flyers or tell co-workers & friends. It is such a shame to not recycle those goods back into the community…
here in Mississippi Goodwill is the place to donate used items that are in clean and good condition..and salvation army will take anything as well as the thrift stores run by the paralyzed vets of america…as far as shopping goes…i avoid salvation army and the above thrift stores because they do take more “trash” than treasure. we shop the flea markets, privately owned consignment shops and goodwill if we have the extra gas to get there. years ago my husband and his several marine roommates had to get rid of a nonworking refrigerator. the refrigerator sat on the curb for months. then one day they got the idea to put a for sale sign on it…it disappeared that night!(this happened in washington d.c.)
Having worked with charities that accept donated items I have to tell you that when you bring something in that is not clean it causes alot of work for the people there. I have personally taken loads of clothing home to wash them before giving them out to people in need, scrubbed numerous appliances down and have been amazed at the number of broken things that have been “donated”. Please, at least clean up your items before donating them. Just think of what a blessing it will be to the person who receives it if they don’t have to clean it all up and also if it actually works.
Wow, I guess I never thought Goodwill would be that picky. I’ve seen some furniture in there that had more wrong with it than a little cat hair.
As a college student, I can attest to the fact that most college students aren’t that picky with their furnishings and would be happy to take old furniture of somebody. I would have taken your couch for my dorm room!
Hi Melissa,
I’ve never given away anything so large that it needed to be “reviewed” before Goodwill would accept it; I’m usually bringing bags and boxes of clothes or household goods to the drop off center. It hadn’t occurred to me that there would be things they wouldn’t want, either!
This is also a note to let you know that I’ve tagged you for the Seven Stories meme — details here. Looking forward to your post!
Lissa
When I was in Florida, a couple of weeks ago, there was this huge segment, on the news about the Goodwill.
Every Saturday, in central Florida, they have auctions for the dumpsters of trash that Goodwill has rejected as donations. The top bidders are not American’s. I think they said the country was Haiti, but I can’t remember right now.. (in my mind, it was obscure!)
People bid on the bins without being able to inspect them. They said one man paid $75, and it had nothing usable in it. They listed and showed items that were “treasures” that these people were taking back to their country and it disturbed me.
After these auctions, The Goodwill in central Florida pays millions of dollars, each year, for trash pick-up!
The figures amazed me!
[...] A Penny Closer tells a little about the mission of Goodwill. [...]
I usually donate clothing to the Salvation Army. However, I think I might look into the local homeless shelter…
A great way to get rid of things you dont want is Craigslist. I have listed several things for sell as well as just several things that I am willing to donate for free. These have generally gone to college students, or ppl with lower income looking for a good deal. I love it because I know my stuff is being reused.
Was gonna comment but KEPOLA above pretty much stated it more beautifully than I could.
:-)
I’ve used Freecycle to get rid of stuff, and we’re planning to offer our stove and dishwasher on Freecycle or Craig’s list once we remodel our kitchen (they both work, but they’re 23 years old…)
I shop almost exclusively at thrift stores, and have found that the quality of merchandise has improved over the years. They absolutely are picky about what they sell - very rarely do I find stuff with stains or holes.
[...] A Penny Closer realizes that Goodwill doesn’t accept everything. [...]
I’ve recently had a hard time getting rid of an upholstered chair. FreeCycled it twice, Craigslisted once. Finally, we just put it out to the curb with a big sign on it saying “Free to a good home” and it disappeared. Sometimes the easiest way is the best.
Argh! Goodwill is a lot more forgiving than the Salvation Army. The latter was SO twitty some years ago (when I offered a perfectly fine Levitz sofa in excellent condition, no cat hair, no dog hair) that I quit donating altogether to that outfit.
Lately I’ve found St. Vincent de Paul will accept almost anything you drag over to them.
The “free” sign on the curb is probably the best way to get somebody to haul away your junk without you having to pay for it. Works for the leftovers from a yard sale, too.
Free Cycle, of course, rules. But it doesn’t necessarily lead to the disposal of the undesired item. When we lived in Europe there was a set night when everyone would put out their excess stuff, and the poor and needy (or bargain hunters) would pick over most of it. Anything that was left, the garbagemen would haul away.
Also, re: Goodwill, as a student we took a tour of a local Goodwill health care facility for brain injured patients, with and without insurance. It was inspiring, they do a lot more than just sell second hand stuff!
Jerry
http://www.leads4insurance.com
I agree with Lacy’s suggestion - craigslist has been a great way for us to scale down on ‘treasures’. You can list if for a low cost, and if nobody takes your offer, list is for free. No shipping costs and only local buyers, so it’s very easy to use.
[...] Not Good Enough For Goodwill? @ A Penny Closer [...]
[...] Not Good Enough For Goodwill? @ A Penny Closer [...]
Awesome post! I’ll definitely make sure *not* to drop off my old crap at Goodwill when it comes time to get rid of it.
I dropped some things off at Goodwill the other day and was told that they do not accept old electronics anymore. Huh? (I was trying to drop off a computer printer, and the guy kept saying “No computers!”)
This is interesting. I shop at GW quite often looking for books. I find items that should be in the trash…from broken couches, with torn cushions, missing one leg, to broken chairs, broken exercise machines, torn clothing broken drinking cups, but worse..I have found expired baby formula on the shelf..for sale, other expired over the counter meds…(over 10 years expired)items that are not meant for sale for resale…like Gideon bibles..nice and neat empty packages for sale.
If all the couch had was cat hair…that would have been an improvement over what the GW’s in San Antonio typically accept.
I know! It’s awful! Goodwill is a great organization but they end up discarding tons of really good stuff! Right now I’m just sick because we accidentally had the wrong sofa taken to goodwill– a sofa that I love dearly– it’s a big, soft green couch, known to us as “the most comfortable couch in the world” but because it has a couple of tears along the seams the standard proceedure will be to destroy it if I can’t figure out where it ended up and get there first! Does anyone know where the Goodwill takes it’s rejected items in Colorado? I’m perfectlt willing to dumpster dive for my couch. I’ve met some really wonderful Goodwill employees who are trying to help, and they said that they absolutely do their best to sell as much as possible. but sometimes they run out of space and the items that are in disrepair are destroyed to make more room. I thought they had some way to give things away for free!
i Dropped of no less than 16 pairs of ["washed clean] Black opaque 70 denier nylon school Tights of mine..they all ended up in the dumpster behind the thrift shop.
im currently a goodwill employee,and no offenence i have seen some nasty donations like soiled thongs,totally disguisting kitchen applaineces and so forth, remember goodwill is not a dump ,ppl please think about what your donating before you show up,these workers are practicly on there feet all day doing up to three job stations at ounce ,to insure you the costumers the best service possible,the reason why they probly didnt except your couches because they are trying to minmize the stuff they have to take time to analize an throw away,we have constant injurys an a tough time hiring new ppl to the staff,also thank you for shopping at goodwills across america