Should Goodwill employees have first pick over donated merchandise?

Since being with my shopaholic gf (and helping her get rid of some good stuff), I’ve been suspicious about whether this is the case.

I’d be fine with it if it were about purchasing items every so often that the employee would use or even gift, but I’d be disappointed to know that stuff goes in the front door and out the back to be sold at the flea market. Regardless, it’s difficult to think of a more convenient and guilt-free way to get rid of one’s crap.

I never thought about it, but I agree with @kevbo that I wouldn’t like to know my donations were going to be sold at a flea market. But at least I can use the deduction on my taxes.

It’s not quite policy for “employees” either paid or voluntary, to take goods at all without paying for them. If that store is doing such a thing then you can report them to your local Council or the Goodwill Head Office.

I donate about $2000 worth of goods per year and though I tell my local Charity shop that I don’t mind if the goods were given away to a needy person, they keep telling me that the only thing free in their store is “nothing”.

These are minimum wage employees working and, in general, trying to overcome some handicap like: drugs, blindness, alcoholism. If they can make a few bucks and it keeps them working I have no problem with it.
The stuff is donated. One way or the other it is going to needier people than you or I.

I doubt you would consider working there just to get first dibs on donations.
Goodwilling is a hobby for you. It’s their lives. I would not trade for a minute.

Absolutely with @worriedguy on this.

All it would take would be a few tracking devices attached to some nice things, to determine whether there really is a problem.

I want to have the same values as @worriedguy, except that if some folks are selling it before it reaches the public, then the truly needy are not able to buy it.

Consider it a small spiff for working. At minimum wage, they could just as easily be sitting at home collecting welfare watching Maury. These are people who get up and go to work every day and have to look at good stuff they need that others so casually discard.
You don’t know that they are selling it at flea markets. Odds are they have multiple kids, no other income, no involved father, parents who stopped supporting them years ago.
If your time is worth more than 50 cents per hour, buying goods at Goodwill and selling them at a flea market is not a worthwhile investment strategy.
If they are willing to do it, I say more power to them. I’m not going to fight with a Goodwill employee so I can get a bargain.

I know a woman who owns a consignment shop. She regularly trolls GW to keep her store stocked. Should we argue with her, too.

If I could work at a goodwill, I would definitely try to get first dibs on the merchandise. That just how I feel. But as far as ‘leftover trash’ it could possibly be that people are now shopping more and more at thrift shops, using the merchandise than donating it back to thrift shops, over and over.

There’s some great deals to be had on www.shopgoodwill.com

My Goodwill told me that they have regular customers who they will set things aside for, who pay for items. Often things are not taken by the workers, but are sold to dealers before they go out onto the floor, or transferred to a different Goodwill in the area.

@Worriedguy I know a woman who owns a consignment shop. She regularly trolls GW to keep her store stocked. Should we argue with her, too.
But she is buying from goodwill to resale.
Plus, no one is arguing, just asking what we think of the practice.

Well I think that is what’s called a perk of working at Goodwill. Yes they should. They have to pay what we would pay I am pretty sure of it. Set by a supervisor. Since they don’t make that much I am sure they don’t buy a whole bunch. You shop there everyday! WOW . What do you do with all the stuff you buy? I shop there every two weeks. I go there to buy movies. and little stuff, specially books. Like 10 books to read to my daughter at night. Target donates stuff there. SO I get some good deals sometimes. I can’t imagine doing that everyday.

@chyna I don’t have a problem with her buying the stuff. If she can make something out of shopping at GW I figure go for it. Let her have it and let the employees have it too.
So, what do I think of the practice? It’s fine.

My brother worked at the local Goodwill, and my husband did community service there.

The employees do not get “dibs” on the merchandise. They don’t get to keep anything, not even the donated items that they don’t accept (like TVs, computers, VCRs… they don’t do electronics at all – when donated, they go straight to the dumpster). They get a tiny employee discount, but even then, when a GW gets a donation, the donated items are put into bins and shipped to the central processing warehouse, where they are then distributed to different stores based on the inventories each store needs.

That is not to say that some employees don’t find a way to cheat a little. For example, there’s a small wooded area outside the loading dock at the local GW store, and occasionally a DVD player will find its way into a bush when the supervisor isn’t looking.

@worriedguy – Charity shops don’t pay wages to employees, per se, as most “employees” are volunteers. The store Manager gets a wage as do, probably one other, a sub manager but usually the other workers are volunteers. Some workers are community-based, that is, rather than paying off fines or going to prison for a minor offence, they work off their “time” by doing work for charites. Most of those people usually work in the charity diners.

@actuallery Maybe some shops are volunteer but I know the GW in my area pays its employees. It is minimum wage or only slightly above. The store managers get a little more. Nobody is making a killing there. (Maybe the CEO is but I have no info.)
What I do see is they are willing to give disadvantaged people a chance to work. They have blind employees working the cash registers. How cool is that?

Absolutely! Did you ever work at Goodwill? I did. You don’t make a whole lot. So if I could pick up a Tommy Hilfiger shirt or an Armani tie it made my day. And I know that the same was true of the other drudges who shared my labor in the dustbins.

From the goodwill website: It is against Goodwill’s policies for any Goodwill employee to “hold” merchandise in the back room and release it to the floor when certain customers are shopping. It also is against Goodwill’s policies for store employees to sell items directly from the back room.

Outlet store employees are allowed to shop in the stores, but they are not allowed to shop during their work shift or to purchase items that have not been on the sales floor for a minimum of two hours.

Employees also are not allowed to ring up purchases that their family members make.

It sounds like they make a good faith effort to keep things fair.

@john65pennington Tell me, if you just go to goodwill as a hobby, why would the decline in quality matter to you? Your only loss is that your hobby is less enjoyable. I’ve shopped at goodwill when I was broke because I had nowhere else to get clothes, and found plenty of great things because I put in the time and effort. Thrift stores are cheap, so they’re not going to be as convenient as a regular clothing store.

It really bothers me when people jump to blame retail employees for problems that they may have nothing to do with. Part of Goodwill’s mission is to help disadvantaged people find dignity through work, so I read your suspicion as prejudice against the disadvantaged. That’s not cool. The quality has probably gone down (if it even has; that’s subjective) because of the recession. Less people donate to charity during economic downturns, so Goodwill would have less items to choose from and might have to put some inferior stuff in the store.

Having worked at Goodwill, some employees get 1st pick, depends on if you’re management or a favored employee. However, most Goodwill employ a policy that an employee can only shop before or after their shift, on lunch, or on their day off. It is unfair to customers as well as other employees. I have seen flat screen TVs held so managers can purchase them cheaply, and processors mark items at a lower price for themselves. Doesn’t do any good to bring this to light, or you’ll be fired. Customers who witness employees coming out of the back room with merchandise should e-mail the President and/or Board of their local Goodwill.
Goodwill maybe non-profit but, It is a $$$$$ making business. Employees are paid minimum wage and most of the managers have criminal histories and will do anything to ensure large personal bonuses. This includes failing to pay employees for hours actually worked. It’s sad to claim to help the disadvantaged and then take advantage of them, especially the handicapped. TANF and court ordered community service volunteers contribute to the successful day to day operations, cleaning, sorting, and helping with donation intakes. Low wages, no seniority or merit system, favoritism, and discrimination among other factors contribute to the dissatisfaction and low morale of the employees.
So donate if you need a tax write off. Otherwise if you want to help someone contact a local school, as teachers know who is impoverished/struggling and adopt a family; offer to volunteer at a food bank or senior center. You will meet the people who could benefit from your items. This is the only way to know that your charitable efforts are being utilized in a manner that will benefit others and the community.
I was once proud to work for Goodwill believing that I was helping my community, but that was looking from the outside in. I am ashamed in what I have learned and witnessed as an employee.