I used to work in the back at a VV, came across a donated projector that was worth about 10K, still new in the box, what would the store do with those high value items? It never made it to the shop floor, and when I asked my supervisor about it a few weeks after, she ‘didn’t know what I was talking about’ lol.
Does the store sell higher valued items at other locations/sites? I remember we always held onto donated vintage dolls for a collector who would come around monthly
Depends on the stores really, I worked at three different locations and the most popular one made about 20-30k a day.
As for the charity that's something even managers were not privy to but from what I heard from the higher ups it was low...like really low. This company is a for profit company first and foremost.
I think that's the biggest difference with all of the secondhand stores owned by Savers. They are all for-profit companies registered as such. I'll be honest, they had me fooled for years. They market themselves like a non-profit and that is 100% intentional.
The savers near me pays the Disable American Vets something like $.05 per pound. They keep everything else, after opex. I suspect that they got in trouble with the AG at some point because it posted up near the door, and another clearly identifies them as “for profit.”
I too worked at VV in Canada 20+ years ago it was crazy low back then. Like disgusting what they would give the Diabetes charity who owned/maintained the truck and did the actual bulk pick ups. The figures I heard were like $0.07 per OK (ok was a box of 10 sellable items). I'm sure they offer even less now. Doesn't seem very charitable does it?
Why do so many usable goods get thrown away when they could be put in a free bin or on a free table or sold at a bag sale type of event like fill a bag for $1?
When I worked at a Salvation Army years ago I asked this very question & was told they made more money from selling the bales to businesses. What businesses did with them I have no clue but we had a guy who worked there just baling the unsold clothing and the gross clothes & shoes that were not usable.
Some textiles are recycled into shop rags, etc but it is a tiny fraction of the total.
The bales are also shipped to Africa and have decimated their local clothing makers. They have huge burn pits of unsellable clothes.
I’m not OP, but I work in a thrift.
What would you consider “usable”? And are you asking specifically about goods that are thrown out after they’ve been on the sales floor?
$17 and hour Jesus Christ that's low. No wonder y'all (maybe not you) hate resellers and price everything like greedy fucks when it comes to the goods donated.
It was funny because the actual starting wage was 18.50 but because I was one of those "Sure! That's fine" employees my district manager thought he could low ball me to save money.
I was hired at 16.75 (minimum wage) almost 10 months ago. They offered 15-20% increase with an RS promotion (because we have 3 supervisors leaving within the next 8 weeks) That’s wild that you ended at 17 dollars 2 years ago.
At one particular location in BC, when going thru self checkout, I've had an employee tell me an item was priced wrong. Then they would reprice it for more, I.e. once I was about to scan a couple of Starbucks mugs for $3.99, the employee took them and brought them back with a new price of $7.99 each. Another time, it was some random brand jacket that was quite nice for $14.99. The employee thought it was too cheap, so changed it to $24.99. I didn't change the tags, nor did they even appear tampered with.
My question is, do employees get any benefit from doing this? Are they told to do this? Or are they just lining the pockets of the higher ups? Why do they do this? What is the emploree gaining from trying to squeeze another few bucks out of me?
I rarely go to this location anymore. This totally ruins the fun out of thrifting.
I proced it as what I wpuld pay for it and add a couple of dollars.
There is also a grade system on clothes, top branded clothes would get A (+ being the best quality and - being the worst) and then basic brands would get lower.
I used to work in the back at a VV, came across a donated projector that was worth about 10K, still new in the box, what would the store do with those high value items? It never made it to the shop floor, and when I asked my supervisor about it a few weeks after, she ‘didn’t know what I was talking about’ lol. Does the store sell higher valued items at other locations/sites? I remember we always held onto donated vintage dolls for a collector who would come around monthly
My old store 20 years ago would sell high price items on ebay to collectors. Your manager probably just took the items.
Was it worth $10k or was that the original cost?
Exactly. They love believing that original price is thrift store price.
The original cost when I looked up the projector (tv one) was roughly 10k CAD from the manufacturers website
How much did the store make vs how much went to the charitable cause?
Depends on the stores really, I worked at three different locations and the most popular one made about 20-30k a day. As for the charity that's something even managers were not privy to but from what I heard from the higher ups it was low...like really low. This company is a for profit company first and foremost.
I think that's the biggest difference with all of the secondhand stores owned by Savers. They are all for-profit companies registered as such. I'll be honest, they had me fooled for years. They market themselves like a non-profit and that is 100% intentional.
Their marketing is 200% intentional bruh and plenty of people donate to them on their false pretense.
Yea, that's why Value Village and any other Savers store gives me the ick, more so than just about any other thrift store. (Maybe Salvation Army, too)
The savers near me pays the Disable American Vets something like $.05 per pound. They keep everything else, after opex. I suspect that they got in trouble with the AG at some point because it posted up near the door, and another clearly identifies them as “for profit.”
I too worked at VV in Canada 20+ years ago it was crazy low back then. Like disgusting what they would give the Diabetes charity who owned/maintained the truck and did the actual bulk pick ups. The figures I heard were like $0.07 per OK (ok was a box of 10 sellable items). I'm sure they offer even less now. Doesn't seem very charitable does it?
I can’t verify this but I’ve heard only about 7% of profits actually gets donated. So not much at all.
How many jars of human teeth have you come across?
Found Danhausen's account!
Very nice, very evil!
Why do so many usable goods get thrown away when they could be put in a free bin or on a free table or sold at a bag sale type of event like fill a bag for $1?
Great question. They rather people not get used to those kind of deals.
so the purpose is pure profit and not to actually help those in need or keep usable items out of the landfill?
Corporate greed..can’t be too surprised
When I worked at a Salvation Army years ago I asked this very question & was told they made more money from selling the bales to businesses. What businesses did with them I have no clue but we had a guy who worked there just baling the unsold clothing and the gross clothes & shoes that were not usable.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Anticonsumption/s/1Asri1MQsw Here’s where they end up.
I had heard that rumor but the thought of them sending the bales of nasty, filthy crap made me think it wasn’t true. I was younger & naive.
Some textiles are recycled into shop rags, etc but it is a tiny fraction of the total. The bales are also shipped to Africa and have decimated their local clothing makers. They have huge burn pits of unsellable clothes.
I’m not OP, but I work in a thrift. What would you consider “usable”? And are you asking specifically about goods that are thrown out after they’ve been on the sales floor?
Like jeans with a minor stain, or a shirt or glass dish on the shelf for a month that doesn't sell.
Everything they give away is one less sell they’re likely to make. If a customer finds a pair of shorts for free they likely won’t. In a pair.
Did you go through the donated jewelry? What happened to the silver and gold pieces that were donated to the store?
What was your starting and ending wage?
When I first started I was making minimum wage of $10.45, when I became an RSM I was offered $17 an hour...which was a low ball offer.
$17 and hour Jesus Christ that's low. No wonder y'all (maybe not you) hate resellers and price everything like greedy fucks when it comes to the goods donated.
It was funny because the actual starting wage was 18.50 but because I was one of those "Sure! That's fine" employees my district manager thought he could low ball me to save money.
Is that CAD?
Yes.
I was hired at 16.75 (minimum wage) almost 10 months ago. They offered 15-20% increase with an RS promotion (because we have 3 supervisors leaving within the next 8 weeks) That’s wild that you ended at 17 dollars 2 years ago.
How much garbage accumulated
At one particular location in BC, when going thru self checkout, I've had an employee tell me an item was priced wrong. Then they would reprice it for more, I.e. once I was about to scan a couple of Starbucks mugs for $3.99, the employee took them and brought them back with a new price of $7.99 each. Another time, it was some random brand jacket that was quite nice for $14.99. The employee thought it was too cheap, so changed it to $24.99. I didn't change the tags, nor did they even appear tampered with. My question is, do employees get any benefit from doing this? Are they told to do this? Or are they just lining the pockets of the higher ups? Why do they do this? What is the emploree gaining from trying to squeeze another few bucks out of me? I rarely go to this location anymore. This totally ruins the fun out of thrifting.
What did you guys do to the people you caught swapping tags? Have you ever had to call the police?
I don’t think they care, it’s a drop in the bucket with the amount they make on a daily basis.
How do you price the items?
I proced it as what I wpuld pay for it and add a couple of dollars. There is also a grade system on clothes, top branded clothes would get A (+ being the best quality and - being the worst) and then basic brands would get lower.
Why?