Revealed! Why Goodwill Now Sucks for Vintage Game Stuff

[BigOldCar]

I went into a local Goodwill today looking for good vintage game stuff, and on my way out I saw a posting on the wall soliciting current Goodwill employees to transfer to their new online division, whereby "select Goodwill donations" are put up for bid on an eBay-powered (or at least eBay-inspired) web auction board.  Look here to see where all the good stuff has gone.  Check here to learn more about it.

As if it weren't bad enough being in competition with other people and pilfering store employees, now we have to deal with the company siphoning off the best stuff.  Plus, you've gotta pay shipping now, too.

Weak!

[Chris Marsh]

After the people who run Goodwill watched Wall Street too many times, they thought "Greed is good" should make sense into running a business. Then again, that is how all big businesses are. I see where you are coming from though. It's all about Goodwill wanting profits. There is no goodwill in this Goodwill.

[CablePirate]

Just another reason the "E" in "Ebay" stands for "Evil."

[Edward M]

I know you guys are mad, but Im not.  The games are crappy at the one in my town so Im not missing out on anything.  Thanks for the link. 

[Alienblue]

Guys, "Goodwill" , more like "badvibes", sucks A anyway. I HATE that store now, their greed is astonishing! It and Salvation army are supposed to be places that poor people (like yours truly) can get used stuff cheap. FORGET IT! I bought a used blue T-SHIRT in there that was $5! All mens used Ts are! Then I go into wal*mart and find some nice mens T's for $3.99! A used connect four was $2 more at Goodwill than Wal*mart,new in package! And the prices they put on NEW merchandise are laughable-they charge at LEAST 20% more than wal*mart; Salvation army just built a new store and is almost as bad, with $8 VHS videos-yeah,right! I find those at lawn sales for 50 cents! (like travel videos and stuff)... and EVERYTHING, like records and lamps are suddenly "collectible" thanks to ebay!(the one thing no one wants:8 tracks. I think they use them as building bricks now)...anywho, I don't even bother anymore. Theres no good guys left!

[bbruzzes]

After looking through this website, they have a LOT of work to do before anyone in their right mind should deal with them.
Some of these of auctions are really poorly done and shows the people who are posting these have very little online auction experience.
Check out this one for a lot of mostly mediocre 19 PS1 games: http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=2751705. 

Among the many problems:
a) The pictures consist of blurry images of only the jewel case spines, and some are positioned where you can't see the game title at all! And why are some of the games shown 3 times? Are there dupes?
b) No proper game list, and a very short and vague description, so you don't know exactly what you're getting. 
c) Inflexible shipping options, giving the user the option of only using UPS ground, and no international shipping. 
d) Unclear and poorly conceived return policies, with no warranty and guarantees.
e) The lack of a feedback and reputation system, means there's little incentive for the seller to improve customer service.

The funny thing is someone is STILL bidding $60 for this auction.

[Sudz1]

[QUOTE=Alienblue]Guys, "Goodwill" , more like "badvibes", sucks A anyway. I HATE that store now, their greed is astonishing! It and Salvation army are supposed to be places that poor people (like yours truly) can get used stuff cheap. FORGET IT! I bought a used blue T-SHIRT in there that was $5! All mens used Ts are! Then I go into wal*mart and find some nice mens T's for $3.99! A used connect four was $2 more at Goodwill than Wal*mart,new in package! And the prices they put on NEW merchandise are laughable-they charge at LEAST 20% more than wal*mart; Salvation army just built a new store and is almost as bad, with $8 VHS videos-yeah,right! I find those at lawn sales for 50 cents! (like travel videos and stuff)... and EVERYTHING, like records and lamps are suddenly "collectible" thanks to ebay!(the one thing no one wants:8 tracks. I think they use them as building bricks now)...anywho, I don't even bother anymore. Theres no good guys left![/QUOTE]

AlienBlue, you cannot fairly compare Goodwill and the Salvation Army.  Goodwill is absolutely 100% a for-profit BUSINESS.  There is no room in any business to accept less profit if they don't have to, and Goodwill is certainly no exception.  They have a brilliant business model whereby people simply *give* them useable items whereby Goodwill can then turn around and sell said items at 100% profit.  Yeah, their stuff is supposed to be relatively "cheap" (after all, it's used crap that someone else was willing to give away for free!) but they're still going to charge as much as they think they can charge and still move merchandise.

The Salvation Army is a world-wide religious based organization designed to accept donations and help people truly in need.  They are not for-profit and should not be thought of as a place where people can find inexpensive games to add to their collection.  If you can afford to collect video games, you aren't the demographic they're catering to.
Sudz

[BigOldCar]

[QUOTE] Goodwill is absolutely 100% a for-profit BUSINESS.[/QUOTE]

Really?  I didn't know that.  I mean, I knew they were large and relatively uniform--you know, corporate-like--but I didn't know they were for-profit!  Hardly seems fair, does it?

And if one is not to hit up these two resources for obsolete technology, then where is one to look?  Yardsales require a lot of driving and are of varying quality--plus they only happen half the year!  Flea markets likewise.  What's left?

[m0zart1]

[QUOTE=Sudz]AlienBlue, you cannot fairly compare Goodwill and the Salvation Army.  Goodwill is absolutely 100% a for-profit BUSINESS.  There is no room in any business to accept less profit if they don't have to, and Goodwill is certainly no exception.  They have a brilliant business model whereby people simply *give* them useable items whereby Goodwill can then turn around and sell said items at 100% profit.  Yeah, their stuff is supposed to be relatively "cheap" (after all, it's used crap that someone else was willing to give away for free!) but they're still going to charge as much as they think they can charge and still move merchandise.[/QUOTE]

What do you mean by "for profit" in this case?  They are listed as a non-profit organization, not a "for profit" one.  But the distinction is trivial in legal circles, as there is nothing preventing a non-profit organization for earning or even focusing on profits, those profits just can't belong to an owner of the orgainzation.  Since those organizations are considered to be public trusts, non-profit organizations can only distribute their profits through salaries or time-based pay, rather than the typical owner withdrawals.  Goodwill qualifies as that type of organization, and is registered as such.

Goodwill targets to help those people who fit into one particular group -- the unemployable.  People who have reached retirement age but can't live on their savings or SS, people who have been dislocated from their jobs, people who have non-violent felony convictions who as a result have extreme difficulty obtaining employment, the disabled, etc.  Goodwill set up a structure that allowed them to operate like a business with the express purpose of employing these types of individuals.  They do it not by monetary donations, which are accepted but make up less than five percent of their structure, but instead by accepting items that nobody wants anymore and then selling them in their stores, which they operate on that business level to provide this type of employment.  Those they cannot employ directly can benefit from their training programs that allow various unemployable individuals to learn skills that can make them more marketable, and their job placement program has one of the highest success rates in placing those individuals.  Many of their organizational activites are built around not just their stores, but contract work that provides employment opportunities to thousands of people who couldn't find jobs otherwise.

Remember that different organizations help people in different ways, and it's arguable that Goodwill does more for the group it targets than a group like the Salvation Army does for the more random help it gives.  When the hurricanes blew through Texas and Louisiana for instance in 2005, the Salvation Army  operations in the area basically offered most of their assistance in the form of handing out "kits" with a mop, a bucket, and cleaning supplies.  Goodwill instead tried to find workers who had lost their jobs when many places of employment were destroyed, to give them employment, train and place them in other jobs, or even relocation for those who had lost everything they had and needed to go elsewhere.  I also have seen and know personally individuals who were practically unemployable who were able to find permanent employment because of Goodwill services.  A friend of mine who had a stroke in 1986 became quadriplegic as a result, and Goodwill was the organization that helped him the most.  They helped with the cost of his rehabilitiation program, helped with the costs of his electric wheelchair and a computer device he uses to speak with, helped to train him in computer work, and worked hard to place him in a related job in his area.  His success in getting his life back after that tragedy came from many dedicated people, and the people who made up that organization were definitely among them.  The Union Mission and Salvation Army helped him too, in the form of emergency assistance, but Goodwill helped on a more dedicated basis with an answer that allowed him to be more self-sufficient.  As a result, I hold Goodwill in much higher regard than organizations that simply handed out free goodies every now and then.

Each organization that falls under the Goodwill umbrella has a primary goal of providing employment or helping to provide employment to individuals who have that difficulty in finding it, though admittedly not all of them are likely as dedicated as the branches I am familiar with.  But it is just dead wrong to act as if they don't operate as a charity by saying they are "for profit", implying that they make profits in a way that isn't basically common among all non-profit groups.  Personally, I think they are one of the best charities available.

[VideoGameCritic]

Well stated Mozart.  I have an autistic cousin who has been employed by Goodwill in the past, so I can back that up.