Comment on Goodwill is out of control
Maggoty@lemmy.world 2 months agoGoodwill specifically markets itself as a thrift store to help the working class while also helping homeless and disabled people get retail experience to get normal jobs.
Instead we’ve found out they get their product donated, they pay less than minimum wage (sometimes 22 cents an hour), and they sell at market prices. So that was all a lie. That’s why people are mad. Changing what they say they do now isn’t going to work without a massive PR campaign to show people the out of store projects they do. And then we’re all going to ask where the money for that PR campaign came from. They are a shit company, and a shittier charity.
mosiacmango@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Can you link some of these ads you’re talking about? I don’t really see any ads for them anywhere.
I don’t think they have ever hidden that they sell things that are donated, since they want people to donate. I don’t think they generally sell most things at market prices, especially notvfrom what I’ve seen. A $300 coat may be $35 dollars there, but that isn’t anywhere near “market” prices.
It sounds like you have specific issues with Goodwill, which is fine, but the above is how all retail charities work. The store prices are not the charity. The charity comes from the profits from the stores, so all retail charities are incentivized to make a profit in their stores. The fact that the prices are much less than market, and that they do some great environmental things as well is the extra postivie bits of retail chsrity like goodwill or habitat for humanity. If you don’t care to support the model, that’s fine, but that’s why they proce things like they do.
Maggoty@lemmy.world 2 months ago
goodwill.org/…/goodwill-celebrates-national-thrif…
It’s literally their entire marketing scheme. And if the Goodwill near you is offering good prices still then that’s great. But this is something people have noticed.
mosiacmango@lemm.ee 2 months ago
I’ve never gone to the goodwill.org page before today. That’s not very good marketing if that’s all they are doing.
My local one has a banner up for Halloween costumes, but that’s it. There are some generic “feel good” images of people being happy to work inside on the walls, but it’s not like it rotates or has ads or anything. Just generic cheerful “thank you’s.”
Maggoty@lemmy.world 2 months ago
You can easily find video ads of goodwill on YouTube. And I linked you their literal strategy.