Goodwill seems to be getting pretty picky....

We are in the process of re-doing our kitchen. We have a perfectly good Maytag range and a Maytag dishwasher that we wanted to give away. We replaced them because of color scheme changes--not because they are in poor condition. So, I thought that the local Goodwill would be the best place to start. Boy was I was wrong. They also would not take a box of toys that had hotwheels bagged up, a Fisher price castle with the knights and horses, dinasours, large GI Joe guys, trucks. All the toys that my boys have outgrown. Fortunately, a young mom with two little boys was also dropping off items She saw the Castle and asked about it. I gave her the entire 2 boxes plus the castle. She was thrilled and said it was her lucky day. Anyway, I hate to take these appliances to the dump, but who knows of any place or anyone that wants something like this? I just can't get over that they were so picky. They have people at the back gates, looking over the stuff that you bring in and tell you "no thanks" or yes--we will take that. The girl said that too many kids get into the toys--so they don't take them. I think I might have to find a new charity... Thanks for letting me blow off steam. Nancy in MD

Try posting on http://www.freecycle.org/ for your local area. Someone will prolly come and get them...

Nancy, have you looked into freecycle? There might be one in your area and someone will pick them up.

Gracious!!!

If you have a local habitat for humanity, they might welcome them as well

Nancy,
if you do have to take it to the dump, can i have the wheels of of the racks? Mine always have a way of disappearing and i noticed tonight that i'm now missing 2 off the bottom...aargh, those kids of mine.
Jen

I have had the same issues with Goodwill here. ARC is the same way. However I have found that Catholic Charities is grateful for useable stuff, and they frequently give it away to someone who needs it, instead of selling it. We had extra appliances when we bought this property, two sets of washers and dryers extra, and they were given to a couple of families with small children.

I also have found that posting on the local www.craigslist.org works well to get rid of stuff as well.

Goodwill around here is getting the same way, will no longer take any kind of electric appliances, but serveral people have taken to setting them out fron with a sign that says FREE, they never sit there very long.

Wow, up here Goodwill doesn't refuse anything!! It just doesn't make sense...they sell it, they get the money. ESPECIALLY TOYS! With appliances, they always put a sign on saying they're not responsible if it doesn't work, but have an electrical outlet so you can see if it works. If someone drops something off they think is damaged and unfixable, it just goes into their dumpster.

Goodwill officers (waaaay up the chain) get the highest pay of any of the "charities". I refuse to do Goodwill anymore. I have a favorite local charity, one that provides a free medical clinic. Check around and see what's really in your community.

Good advice darius. There are a lot of other places besides Goodwill that will accept used items for charitable resale. Now you've got me rethinking my Goodwill donations... I have a girlfriend who's daughter worked for them throughout high school and now university; they've been flexible and accommodating to her. I guess there's more to them than what I knew!!

ceedub, I know they do some good (?) things like employing the mentally retarded, under supervision of course (and probably a money-saver for them as well as good PR). However (and remember, my memory is faulty) it seems like only something like 10% of what they make actually goes to charity.

That's astounding. Where does the rest go I wonder? Rent/wages/utilities/advertising - that can use up quite a bit of cash resources, but 90%??? Doesn't seem very reasonable.

I agree. I used to have a web site that listed major charities and where the money went, but lost it on my old hard drive when it died.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I will be calling around, I'm sure there has got to be other charity organizations in our area that will take appliances. Poppysue & Elsie, I've had never heard of "freecycle.org" before--It looks like a good place. MSJen, I hope we don't have to take them to the dump, but if so, the wheels are yours. I might take a look at Catholic Charities & habitat for humanity. Thanks again. If anyone knows of anyone in my area--that wants them--send me a note. I might have a few toys left too :~). Darius, if you do find that list of charities and their money distributions, let us know. Thanks.

nminmd, our local Salvation Army has several thrift stores around town. They never turn down anything (except used mattresses). They either sell the merchandise in their thrift stores, or will GIVE certain things to needy families I know this to be a fact because we are members of the Salvation Army church.

Also, our local Habitat For Humanity has a thrift store in town. They use the money to help build houses for their partner families. You may want to check and see if you have either of these in your area.

I used to shop at Goodwill, but not anymore.

One thing is certain - when a new one opens up, its a great place to shop. The merchandise choice is very good when the store is not well publicized yet.

I was told that the "Owner" of the goodwill store( sorta like a francise ) pays for the use of the name and this is what goes to charity and the rest is their profit. Pretty good business when you don't have to pay for the products you sell! Ours is a distribution center for 10 other ones ( all owned by the same person) and so we have very good merchandise here and I can't resist some bargains, but do wonder about the ethics of this system. Lou

I can tell you that 40 years ago in Seattle Goodwill did not want anything that wasn't next to (darned close) to new. I had a solid, well built couch and it had a small tear in the arm which could have been repaired even with an iron on patch under the fabric. But GW would not take it. I ended up cutting it up with a skil saw and burning it in my fireplace. Boy was it hot.

If they took an appliance absolutely everything had to work. Even the lightbulbs. And they did not want colored appliances because that dated them. Avacodo shag carpet??? Fagidaboudit. Jeanette

But that's the joy of Goodwill and places like it - a person can get everything retro - from clothing to furniture!! Fortunately 40 years makes a difference, here anyway, they do accept everything except total junk which they throw out themselves. Its the amount of $ that actually makes it to charities that bothers me.

If you have a local women's shelter, salvation army, or any type of non-profit agency that works with low income families they would be happy to help you find a new home for your items.

I worked for an agency that worked with low income families and we did a lot of that type of stuff. We were fortunate that we did have some space to put things if we couldn't find them a home immediately.

We had been referring everyone to Goodwill when I first startd working there, and then one day I had a family come in that had lost everything to a fire. I naturally called goodwill thinking they would be happy to help since they were a charity! I was told that even thought they felt badly they would not give anybody anything for free!

It was the last time I and our agency donated anything to goodwill. After that we started working with the type of organizations that were more generous with giving back as well as getting.

I would check with a women shelters in your area. I refuse to give to Goodwill anymore.