Can't even get a decent price on a photo book at Goodwill these days

Was at a local Goodwill yesterday, I often drop in to one or two in the area to try and find
a photo book or two...found two interesting ones in OK condition, turned over and each were
priced at $75.

Then I look over and see these four douche-bags, part of the ever growing clan of used book sellers
with their Goddammed Amazon ISBN scanners., and one asks me in an annoyed tone...are you going
to buy that? These pricks are the reason in my opinion, so I told him to go pound sand.

Ya, ya...I know the contrarians are going to come out of the woodwork on this one and tell me everyone
has to make a buck, but it just pisses me off.

Goodwill is a charity serving the disabled by reselling donated goods to whomever will buy them, not a charity serving you by selling you stuff cheap.

I'm well aware of what Goodwill does, I've donated a lot to them.

If Goodwill had it priced at 75 and there was a bookseller there willing to pay the price, odds are it's actual market value is somewhere north of 150. Getting a $150 book for 75 seems like a good deal to me.

It sounds as though you were quite rude as well. When you are in the process of conducting business do you expect to be treated poorly
for doing so?
Who's ethics are in question?

I like, both, getting a good deal and supporting charity. It's a trade off. Most other people do too.

But let's not get into assessing the ethics of others. Glass houses; casting stones; etc

Jeff Bradford said:

Goodwill is a charity serving the disabled by reselling donated goods to whomever will buy them, not a charity serving you by selling you stuff cheap.

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Goodwill is NOT a charity, it is a FOR PROFIT corporation that gets tax write offs for hiring disabled and gets all its merchandise for free.

http://www.goodwill.org/annual-report/

Umm, you may want to review their official annual earnings report, the form 990. One may not like the big management salaries but they are identified as 501/503 corporations, which is the legal definition of a not- for- profit.

Quit going to Goodwill...there are many other thrift shops around
My wife and I love to go into thrift stores to buy used hardbound books, both fiction and non-fiction, typically $2.50...I bought a 1600 page $130 text on Pathophysiology for that!
I paid $25 for a working Beseler Topcon Super D with 50mm f/1.4, which originally sold for $420 in 1964 (back when gas was $0.30/gal.)

I never seen any book at local Goodwill for 75.
On this week Friday I purchased two books for 35 or so CAD each on Amazon.ca.
Free delivery. One is Vivien Maier, another is smother famous American photographer.

A charity has a moral obligation to its donors and recipients to get the highest price for donated items. If I gave a nice clean camera to a charity shop, I'd rather it go for the top end of its value than the bottom.

blockend said:

A charity has a moral obligation to its donors and recipients to get the highest price for donated items. If I gave a nice clean camera to a charity shop, I'd rather it go for the top end of its value than the bottom.

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Try: www.abebook.com

I've had good luck at used book stores. Locally here we have one called Half Price Books. My last purchase was "Auto Focus" by Susan Bright, a look at self portraits from many photographers. I picked it up still in the plastic covering for $5.

This will sound harsh, but I ceased giving to so-called 'established' charities many years ago. I still donate, both goods and money, privately and directly. Mostly to small groups in Asia that are fighting to try to change the social systems in some of the more oppressed countries.

Reading these so-called charities' annual reports is an education in itself. Many work diligently to hide the more obvious extravagant expenses - try to find how much the CEO of many charities in Australia is paid every year, for example, you will likely not succeed! I often politely but bluntly ask how much of every dollar I donate is actually passed on to the intended recipients, whether double (or in some cases even triple) accounting occurs as the donated money moves along, and how much the legions of marketing agencies I am constantly being annoyed by on the phone for money, money, money are paid. In every case, I get vague answers or blank stares and no response. So no donation, sorry.

Some charity shops do overprice their books. Other charity shops underprice. Most charities quietly invite the commercial booksellers to call in, usually on weekends, to check the donated books and load up boxes of what they want to buy, often at generous discounts. I know this from personal experience, having worked as a volunteer for one of the older established charities in Melbourne (Australia) until the obvious scams going on everywhere around me in the shop became too much for me to put up with.

This isn't meant to be an ad hoc attack on charities and their op shops, rather to point out that business is business and real world situations often intrude into the little bubble worlds of our lives. There are some good charities out there, doing good work. Whenever I find them, I try to support them. We shouldn't forget that charities often pay rent for their shops (unless they own them outright, as the largest religious charity in Australia often does). Used book stores and online sellers offer pleasant alternatives. I use them. They offer excellent value for money and good professional service. You must decide for yourself, as I have for myself.

lecarp said:

It sounds as though you were quite rude as well. When you are in the process of conducting business do you expect to be treated poorly
for doing so?
Who's ethics are in question?

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Ethics...? Here we go with the PC Police...
Ya, I was rude to the prick, because he was rude to me, asking in a very rude tone while I was looking at the book peacefully,
"Are you going to buy that"...there was no question how rude he was being to me. You weren't there. I treat people
with respect, but when someone disrespects me, they get it back.

Listen, this Goodwill I was in primarily serves a largely Mexican clientele here in Southern California, who can't afford to shop in
most of the retail stores...they are primarily agriculture workers, making poor wages, so when I see a photo book, which btw, I
later checked on ebay that was only going for $25 with no bids or watchers, yet I see it on this places shelf for $75, it annoys me.

To hell with it. I'm done.

GCF stores in the Raleigh area want .99 for hardback books. Occasionally there's what they perceive to be a rarity
kept behind glass with the price scrawled in permanent marker on the cover. They're usually open to offers when these
tomes remain unsold after a couple weeks.

I agree with CDM, Once upon a time they were more reasonable(opinion) today they use a more capitalistic
model and garner a lot of merchandise from Target thats half what Target sells for but I guess that's part of the agreement
between the two.
IF you're looking for a charity to support that has reasonable(cheap) pricing, use the Salvation Army. Their executive
earns less than $20K/yr and he gets to wear a uniform.

John Koehrer said:

IF you're looking for a charity to support that has reasonable(cheap) pricing, use the Salvation Army. Their executive
earns less than $20K/yr and he gets to wear a uniform.

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That's basically the advice an uncle of mine gave the family back in WW!. I guess somethings haven't changed.

AmVets and Salvation Army are my choices for anything, including donations of clothes, household items, etc. Days of giving anything to Goodwill were over years ago.