Slog Comments
I, Anonymous: One Man's Donation Is Another Man's Garbage
3
Goodwill got $12.99 for someone's garbage which you can go ahead and donate right back to them. They can then sell it for another $12.99. It's Goodwill's funding model. Brilliant! If it becomes unsellable they can then dispose of it at the city's transfer station for about 40% less than other customers are charged! I really don't see the problem here.
4
It's a Goodwill. It's unwanted, secondhand stuff. The money spent is for charity. Chalk it up to lessons learned.
5
This is probably the same person who leaves their junk in the common spaces of the apartment building, or on the curb, with a FREE sign on it because he or she is too lazy to get rid of it properly. If you don't want your broken down trash, nobody else is going to either. Throw that shit away, don't make other people clean up your mess.
10
De'Longhi aint cheap. Maybe you thought you were getting the deal (steal) of the year for $12.99. Oops, guess not.
11
Quick, you know what we need to know here? What does a 67-year-old virgin shut-in dipsomaniac who spends all of his time yelling at the television think of this story?
12
(pssst! Arthur! Ziffy! That's your cue! Get on stage you worthless... oh goddamnit, he's passed out and pissed himself again. Someone call the understudy.)
13
Maybe this Portlandia sketch will be funny after a couple of rewrites, but I doubt it. "Coffee karma"? Jesus Christ...
15
@10, huh? DeLonghi is in the same market as Mr. Coffee, pretty much. If the one he got at Goodwill is the same model we had in our office, it cost $35 new. Come to think if it, we just got rid of ours because it leaked out the bottom....
17
Man. Now I feel just terrible about that Bang and Olufsen Beosound 4 sound system I donated. I knew when I dropped it off that had that slightly tinny treble range in the quadraphonic tweeters. I'm sure it will drive some poor family mad when they are listening to Dvorak's Symphony No. 3 in E flat major. The guilt. It plagues me. I AM SO SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!
19
@10 At $12.99 it was probably the most expensive thing in housewares at Goodwill. I bought a huge desk there with attached bookshelf for $17.
20
What? Something you got from Goodwill doesn't quite work as well as you thought it would? And you haven't called the police yet?
21
Can't you get a new drip coffee maker for $13? I've bought certain kitchen accoutrements from second hand stores, but I don't think I would ever buy a coffee maker that way.
22
I see zero problem with donating crap to Salvation Army. They aren't exactly our friends. Donate to Goodwill instead and stick chocolate coins tied to a note about why SA isn't getting real money from you.
23
So lame. Buying coffee machines at thrift shops is a disgusting, bad idea. Also, get a fucking French press. They can be had for less than $20 at any big box store (I know) and will work flawlessly until you break the glass trying to get yesterday's grounds out.
I think this thread should now be about everyone's favorite thrift find. Here's mine: a framed pre-1960s "Evergreen Playground" map from Kroll for $25. I know it's pre 60s because there's no SR520 bridge on it. I saw a later edition (has the bridge) in much worse condition at an antique store for a few hundred dollars. I don't know if mine is worth that, but I don't care. It's a beautiful map and I'll cherish it forever.
I'm also fond of my 1982 WSF in mostly pink watercolor. It features dolphins riding the wake of the Walla Walla in Elliot bay. So good.
I think this thread should now be about everyone's favorite thrift find. Here's mine: a framed pre-1960s "Evergreen Playground" map from Kroll for $25. I know it's pre 60s because there's no SR520 bridge on it. I saw a later edition (has the bridge) in much worse condition at an antique store for a few hundred dollars. I don't know if mine is worth that, but I don't care. It's a beautiful map and I'll cherish it forever.
I'm also fond of my 1982 WSF in mostly pink watercolor. It features dolphins riding the wake of the Walla Walla in Elliot bay. So good.
24
@12 The only Goodwill comes from COCAINE and MALT LIQUOR! Save the vinegar enemas for visits to a real coffee shop.
25
Purchasing any kind of coffee maker at Goodwill seems idiotic as I too echo the French press route. Furthermore, Goodwill sells the majority of the great stuff here http://www.ebay.com/sch/seattlegoodwill/… - YES, gasp people, all donated and be sure to look at the completed listings. ack!
26
The letter writer doesn't seem to understand that the charity of Goodwill is not selling 2nd hand stuff to poor people - it's about providing employment, job training, and experience to poor people who would otherwise not be able to get a job. The goods donated are just free inventory that the charity uses to train their employers.
27
I disagree with most of the commenters. I think if you're going to donate to Goodwill, you should only donate quality items. I say this as somebody who grew up in a family that could only afford to shop at places like Goodwill and SA.
Same thing with food banks -- give them the food you'd eat yourself, not your almost-expired creamed corn. Better yet, give good quality infant formula, diapers, or feminine products, which are really hard to obtain when you're relying on food banks.
Same thing with food banks -- give them the food you'd eat yourself, not your almost-expired creamed corn. Better yet, give good quality infant formula, diapers, or feminine products, which are really hard to obtain when you're relying on food banks.
28
What if you purchased your french press at the Goodwill? It was a bodum, and it worked awesome (because duh) but I gave it away because I don't drink coffee and I don't drink mushroom tea anymore...
But for real? Don't donate stuff that is garbage, that's lame. Of course you should be scrutinizing what you buy at the thrift store, but it's pretty much barrel-scraping human behaviour to donate broken junk that could be even easier thrown away.
But for real? Don't donate stuff that is garbage, that's lame. Of course you should be scrutinizing what you buy at the thrift store, but it's pretty much barrel-scraping human behaviour to donate broken junk that could be even easier thrown away.
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