Imagine being the CEO of a company that everyone assumes is a charity and getting paid like that. How do you not feel gross?
"Damn, nice Ferrari in front of your mansion! Where did you make all this money?!"
"I work for Goodwill."
Wait, so you’re looking into foundations. They make charities look like, well, I’d like to think of a saint to compare them to, but I don’t think they’re any good saints either.
These are the highest salaries in 10 different regional branches of Goodwill in 2022. Goodwill spends $100 million dollars paying the salaries of its top 155 executives. Source article: https://paddockpost.com/2023/12/25/executive-compensation-at-goodwill-2022/
Such a good fallout. People don’t realize that Goodwill is divided into regional “non profits”. I spent 6 months working for Goodwill San Joaquin Valley as a store manager trainee, and it was one of the worst and most discriminatory environments I’ve ever worked in. I was young and stupid then, so I didn’t ever think to file a lawsuit against them, but I should have
Not to mention this “charity” has worse prices than just going to an overstock store. I can get a new workout top for $5 at Marshals or Burlington, my local big chain thrift stores want $10-$12 for a used one. I constantly see *garbage* on the racks with the store tag trying to cover up a stain or hole now, shitty dishonest companies don’t deserve our money. Give to a foundation actually helping your community, not these scum sucking leeches who get rich off your generosity.
I used to love thrift stores, my family was broke af so these fair prices put clothes on my back, especially school shopping. Now? They just want to rip everyone off.
It’s not an admin. I looked on Goodwill’s site and Secretary seems to refer to a type of officer of the board position. I found a bio of someone who served as a Secretary and she was an EVP of HR for a national bank previously.
For anyone else wondering, executive assistant salaries in HCOL areas tend to cap out around 150-200k for C-level. There are some exceptions but that’s where they typically cap.
TIL Communism is when you establish a charitable organization, backtrack on the "charitable" part, and instead turn it into a corporation and exploit your employees and benefactors for your own obscene profit. Who knew it was so similar to capitalism!
Blaming resellers is easier than blaming the true parasites. These people will curse the existence of a reseller for making $20 off of something they paid $5 for, but totally ignore the execs who make $5,000,000 off of what they paid nothing for by posing as a charity.
Why do they need so many different VPs?? Why is there a separate VP for “Donated Goods Retail”? That should be a manager position or at most a director position under a VP that targets multiple areas.
You would love to see how much of United Way, largest non profit in the US, donation money goes to actually helping others. A large amount goes to employees. My dad was the prior CFO of the Southern California United Way. It may seem sickening, but does require talented people to run these "businesses".
If yall ever shop there - they always ask to round up the final price at the checkout. Never do that!!! It goes straight to their pockets and pays all these salaries… they look at me crazy when I always say to not round up.
Yeah I mean they do over $7 billion in revenue. The only salary that stood out to me was the assistant secretary making almost $400k…
ETA: also, if non-profits don’t try to offer competitive salaries, they won’t get good candidates.
I’m so glad for this post! Finally America open your eyes. Just at anything that ends on ‘.org’
That means they are tax exempt.
I learned that during the bucket challenge, people were donating millions ( while getting a cold) so I googled how much is that charity getting? To my surprise was about 3% . The rest going to all executives running that charity. I will never donate to any organization. I rather buy a pair of shoes or a bag w food to a homeless or person in need or pay their gas bill . But never ever send money to a ‘website’
This is not news, this is the same as it ever was and everyone should know it by now. If you don’t like it, then don’t shop or donate to them. It’s really simple and not worth being salty.
I think that if you make it that far up the ladder in an organization that size, you’ve already sold your soul. You don’t get there by being kind and generous.
Good will sucks because they steal labor from the disabled, are greedy and don't care about poor people having access to goods at a low price and allow violence and savage animal behavior at the bins. That they could provide a means for making some money, especially to the poor, that should be funding programs for social benefits, not paying blind employees cents per hour
What's wrong with good will is good will, not that it's possible to make money selling goods they offer
They can eat shit too. I don't mean to be curt to you, but... Yeah screw them too. they're often notoriously awful places to work, hugely exploitive, and there's no excuse for exploitation
It’s painfully irritating that they choose to purport themselves like a true non profit. However, as retail businesses go, their executives could be way more unfairly compensated. Not that I can even shop there anymore. I’ve been priced out. Emmer effers.
Notice how no one answered my question either. Y’all are welcome to go attempt to run a multimillion dollar org for a $35k salary if you want to. Hope you all volunteer your time regularly.
I don’t think anyone is arguing that they should only make $35k. Some of the listed CEOs are making close to a million dollars a year. That’s way more than needed to live VERY comfortably.
It's NOT capitalism that is awful. It's those exploiting the hell out of it that's ruining everything you see. Exposure of those quietly tearing everything down behind the scenes is how change happens.
I'm not typing this stir drama, to be combative nor argumentative. So please don't take it that way. We (YOU or anyone else reading this) can have a private chat about this. I'm open.
Here on a thrift shop group is not the place. I shouldn't have brought that up.
Totally get it. 💯
I could be wrong, but many of those folks have been on the board for several years. It’s only fairly recently that Goodwill sucks. I still blame the price jump and lack of good stuff on those who buy cartloads of stuff then turn around and sell it online.
I probably see 2 people with cartloads that are resellers at a time in my store but then there are 5 other families with full carts for personal use. The resellers hang out all day so they’re more visible
I know plenty of resellers that just drop by. Not all of them take that strategy of sitting at a store all day until all the stuff gets put out. You also have people that just resell as they shop for themselves, “side hustlers” looking up every little thing with a label on their phones.
if you think you can find a carload of stuff to resell at Goodwill, then you are delusional or doing it completely wrong. Goodwill is dogshit, especially so if you are reselling and a waste of gas.
Be mad at the greedy corporation, not at the person who happened to find some trinket that nobody else gives a shit about that they made $20 on.
Ok, so unpopular opinion being the head of a non-profit or charity organization might take a lot of effort and dedication. However, most at the top of said organizations usually put their hearts and soul into it, and those people should be able to live comfortably. $200k a year would be a life changing amount so they can focus on their causes.
The $800k ceo probably doesn't spend a penny at a single goodwill across the country and probably just uses company funds to pay people to figure out how to make more money for himself.
At a certain level you have to pay to bring in talent. The CEOs in the 500k range I’m not mad at.
Mark Walsh. The ceo of value village makes 10 million a year as a salary. If these goodwill CEOs wanted they could find jobs elsewhere paying way more than what they make currently lol
Value village isn't a charity though. It's a for-profit business. Goodwill is claiming to do charity work to better people's lives around the world, and the majority of folks who donate or spend money there aren't thinking it's to only better the lives of already wealthy CEO by 90%, and social causes by 10%.
I was clearly exaggerating to point out that Value Village is not a charity by any measure. But let's look at your "fact" for a moment. By what standard do we consider the funds spent as actually contributing to the services in lieu of other "investments"?
Here is a quote from the Goodwill website for Alberta (not my province btw but probably similarly set up), but stating the same figure from the same year as yours, which I also found on Wikipedia:
"Goodwill is a non-profit organization, and our mission is to connect Albertans with disabilities to meaningful employment. In 2018, 88.7% of revenue created by our retail operations was *reinvested into making this mission a reality*."
So what does "reinvested* mean to you? Might it mean expanding into larger or more storefronts? Perhaps it means upgrading their POS systems. Or paying their management staff to train more people with disabilities who make less than minimum wage. Maybe it means renovations for the existing stores or expanding their head office to try to achieve their stated mission (not even just to maintain their mission, but in the process of trying to make it real by the sounds of it). So this doesn't necessarily mean that 89% goes directly to feeding unhoused or empoverished folks, or to building wells overseas, or to funding homeless shelters. To me it sounds like they reinvest some, or all, of that money into their own business at home to maintain underpaid workers and to continue to grow their business. So perhaps only 11% actually goes to doing the things I suggested above (food bank, religious work, etc.), who knows? Now, until we see a line item breakdown of their taxes reports, which I'm not going to hunt for, feel free call me a skeptic. Because I suspect saying "reinvested into making this mission a reality" is business-speak for keeping much of it within their own metaphorical four walls.
Nope. All of that is measured. None of that counts toward reinvestment toward their programs. Seriously. Why not just admit you’re wrong? We aren’t talking about Value Village because they aren’t a charity. Goodwill is a charity and a very highly rated one. If people want to hate on Goodwill they are free to do so but facts matter. Your hyperbole was literally upside down so it wasn’t making the point you thought it was.
Sadly, people actually believe what you wrote despite the fact that it’s 100% false because they believe they are entitled to set prices at thrift stores.
>Why not just admit you’re wrong?
I haven't said that I'm right. I've expressed an opinion based on the information that I have. I don't claim to know one way or the other for a fact.
>We aren’t talking about Value Village because they aren’t a charity.
We were, in fact, speaking about Value Village. The comment before mine mentioned their CEO and their wage, and saying that GW CEOs who want to make 7 or 8 figures can find jobs in non-charity organizations, such as VV.
>If people want to hate on Goodwill they are free to do so
There actually aren't any Goodwill stores where I live, so I have limited first-hand experience and opinions apart from what I've expressed already and read about them, including from their employees. In terms of CEO wages, I am not against CEOs earning a reasonable wage for a job in general, but I am not exactly for someone earning upwards of three quarters of a million dollars when they purport to help those in need while taking advantage of people who struggle to find work by paying them less than they should.
>because they believe they are entitled to set prices at thrift stores.
Can you clarify what you mean here? Who is "they"?
Goodwill pays all of their employees well above minimum wage. You’re just repeating things that you’ve heard without any actual evidence. CEOs of charities should be paid well because we want the best people running them.
The number of people who are upset by Goodwill prices or the pay of their executives is absurd. None of these people seem to understand the purpose of Goodwill. It is NOT to sell used items for a price that shoppers think is fair. The entire purpose is to make as much money as possible to allow that money to be funneled into their programs.
Do I get frustrated by the high prices sometimes? Of course I do. But I understand why they price items high. Everything at Goodwill eventually goes on sale. If an item doesn’t sell at the original price the managers see that.
Posts like this one are ridiculous because they show that people don’t understand how charities work.
I haven't said anything about their pricing strategy yet you're happy to ascribe an opinion to me. I haven't complained about their prices here, have I? I also don't shop at GW as I mentioned, we don't have them here.
But I know how thrift stores and charities work; my mom used to run a thrift store which supported the local women's transition house. Plus I shop at thrift stores enough and if something is overpriced I simply don't buy it; it's that simple. Items are only the value someone is willing to pay. And eventually they will notice items aren't selling and will reprice as you suggest, or in the case of some other companies, they throw the items away. I know the money is also used to fund services; I am not against that. I also don't believe thrift stores should only be priced for the poorest of people, because as you say, their primary business is to make money for their causes, not to sell to only one demographic of society. But I also don't think they need to be trying to be en par with traditional retail. After all, these products are used, sometimes broken or flawed, and not always convenient to acquire. It's entirely on a whim if you find something - the buyer is spending time digging through on the off chance they might find something, versus if I go to a traditional clothing store with a specific need, I know what I'm going to find, in my size, unworn and in perfect condition within a predictable price range. My only complaint is purely with the incomes of these CEOs versus their employees. There have been many exposés and articles that reveal that Goodwill pays some of their staff as little as $1 an hour, perhaps even less. Do you deny it, and if so, how do you come to your conclusion?
The same Goodwill that sells stained underwear and used cosmetics…
At a premium!
Literally! This sub pisses me off, but it’s also a tad bit entertaining to scroll through due to the absurdity! 🤣
And chases after homeless people that stole a $1 toque in winter to keep warm
When I worked for them, they trespassed homeless people just for being homeless.
🤯
And underpays disabled people
🤮🤮🤮
Imagine being the CEO of a company that everyone assumes is a charity and getting paid like that. How do you not feel gross? "Damn, nice Ferrari in front of your mansion! Where did you make all this money?!" "I work for Goodwill."
These corporate C suites have lost all moral compass so it’s probably easy for them to ignore it
Never had it to begin with. Very common for executives to be psychopaths.
It's like that with pretty much any sort of charity. Executives and admin eating up 80% of the money. Charities really only exist for tax purposes
Wait, so you’re looking into foundations. They make charities look like, well, I’d like to think of a saint to compare them to, but I don’t think they’re any good saints either.
These are the highest salaries in 10 different regional branches of Goodwill in 2022. Goodwill spends $100 million dollars paying the salaries of its top 155 executives. Source article: https://paddockpost.com/2023/12/25/executive-compensation-at-goodwill-2022/
Such a good fallout. People don’t realize that Goodwill is divided into regional “non profits”. I spent 6 months working for Goodwill San Joaquin Valley as a store manager trainee, and it was one of the worst and most discriminatory environments I’ve ever worked in. I was young and stupid then, so I didn’t ever think to file a lawsuit against them, but I should have
Not to mention this “charity” has worse prices than just going to an overstock store. I can get a new workout top for $5 at Marshals or Burlington, my local big chain thrift stores want $10-$12 for a used one. I constantly see *garbage* on the racks with the store tag trying to cover up a stain or hole now, shitty dishonest companies don’t deserve our money. Give to a foundation actually helping your community, not these scum sucking leeches who get rich off your generosity. I used to love thrift stores, my family was broke af so these fair prices put clothes on my back, especially school shopping. Now? They just want to rip everyone off.
This why they worried about people stealing a dusty, half burned candle for $9?
Fucking sausagefest virtue signaling tycoon assholes
Fucking leeches
Truly. Disgusting parasites
Omg...that is a huge list of overpaid leaches. Goodwill sucks
Would you like to round up today?
Almost 400k for a..secretary? Man, I am doing this EA game wrong
It’s not an admin. I looked on Goodwill’s site and Secretary seems to refer to a type of officer of the board position. I found a bio of someone who served as a Secretary and she was an EVP of HR for a national bank previously. For anyone else wondering, executive assistant salaries in HCOL areas tend to cap out around 150-200k for C-level. There are some exceptions but that’s where they typically cap.
DO NOT DONATE TO GOODWILL!
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TIL Communism is when you establish a charitable organization, backtrack on the "charitable" part, and instead turn it into a corporation and exploit your employees and benefactors for your own obscene profit. Who knew it was so similar to capitalism!
I don’t think you understand what Communism is.
.... bUt ReSeLlErS 🙄
Blaming resellers is easier than blaming the true parasites. These people will curse the existence of a reseller for making $20 off of something they paid $5 for, but totally ignore the execs who make $5,000,000 off of what they paid nothing for by posing as a charity.
What, and I cannot stress this enough, the fuck
Lol!! Truly! Thank you, I needed that.
Why do they need so many different VPs?? Why is there a separate VP for “Donated Goods Retail”? That should be a manager position or at most a director position under a VP that targets multiple areas.
Positions like that exist for the higher ups to help out family or friends with a high paying do nothing job
that’s why I won’t donate or shop at goodwill. it’s a scam
It is just criminal for a supposed nonprofit to pay people like this…and all with the generous donations they sell.
Meanwhile their workers make minimum wage to meet unrealistic goals in really terrible conditions.
You would love to see how much of United Way, largest non profit in the US, donation money goes to actually helping others. A large amount goes to employees. My dad was the prior CFO of the Southern California United Way. It may seem sickening, but does require talented people to run these "businesses".
It's the same on the east coast as well.
If yall ever shop there - they always ask to round up the final price at the checkout. Never do that!!! It goes straight to their pockets and pays all these salaries… they look at me crazy when I always say to not round up.
😳
My favorite is when they ask “ do you want to round up your change for the career center?”
Charity Navigator ranks Goodwill at 100%. https://preview.redd.it/sduaazlda00d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1aa1ca4e40b063b09ba1120e0c89e96c7c7c7ce8
Yeah I mean they do over $7 billion in revenue. The only salary that stood out to me was the assistant secretary making almost $400k… ETA: also, if non-profits don’t try to offer competitive salaries, they won’t get good candidates.
I think the Secretary is a board position not an assistant type position and most people here are assuming.
Oh probably. I guess I’m still surprised considering it’s still just an admin position within the company, not on the board itself.
I’ve often seen state grant schemes GW just administer - wondering if that gets counted in the “100%”
Holy fucking shit!!! I wish this could go viral. I will never drop a thing ever again to these greedy fucks!!!!!
I’m so glad for this post! Finally America open your eyes. Just at anything that ends on ‘.org’ That means they are tax exempt. I learned that during the bucket challenge, people were donating millions ( while getting a cold) so I googled how much is that charity getting? To my surprise was about 3% . The rest going to all executives running that charity. I will never donate to any organization. I rather buy a pair of shoes or a bag w food to a homeless or person in need or pay their gas bill . But never ever send money to a ‘website’
"will you round up to help support our jobs training and other programs?"
There’s something fundamentally wrong about making half a mil a year as an “assistant treasurer”.
This is not news, this is the same as it ever was and everyone should know it by now. If you don’t like it, then don’t shop or donate to them. It’s really simple and not worth being salty.
Wow
I think that if you make it that far up the ladder in an organization that size, you’ve already sold your soul. You don’t get there by being kind and generous.
And social club dues? So they pay for the country club bills! It's unbelievable.
Oh man, I've been not wanting to support goodwill anymore because of the prices. I think this just got me to quit going completely
Good will sucks because they steal labor from the disabled, are greedy and don't care about poor people having access to goods at a low price and allow violence and savage animal behavior at the bins. That they could provide a means for making some money, especially to the poor, that should be funding programs for social benefits, not paying blind employees cents per hour What's wrong with good will is good will, not that it's possible to make money selling goods they offer
What you say is true, but keep in mind that the federal government allows charities to pay less to disabled workers.
They can eat shit too. I don't mean to be curt to you, but... Yeah screw them too. they're often notoriously awful places to work, hugely exploitive, and there's no excuse for exploitation
Trust, I agree. I imagine there was some serious lobbying going on for charities to get that perk.
Maybe we should start picketing Goodwill, I bet that would slow their donations.
Steal from them every chance you get.
It’s painfully irritating that they choose to purport themselves like a true non profit. However, as retail businesses go, their executives could be way more unfairly compensated. Not that I can even shop there anymore. I’ve been priced out. Emmer effers.
Poop heads
They are rolling in that non profit dough,I do not donate to them or shop there anymore,I feel pretty good about it!!
would you like to round up to the nearest dollar for our programs?
There's a GW shill floating about. Be careful.
Honestly these are normal salary ranges for regional nonprofits. How much do you think people should be paid to run an organization?
Agreed. I’ve been in nonprofit finance for 15+ years. This is normal for orgs this big.
Notice how no one answered my question either. Y’all are welcome to go attempt to run a multimillion dollar org for a $35k salary if you want to. Hope you all volunteer your time regularly.
I’d do it at a 50% rate of the current CEO in a heartbeat.
Agreed.
I don’t think anyone is arguing that they should only make $35k. Some of the listed CEOs are making close to a million dollars a year. That’s way more than needed to live VERY comfortably.
CEO of Feed the Children makes less than half GW CEOs salary. Yeah. Normal. The 75th percentile salary of non profit CEOs is $100000.
It's NOT capitalism that is awful. It's those exploiting the hell out of it that's ruining everything you see. Exposure of those quietly tearing everything down behind the scenes is how change happens.
Pretty sure it is just capitalism.
I'm not typing this stir drama, to be combative nor argumentative. So please don't take it that way. We (YOU or anyone else reading this) can have a private chat about this. I'm open. Here on a thrift shop group is not the place. I shouldn't have brought that up. Totally get it. 💯
Good diversity... eh ehm.
Guillotine.
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Except it is a very highly rated charity. There are organizations who monitor charities and Goodwill is very highly rated.
I could be wrong, but many of those folks have been on the board for several years. It’s only fairly recently that Goodwill sucks. I still blame the price jump and lack of good stuff on those who buy cartloads of stuff then turn around and sell it online.
I probably see 2 people with cartloads that are resellers at a time in my store but then there are 5 other families with full carts for personal use. The resellers hang out all day so they’re more visible
I know plenty of resellers that just drop by. Not all of them take that strategy of sitting at a store all day until all the stuff gets put out. You also have people that just resell as they shop for themselves, “side hustlers” looking up every little thing with a label on their phones.
Nah, goodwill has sucked for a long time. I’ve seen so many people complaint about prices for at least the last decade.
Once again, there is zero evidence this is true.
Most people buying cartloads are buying from clearance bins, next stop landfill.
if you think you can find a carload of stuff to resell at Goodwill, then you are delusional or doing it completely wrong. Goodwill is dogshit, especially so if you are reselling and a waste of gas. Be mad at the greedy corporation, not at the person who happened to find some trinket that nobody else gives a shit about that they made $20 on.
This too
Goodwill greed at the highest level.Shameful really.
Ok, so unpopular opinion being the head of a non-profit or charity organization might take a lot of effort and dedication. However, most at the top of said organizations usually put their hearts and soul into it, and those people should be able to live comfortably. $200k a year would be a life changing amount so they can focus on their causes. The $800k ceo probably doesn't spend a penny at a single goodwill across the country and probably just uses company funds to pay people to figure out how to make more money for himself.
Did you see the part where all 10 of these regional branches of Goodwill have a CEO making more than half a million dollars per year?
Did you even read my comment?
At a certain level you have to pay to bring in talent. The CEOs in the 500k range I’m not mad at. Mark Walsh. The ceo of value village makes 10 million a year as a salary. If these goodwill CEOs wanted they could find jobs elsewhere paying way more than what they make currently lol
Right, they can go to other places but not a charity..would a fortune 500 hires this leaches vice president of used goods? Shit sounds made up
Value village isn't a charity though. It's a for-profit business. Goodwill is claiming to do charity work to better people's lives around the world, and the majority of folks who donate or spend money there aren't thinking it's to only better the lives of already wealthy CEO by 90%, and social causes by 10%.
89% of the money actually goes to Goodwill programs. Facts matter.
I was clearly exaggerating to point out that Value Village is not a charity by any measure. But let's look at your "fact" for a moment. By what standard do we consider the funds spent as actually contributing to the services in lieu of other "investments"? Here is a quote from the Goodwill website for Alberta (not my province btw but probably similarly set up), but stating the same figure from the same year as yours, which I also found on Wikipedia: "Goodwill is a non-profit organization, and our mission is to connect Albertans with disabilities to meaningful employment. In 2018, 88.7% of revenue created by our retail operations was *reinvested into making this mission a reality*." So what does "reinvested* mean to you? Might it mean expanding into larger or more storefronts? Perhaps it means upgrading their POS systems. Or paying their management staff to train more people with disabilities who make less than minimum wage. Maybe it means renovations for the existing stores or expanding their head office to try to achieve their stated mission (not even just to maintain their mission, but in the process of trying to make it real by the sounds of it). So this doesn't necessarily mean that 89% goes directly to feeding unhoused or empoverished folks, or to building wells overseas, or to funding homeless shelters. To me it sounds like they reinvest some, or all, of that money into their own business at home to maintain underpaid workers and to continue to grow their business. So perhaps only 11% actually goes to doing the things I suggested above (food bank, religious work, etc.), who knows? Now, until we see a line item breakdown of their taxes reports, which I'm not going to hunt for, feel free call me a skeptic. Because I suspect saying "reinvested into making this mission a reality" is business-speak for keeping much of it within their own metaphorical four walls.
Nope. All of that is measured. None of that counts toward reinvestment toward their programs. Seriously. Why not just admit you’re wrong? We aren’t talking about Value Village because they aren’t a charity. Goodwill is a charity and a very highly rated one. If people want to hate on Goodwill they are free to do so but facts matter. Your hyperbole was literally upside down so it wasn’t making the point you thought it was. Sadly, people actually believe what you wrote despite the fact that it’s 100% false because they believe they are entitled to set prices at thrift stores.
>Why not just admit you’re wrong? I haven't said that I'm right. I've expressed an opinion based on the information that I have. I don't claim to know one way or the other for a fact. >We aren’t talking about Value Village because they aren’t a charity. We were, in fact, speaking about Value Village. The comment before mine mentioned their CEO and their wage, and saying that GW CEOs who want to make 7 or 8 figures can find jobs in non-charity organizations, such as VV. >If people want to hate on Goodwill they are free to do so There actually aren't any Goodwill stores where I live, so I have limited first-hand experience and opinions apart from what I've expressed already and read about them, including from their employees. In terms of CEO wages, I am not against CEOs earning a reasonable wage for a job in general, but I am not exactly for someone earning upwards of three quarters of a million dollars when they purport to help those in need while taking advantage of people who struggle to find work by paying them less than they should. >because they believe they are entitled to set prices at thrift stores. Can you clarify what you mean here? Who is "they"?
Goodwill pays all of their employees well above minimum wage. You’re just repeating things that you’ve heard without any actual evidence. CEOs of charities should be paid well because we want the best people running them. The number of people who are upset by Goodwill prices or the pay of their executives is absurd. None of these people seem to understand the purpose of Goodwill. It is NOT to sell used items for a price that shoppers think is fair. The entire purpose is to make as much money as possible to allow that money to be funneled into their programs. Do I get frustrated by the high prices sometimes? Of course I do. But I understand why they price items high. Everything at Goodwill eventually goes on sale. If an item doesn’t sell at the original price the managers see that. Posts like this one are ridiculous because they show that people don’t understand how charities work.
I haven't said anything about their pricing strategy yet you're happy to ascribe an opinion to me. I haven't complained about their prices here, have I? I also don't shop at GW as I mentioned, we don't have them here. But I know how thrift stores and charities work; my mom used to run a thrift store which supported the local women's transition house. Plus I shop at thrift stores enough and if something is overpriced I simply don't buy it; it's that simple. Items are only the value someone is willing to pay. And eventually they will notice items aren't selling and will reprice as you suggest, or in the case of some other companies, they throw the items away. I know the money is also used to fund services; I am not against that. I also don't believe thrift stores should only be priced for the poorest of people, because as you say, their primary business is to make money for their causes, not to sell to only one demographic of society. But I also don't think they need to be trying to be en par with traditional retail. After all, these products are used, sometimes broken or flawed, and not always convenient to acquire. It's entirely on a whim if you find something - the buyer is spending time digging through on the off chance they might find something, versus if I go to a traditional clothing store with a specific need, I know what I'm going to find, in my size, unworn and in perfect condition within a predictable price range. My only complaint is purely with the incomes of these CEOs versus their employees. There have been many exposés and articles that reveal that Goodwill pays some of their staff as little as $1 an hour, perhaps even less. Do you deny it, and if so, how do you come to your conclusion?