Oh My Gosh! Look at this!

[SpeedGraphicMan]

Heads up for you lucky SOB's in Tacoma...
http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=12984051

[Nathan Potter]

Smokin deal! I need the "Star Trek transporter".

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Jan Pedersen]

This may not be so good a deal now that half the world (Well, almost) knows about this. :rolleyes:

[jcoldslabs]

I'd drive to Tacoma for that!

Jonathan

[Daniel Stone]

Sorry, I know this is OT, and I know "deals" can be found anywhere(heck, I occasionally shop at Goodwill locally), but if you plan to GIVE anything to a "Charity", check out this article so you're fully aware of the goings-on of the most known ones(at least here in the USA):

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/charities.asp

-Dan

[ImSoNegative]

wow, pretty cool someone donated that stuff, wonder if they knew what they had? but then again maybe they just wanted to do something nice, interesting to see how high it will go.

[ImSoNegative]

Sorry, I know this is OT, and I know "deals" can be found anywhere(heck, I occasionally shop at Goodwill locally), but if you plan to GIVE anything to a "Charity", check out this article so you're fully aware of the goings-on of the most known ones(at least here in the USA):

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/charities.asp

-Dan

yeah Daniel someone posted that on facebook a while back, pretty interesting stuff

[joselsgil]

Daniel,

Thanks for posting that link.

I have not kept up with the "charity" organizations recently. I used to volunteer with the American Diabetes organization. I recalled that the US Red Cross was spending .80 cents of every dollar received, on just their over head expenses.

Goodwill, from what I have seen, helps out and trains slow or physically challenged adults. The retail stores and auctions are just a way to generate more income for the organization. I believe the CEO of Goodwill's auctions, based out of Santa Ana, California area, is legally blind.

By the way, the Jobo sold for $19.99



Jose

[BarryS]

Daniel,

... I recalled that the US Red Cross was spending .80 cents of every dollar received, on just their over head expenses...




This is completely wrong! Please don't spread misinformation like this. The Red Cross spends 92% of its revenue on program expenses--that's pretty good. The Charity Navigator site is a good source to evaluate charitable organizations.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3277

[Jody_S]

Sorry, I know this is OT, and I know "deals" can be found anywhere(heck, I occasionally shop at Goodwill locally), but if you plan to GIVE anything to a "Charity", check out this article so you're fully aware of the goings-on of the most known ones(at least here in the USA):

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/charities.asp

-Dan

Coincidentally, the Salvation Army is the only thrift store I will donate goods to, and also the only one here in Montreal that puts the 'good' items on the shelves. Everyone else has in-house pickers, or deals with someone, and they send anything valuable off somewhere else.

My best find at the SA was an Oly OM-2 with 5 lenses & gear, including a Tamron 90mm macro and a Sigma fish-eye. For $50.

[rich815]

....

[K. Praslowicz]

I got this at a local Thrift store for $30 back in 2011.

http://www.kpraslowicz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jobo.jpg

[ROL]

Coincidentally, the Salvation Army is the only thrift store I will donate goods to, and also the only one here in Montreal that puts the 'good' items on the shelves...

I've also come to that conclusion down here. Goodwill, though closer, has become the functional equivalent of a moderate priced designer consignment store, since the start of the 2008 Depression. We give them stuff, they sell at prices higher than we could get on CL, and run slick commercials on television. Not what I hope for when I donate. So, absent further criteria, it's SA from now on.

[Scott Davis]

I avoid the SA for religious reasons - I have fundamental disagreements with some of their philosophy, so I don't give to them. I avoid Catholic Charities for the same reasons. I do donate physical items (clothes, electronics, etc) to Goodwill, and I write checks to other smaller local community-based organizations (Latin American Youth Center, Whitman-Walker Clinic, etc).

[Jody_S]

I avoid the SA for religious reasons - I have fundamental disagreements with some of their philosophy,...

As do I. But if the choices I have are throwing clothes and gear in the trash, or giving them to SA, I'll give them to SA. Notwithstanding their religious agenda, which I will never support and they will never change.

[Scott Davis]

I give clothes to Goodwill also. There was this program on the news within the last year or so (perhaps also a NY Times article, I forget) about the business of donated clothing. Generally, the charities that accept donated clothing get far more than they can ever use, and most of it is not saleable, so they have to filter it out - some of the 2nd tier pickings get shipped overseas, and eventually the remainder of it ends up converted into rags and pulp. The scope of the problem would stagger you, though. We're talking hundreds of cubic yards of clothing a year just from the New York City Goodwill, let alone other similar charities in New York City. Magnify that out across the whole country and you start to get the picture.

[SpeedGraphicMan]

Ok, besides all of the "Lets bash Goodwill and other Charities" political talk that has somehow found its way into this thread...

Lets try and remember the important info! The JOBO WENT FOR $19.99!!!!!!

[Daniel Stone]

and someone got a really good deal :)

[SpeedGraphicMan]

and someone got a really good deal :)

That was the important thing... I don't care about "Scalpers" or employees who pick out the good stuff for themselves, etc.
I am sure 99% of the employees have no idea what a JOBO (with a lift I might add!) was, hence the reason it went for $19.99!!!!!

Just my $0.02!

[Kevin J. Kolosky]

How about this one, which I just noticed today.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/pho/3774670192.html

[Lenny Eiger]

I give clothes to Goodwill also. There was this program on the news within the last year or so (perhaps also a NY Times article, I forget) about the business of donated clothing. Generally, the charities that accept donated clothing get far more than they can ever use, and most of it is not saleable, so they have to filter it out - some of the 2nd tier pickings get shipped overseas, and eventually the remainder of it ends up converted into rags and pulp. The scope of the problem would stagger you, though. We're talking hundreds of cubic yards of clothing a year just from the New York City Goodwill, let alone other similar charities in New York City. Magnify that out across the whole country and you start to get the picture.

This series of articles upset me to the point that I will not consider giving to any of these charities. Good-hearted people donated their clothes to help people in places like Africa. However, what it did was set up a second clothes economy that was cheap and it wiped out the local economy. Many businesses went under. They are now dependent on clothes from here. In the effort to help these people, we made things much worse.

They should have taken the proceeds from some of the local sales, or conversion to rags, and provided loans to help small clothiers start their own local businesses if they wanted to do something right. This is sloppy and, as a result, quite harmful.


Lenny