#1 Employee
AUTHOR: Illumin8 - Tacoma (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, May 06, 2009
POSTED: Wednesday, May 06, 2009
You are joking right?
I work in the e-commerce dept at Goodwill.
I can offer a couple reasons why your claim is absurd.
1. The listers in the e-commerce dept are paid a sub-standard wage which elicits no loyaty.
2. They receive no commission on sales.
3. The listers live under continual pressure to meet a quota that requires they list an item every 12 minutes, and often mislabel the items in the listing so that they go for LESS that they would on ebay.
4. They receive no bonus for meeting or exceeding sales goals.
So in order for your claim to be true, an under-paid over-worked employee would have to stop listing and face disciplinary action to bid on an item falsely with their own money to artificially inflate sales numbers for a company that would fire them if they found out they were doing something like that, and gives them no personal benefit for doing so.
Not to mention that the listing interface prevents the lister from bidding on an item they listed.
If anything, the reason you see the same person buying an item is because they are buying it for below market value and reselling it elsewhere.
#2 Update By Author
AUTHOR: Heystacey - Eatonville (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, July 26, 2009
POSTED: Monday, July 27, 2009
Ok then, why in the world are the prices at the goodwill for the SAME EXACT ITEMS selling significantly higher than on ebay???? Is it that people would rather shop at goodwill and pay much higher than ebay just for the heck of it? I don't think so. Not to mention, the goodwill gets EVERYTHING for FREEEEE! so, if the objective of the company is INTENDED to help the poor, then WHY DO YOU MARK 'DECENT' ITEMS UP SO HIGH??? Basically if you're poor and you only have a couple of dollars for a pair of jeans, then you better expect to wear the stained out-dated crap no one wants, because any of the clothing/items anyone WOULD ACTUALLY WANT is at least $7-$10 or more. How do you expect a poor person to pay that when they could easily go to Marshals, T.J. Max, or Ross, and get the same darn thing BRAND NEW for the same price or cheaper??? I buy brand new shirts all day long for $3-$4 at those 'retail" stores and will find the same thing at the goodwill a couple days later for $7. It's flat out GREED! Not to mention, some of the absolute junk for furniture that they ask so much for. I saw a japanese dressing armoire that was all busted up and needed repair w/missing drawers in several areas and you ppl wanted $200 for it. That's crazy, someone could find something way better on cl for way cheaper. I've read on a lot of blogs how people are opting to donate their nice used items to other charities because they go to the goodwill and see how they are trying to rip off the poor. People donate their nice things out of the kindness of their hearts in order to help other people in need and you take advantage of it by using people's kindness for profit. I'm certainly no longer donating my nice things there anymore. I'd rather give them away on cl or donate them to a church that will ACTUALLY be serve the poor. As far as the auction goes, maybe the Tacoma Goodwill does not shill bid, but I know there are other goodwills that seem to have some suspiciously high prices for having over a week left to bid on them.
You have your "opinion" and the rest of us have ours . . . .
#3 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Inspector - Tobyhanna (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Monday, July 27, 2009
POSTED: Monday, July 27, 2009
The mark up of items are to pay the overhead employees, taxes, utilities, and also the equipment like trucks to pick up the "FREE" stuff that people donate and also fuel for the trucks. The rest of the funds are to charity.
E-Bay does not run a store or have any overhead nor do the people selling the items you TWIT!
Instead of running down a benevolent organization that gives jobs to the handicapped among many other things, just don't shop there or do buisness with them, I'm sure that they won't miss your patronage.
GOD BLESS GOODWILL
#4
AUTHOR: Heystacey - Eatonville (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, August 16, 2009
POSTED: Sunday, August 16, 2009
Regardless of whether Ebay has to pay over head or not, the goodwill gets ALL items free and don't act like Ebay doesn't have employees to pay also. Walmart has to pay overhead and their prices STILL remain relatively reasonable. That also does not explain the unusually high prices the items go for at goodwill auctions compared to ebay when the prices at both auctions are supposed to be dictated by the bidders. Again, why in the hell would a person bid several hundred dollars for an item at shopgoodwill.com with 4 days left, when the same thing is selling on ebay for much much less? It doesn't add up unless something suspicious is going on, on the goodwill's part. Not to mention, charging unusually high shipping and handling charges. I read about a person only spending a total of less than $100 on small auction items, and ending up having to pay over $300 after shipping and handling. These stories are all over the internet. Avoid it as you will, I'm certain you're an employee defending the company. Regardless, all people have to do is find out for themselves when they are insanely overcharged on shipping fees when they purchase one of the items. Also, I'm not the only one complaining about this, just take a look around the net and you will read about disgruntled customers everywhere. If the goodwill is not careful they will destroy their reputation beyond repair.
#5
AUTHOR: Heather - (USA)
SUBMITTED: Monday, August 17, 2009
POSTED: Monday, August 17, 2009
An important thing to know about Goodwill is that they are independent of each other by region and use the shopgoodwill.com site set up through Goodwill of Orange County. Each Goodwill posting items to the site is like an individual Ebay seller.
It is unfortunate that Goodwill's site does not offer customer feedback and rankings because while I believe the majority of the Goodwills using the site to be on the up-and-up you have obviously found some auctions with suspicious activity. I would be curious which stores/locations you've noticed as possibly shill bidding and would suggest contacting the site admins with your concerns.
For what it's worth I've personally dealt with a Goodwill in Indiana & in Wisconsin and had no difficulties. I'd hate to see both good and bad sellers lumped together because some locations are allegedly being fraudulent with their listings.
#6 Individual Responds
AUTHOR: fudog8it - Cincinnati (USA)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
POSTED: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
I totally agree with this individual's posting. If you have anything to donate and you REALLY want to help out those less fortunate, donate to a Church. Goodwill's ulterior motives are simple. And it's NOT to help those in need. Like I always say, give me your donations, like you give to Goodwill, and I will sell them all day long like they do. It wouldn't be long till I become wealthy like they have.
#7 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: highpriced - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, April 08, 2010
POSTED: Thursday, April 08, 2010
I counld not agree with this person more shopgoodwill.com bids on there own stuff i have seen it again and again Its alaways the same bidders that win and the bids are outragious and the descriptions are destorded I know its for a good cause but lets be honest and fair They seem to have ther own rules and no one over sees them Dont they think that the person thats on there might be poor too and wants a chance to own something descent They over charge for all there stuff they put there own bids and take advantage of a good thing Also just wanted to say I bought a small item for $2 dollars They charged me $8 dollars shipping and handeling They dont tell you that a head of time and you are bound to your bid I wont order from them again I cant aford it Im poor and on a fixed income theres no free lunch only for them
#8 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Mimi - allover (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, April 21, 2010
POSTED: Wednesday, April 21, 2010
I had a problem on Shopgoodwill. In seeking a solution, I found so much corruption and corporate flim-flamming that it would make your head spin.
In my investigating, I saw the retraction of bids to make the next high bidder the winner at their max bid. This can only be done from the inside since users can't retract bids instantly.
There is no way to check a user ID. No history, no general information given, like ebay. There is no auction history unless you have saved the link. It just disappears. I have tried looking for old auctions and the search engine will not allow me to find old auctions.
You have no idea who has bid against you. Like someone else mentioned in this thread, I also saw the same IDs being used in valuable auctions. And it is clear each store uses the public to tell the emplyees what item is valuable. It is like we are voting with our bids. And the employee outbids us in the end. I have also seen items go for ridiculous amounts and then be relisted for 5 bucks in a buy Now or 3 day auction. They also list it in a bad catagory where the public does not look much. They also deliberately misspell so the competition is small. They can't steal the item outright, they are there to sort and list, so they make sure it sells for small amounts to an accomplice and they resale on ebay and split the difference. it really adds up when you do this every day.
What a lot of you don't understand is the site is for sellers all over the country who are separate businesses. This not only allows them to do what they want and hide behind the California home office, but it also allows them to think of their own unique ways of defrauding the public. I've just mentioned a couple. there are lots more. They all have their own schemes going and it can get confusing.
The person in Tacoma and the other one who says ebay does not have a staff is just plain silly or so totally unaware that they might want to investigate and study all this before defending these crooks.
Ebay provides a place where you can clearly see the history of the user and contact them if you like. They also allow you to keep your emails so if there is a problem you can have references. They have a investigate staff -a huge one- who prevent criminal activities and scams. Goodwill does absolutely nothing. I mean NOTHING. They always fall back on the separate company BS. They have one singleperson who handles customer complaints! He comes from a store in Ohio, I beleive and now works in California. That does not soundlike these companies are separate to me.it sounds like he got transferred within the company. The separation is because of legal problems.
This online auction idea was probably a good idea when it was started, but it has evolved into a pit of corruption and full of con artists.
The Thrift Shop industry is full of criminals. If you don't believe me, just go volunteer at one. Your eyes will fill with tears from the activity. Employees stealing and having ebay businesses on the side. In one place I saw the entire staff was one big theft ring. They combed through the donations and sorted all day. The junk got sold in the store and the good stuff went out the back door. The company is happy because they are still making money with no inventory costs (free stuff) and the emplyees are happy because they are all free agents to make much more money plus have a constant flow of new inventory.
The honest people who work hard at Goodwills are probably good Christians who just want to help,or staffers who have come from a hiring program, have little education and really need their jobs. So they keep their mouths shut and eyes closed to the activities around them.
I wish some government agency would look into this company and put them out of business. I wish someone would stop them. But I doubt anyone will. But if you want to make a difference, you should stop doing business with them. JUST STOP SHOPPING IN THEIR STORES AND ON LINE. Go somewhere else.
By the way, does anyone know what Goodwill does? has anyone seen their presence in the community? Did anyone see them during the Haitian disaster or Hurricane Katrina? Come to think of it, I have never seen them actually DO anything other than have thrift stores. Salvation Army has shelters and job programs. But where is Goodwill's shelters or programs? The money seems to pour in but never seems to get spent doing anything but to support the chain of stores. It is kind of more like Walmart or Kmart than Salvation Army or Red Cross isn't it?? makes you think...
#9 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: consumeless - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, May 23, 2010
POSTED: Sunday, May 23, 2010
Goodwill stores are different than the e-commerce website. You will find all the blue jeans, tops, dresses and items you believe are affordable at less than $10 prices located there. Shopgoodwill is a "BIDDING" facility and as such it is a place where the highest bidder is the purchaser.
Why do you see higher bids on Shopgoodwill than Ebay?? There are obvious reasons that havent been brought up... DONATION... The funds that Shopgoodwill takes in go to create jobs for persons of barriers and help people! The funds Ebay sellers receive, line their own pockets. Yes EBAY, the company, pays workers, but they aren't the ones receiving the bulk of the money you spend on ebay... the sellers are primarily private individuals who are sitting at home listing items to make money for their own needs. When shoppers buy from Goodwill they already know its a NON-PROFIT charity. Do you have any idea what is required to be listed as a NON-PROFIT charity?? Its regulated and the money made has to be proven to go to charitable usage ONLY. Buyers of Shopgoodwill may bid higher just because they know their money is going to HELP someone... When this poster buys, they obviously are buying to help their wardrobe and are livid that they can't do so without paying more money than they believe is either affordable to them, or more than they wish to pay. That would be A) a case of needing to shop where their budget will allow, or B) crying over someone else's goodwill. The nerve of people who feel the need to complain because they weren't able to spend their money cheaply is dumbfounding! Show some respect for real complaints on RipOff report.
IF I CHOOSE TO BID HIGHER THAN YOU BECAUSE I BELIEVE ITS WORTHWHILE TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE WITH BARRIERS ACHEIVE A COMFORTABLE LIFE WHO SHOULD BE COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT??? BID HIGHER or go to the local goodwill stores to pay less.
I live in Washington also, so you can bet I will be bidding higher now just to prove its the right thing to do when it comes to HELPING PEOPLE
#10 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Preston - Phoenix (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
POSTED: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I give to Charity for the purpose of that charity helping other people! I do not give to a Charity for them to make someone's life a living hell! The only people that benefit from donations made to this company are those in management!
And don't believe anyone who informs you that this site is not ripping people off! As I have a 1600.00 credit card bill and maybe 200.00 worth of merchandise because the other items were fraudulently listed.
And I can assure you that everything that is listed in this person's complaint is without a doubt one hundred percent the truth! And try filing a complaint with Orange County and see where that gets you!
I used to donate to Goodwill, and shop in their stores! I wouldn't so much as give this charity one penny! Who are they helping? The dis-advantaged you say? Well I say you aren't helping anyone who you pay minimum wage to as their management drive around in new BMW's and Mercedes! While their employees have to scrape up change for the metro bus!
Goodwill! You ripped off the wrong person.
#11 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: jazmine12 - Astoria (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010
POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010
I've been buying successfully on Shopgoodwill.com since 2007. I've acquired some vintage housewares, and beautiful jewelry. I've learned, no matter WHERE I plan to buy something: online catalog, dept. store website, auction site, or locally in my city, to research, research and more research. That's one good use for the internet. Factor cost of the item, your time, vehicle expenses, shipping/handling costs, and experience with the site. Carefully read shopgoodwill store site. It will give you the option of knowing EVEN BEFORE YOU BID of the shipping, and projected handling charges. Each store on GW also advises clearly of their return policy.
You can usually call up the prior auction where the winner didn't pay. Use the search feature and first, select "closed auctions". Then complete the form, usually the same description that it's offered at currently, & select same category. Select the date parameters, and give it a good long time. Then open the site, and look at the complete bidding history. You may see a flurry of activity either at the very end of the auction, or sometimes, right at the beginning.
Shilling? Yes, it looks like it, but I SERIOUSLY doubt by GW employees. This site is easy to "join", no bank accounts necessary, just sign up. There are "gamers" out there, who will bid you up one dollar at a time just to see that you don't get the item for $5.00 when your opening bid or at least early bid was $22.00. They seem to stop just in time though. And like any auction, people can get into a bidding war, and forget these are real dollars. Whoops, they win and get immediate buyers remorse.
I love shopgoodwill.com.
#12 Update By Author
AUTHOR: Heystacey - Eatonville (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, January 16, 2011
POSTED: Sunday, January 16, 2011
 For example. . .Â
Anyone who has knowledge of antique silver is fully aware that this item they are selling is being fraudulently passed off as sterling when it's plated!!! http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/WM-Rogers-Sterling-Silver-Pitcher-7299013.html
They do stuff like this ALL THE TIME and bid worthless items up hoping people will grab the bait. It's terribly sad for the people that don't have a great knowledge of silver and actually think sterling is what they're getting. THIS IS FRAUD!!! This is very likely NOT a mistake either, because intentionally misleading listings like this happen all the time and they need to KNOW what they are selling!!!
They are ruining the GW's reputation and HURTING a nonprofit from receiving critical donations for a cause that USED to be very worthy. What the GW is doing to its self is detrimental to the future of its enterprise. There are only so many people they can rip off before NO ONE patronizes them even as a non profit, and begins to see that they are using a good cause to scam honest customers for money. People don't have to donate money or good used items to the GW if they think they are not living up to their end as a non profit, and as a corporation that is committing fraud. They will send their philanthropy and used goods elsewhere.Â
#13 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: gdm40 - Omaha (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Monday, February 28, 2011
POSTED: Monday, February 28, 2011
I've noticed items going for unrealistically high prices that no SANE person would bid. Then only to spot the items up again a few weeks later.
Half of the electronics and computers can be had cheaper @ sites such as E-bay or Cowboom. I don't even bother to bid on shopgoodwill anymore.
As for the employee that states Goodwill is an honest and trustworthy organization I post the following. Bullox I've personally witnessed corruption on the employee level and if it's tolerated @ the lowest level then it must be commonplace as you go up the ladder. Personally witnessed Item staging in the warehouse outlet in my area. Item staging "where an individual usually an employee relative is given advance notice of a potentially valuable item being brought out to the warehouse floor so that the employees relative can pick it up for basically nothing for the intent of resale. Watched it happen several times in one day The employee would be talking with a person then the person immediately beelines to a specific bin to pull out a laptop or other valuable item usually paying $5 for it.
That's not Slander that's Fact: and am more than happy to testify in court regarding it.
So as for Shill bidding on Shopgoodwill I believe it could and does happen.
#14 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: w phillips - SEDGWICK (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, March 02, 2011
POSTED: Wednesday, March 02, 2011
hi i just wanted to respond about goodwill i also think goodwill is shill bidding and i also think they make up there shipping cost , i have bought items from goodwill and paid very very high shipping i believe 3x more then what ups /fed x/ post office would have charged goodwill .this is not like someone just told me about goodwill i experienced it and also watched items being sold the prices are out rages on items no one would pay that much for , someone maybe a employee or manger someone in goodwill is making lots of money and sorry goodwill employees your greed is beginning to take notice . goodwill you need to remember you don't pay a dime for anything you sale you get it all free , and no matter how much goodwill says it is not true and gives a big speech on why thing are so high . i will never be convinced that your saying any kind of truth , goodwill you are to help the poor your not a antique shop or dillards . you have second hand items for the poor , so you should stop taking advantage of the good people that donate there belongings for the poor . i hope you get caught for what your doing, p.s people that donate to goodwill you would be shocked if you new how much goodwill gets for your donated stuff they get way more then what you probably paid for it new. so beware
#15 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: DEBBY - PALMDALE (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, May 15, 2011
POSTED: Sunday, May 15, 2011
I have bought from this goodwill online auction sites,there shipping & handling are way to high.And it seems strange to me that every item on there site has a bid come on Ebay has more traffic than they will ever have and they don't have bids like that.I do think they are
fraudulenty shilling the bids.If you win a $10.00 item trust me its $20.00 or more by the time its shipped and Ebay offers free shipping that you can not get there.The goodwill gets it free
but makes a very very good profit somewhere along the line.One more detail goodwill shipping takes for ever they should have feedback but they would shill that also.
#16 Employee
AUTHOR: dobson67 - Lakewood (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, June 12, 2011
POSTED: Sunday, June 12, 2011
Since illumin8 posted the rebuttal, one thing has changed. the quota on the listers has gone UP. The new quota listers have to endure has doubled to one listing every 6 minutes. I know this because I am a lister there. Other then that, illumin8 hit it square on the head there.
Listers are not allowed to "fix" prices, management makes that determination, as do they determine shipping costs.
Those same listers are responsible for photographing the item, most often under substandard lighting and with worn out digital cameras. Ever try taking upwards of 200 pictures a day on the same digital camera, for weeks, months, and years on end?
Listers (or any other non-management member of the department) can barely afford gas to get to and from work, let alone bid on an item.
For the most part, most auctions start at $6.99 at our particular location, and listers seldom, if ever, pay attention to how much an item is going for. They have more pressing issues to deal with, like the aforementioned quota.
If you want to place blame on anyone, blame management. Not the lister!
How many poor people have a credit card, or access to high speed internet? I'd say relatively few.
Goodwill gets donated items for free, yes. You are right in that regard, but that's it!
There's overhead. Do you think people donate these items at our specific location? No they don't. We don't simply go out and grab something off a donation truck because there isn't one there. Goods are transported in to our location from Goodwill stores all over our region. That region is not limited to one city or county but all over the southern part of the state. That's a pretty big area to cover. From one end of the region to the other is 200 plus miles.
Am I Defending Goodwill Industries? No way!! I AM Defending the listers/Sellers that are good hardworking people who get Slammed into a blanket category like this. Yes Good sellers do exist on shopgoodwill. Just because you've dealt with some "Bad apples" you make it sound like we are all out to get you.
#17 Employee
AUTHOR: Ransomed - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, June 22, 2011
POSTED: Wednesday, June 22, 2011
I am aware of several incidences of bid shilling. Not by the
lowly workers but by management or perhaps more correctly by a manager. That person recently "quit", so now the issue may be a moot point. None-the-less
it did happen, and for a number of years too.
As to shipping: They are supposed to be looking into a
more equitable system. Let’s hope that happens, as fair treatment of customers can seems
secondary or even tertiary in their operational playbook.
#18 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: jerri - crown point (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, August 14, 2011
POSTED: Sunday, August 14, 2011
I am a very frequent bidder on shopgoodwill.com. i know from personal experience that no item ever goes for less that it is sold on ebay. I have bid on many items and often wondered why would anyone bid so much on this stuff when it goes for some much less on ebay. today i was bidding on a particular item and at the last few minutes the bid went one dollar over what my highest bid was. my question was how did the person who was bidding know what my bid was because the went over by just one dollar and they only had one bid. if they had bid in small incrimente and gone over that way i wouldn't have notices anything unusual but to jump 71.00 and just make it by a dollar is very unlikely. i will never buy anything on the goodwill site again.
#19 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: thriftlover - Vancouver (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Saturday, August 20, 2011
POSTED: Saturday, August 20, 2011
Hi, I agree to Heystacey's report toward www.shopgoodwill.com. I registered as a member on their auction website recently and found the bidding prices on the items I liked to be very appalling. Some of the stuff look damaged, for example, a peeling or scratched painting frame yet it is bid expensively.
In the last few years, I noticed shrinking higher-end donated merchandises at Goodwill retail stores. That prompted me to contact the operation manager at GW about the issue. They stated the undervalued items with lower qualities go to the shelves and ones higher ends go to their online auctions now.
Sadly, it is true to what they said. Their unfair practices in screening donated products prevent customers in the low income families to afford nicer things. GW stockrooms should distribute in fair volumes to give customers opportunities to purchase things they could not afford at places like Macy's or Nordstrom.
GW's vile and inequality operations prompted me to contact Federal Trade Commission just of yesterday
#20 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: luvberryshortcake - Gresham (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, September 25, 2011
POSTED: Monday, September 26, 2011
Goodwill auction is all scammers. How do you explain $4.00 "handling fees" with extra insurance fees and then extra shipping fees on top of that?? So after maybe you win something for $5 bucks you pay like $35!Then its shipped parcel post weeks later not insured, damaged and late. Plus you sell counterfeit handbags, sell fake gold listed as 24k and 14k and then list weight in grams thats not even close to accurate!! I think she is right scammers!!
#21 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: sctishldy - PRUDENCE ISLAND (USA)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, September 29, 2011
POSTED: Thursday, September 29, 2011
I agree, they are horrible. I have filed my own complaint on this site
#22 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: luvberryshortcake - Gresham (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, September 29, 2011
POSTED: Thursday, September 29, 2011
First of all this comment by this person was posted a long time ago but To Inspector Tobyhanna you obviously have no idea what your talking about what so ever. You said ebay sellers don't have overhead? Your kidding right? So you think ebay people don't have ongoing business expenses? Well thats simply not true maybe you should talk to my accountant then. I have to pay to have a store on ebay every month, basically advertising fees etc plus I rent a storage unit so I pay monthly rent just for my auctions. Then there are my variable costs as well. As a small business I still don't charge outrageous "handling fees" in fact I don't even charge for shipping. Thats why I have great feedback and I'm successful. Of course I could make a lot more money if I added shipping, packaging, and other fees but I would rather provide good service so people want to come back and become repeat customers. The problem I have with Goodwill is complete fabrications of the value of items. Whether this is simply by human error or true fraud it still shouldn't happen and isn't acceptable. Would you not agree that if an item is stated as gold tested and 14k that I should hold them accountable when I find out its actually gold toned and not even gold plated? Also I bought a necklace listed as 2.4 grams but then received it and it was so lightweight it barely even registered on a sensitive digital scale made for that purpose. It wasn't even close to the weight listed. Or what about spoons listed as Sterling Silver meaning by definition 92.5 pure silver but then I receive it and its silver plated only and even marked as such! Its a huge difference! They also list fake counterfeit handbags, wallets, and other knock off designer items but its listed as Authentic. As a seller I don't make claims that I can't truly validate. I never over value an item because thats misrepresentation! You can't make statements of fact if you can't back it up with expertise or proof. Then on top of these fabrications they have over priced shipping fees that are beyond ridiculous! I understand they have to charge shipping and handling fees but at the same time it should be reasonable and not over inflated would you not agree? People like me are feeling ripped off because we are spending money on items that have false claims and outright lies with huge added on fees making it by definition a scam. Scam means to deprive of by deceit. Well I rest by case at that, Goodwill Auctions are a Scam!
#23 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: sctishldy - PRUDENCE ISLAND (USA)
SUBMITTED: Saturday, October 01, 2011
POSTED: Saturday, October 01, 2011
YES....One remark I noted was where is this charitble organization when help is needed?..Helping another country? Helping any Country? There are other 'BUSINESS's" that have jumped on the Charity Bandwagon to MAKE MONEY. People donate thinking they are "helping other" and they are making company directors rich...We all know about the secretive part of the Red Cross...well at least they are see and known to be "helping" ..Goodwill part of United Way? another SELECT group that do not seem to be anywhere in any crisis. I believe shopgoodwill like another I can think of "Savors" ..(another profitable CHARITY and business) is just that...A BUSINESS!...like savors they collect donations to resell for ?????.....yes, BUSINESS and to make money, oh they may employee a few handicapped people and retiree's and the others probably pay them minimum wage they are making out in profit and I would like to know where that profit goes?..
I believe they like some oithers simply have found a niche to make money from the kindess of others who...THINK they are donating for a good cause, as they are told that....and believe that, and they feel good about that...However, the good cause might be lining the bunch of moron's pockets that thought about it...Charitable is easy to obtain they are "collecting donations" so, have the protection of having the "Charity" name and I think that is all it is ...if you look further into the store Savors they give a "donation" to a Charity...That doantion could be 5.00...people think when they donate their stuff to this company ALL the money goes to Charity to help others...wrong.
It is a business, like SHOPGOODWILL is also.
As for the Shopgoodwill stores, in my experience the AS IS....NOT TESTED...not sure of authenticity...NO refunds...keeping your shipping & handling when they send a WRONG or misrepresented item, and all the rest of their excuses for taking your money and not providing a service or honest goods while hiding behind their "one way" terms of service are nothing more than a bunch of theives entrepreunering on the peoples good hearts of donating they think...to Charity...no, they are perhaps donating to a business. The emails they send all have ADVERTISING HOW THEY HELP THE UNFORTUNATE????and scream Charity like...they are doing the buyer a big favor....where, who? when? do they help?
If they were a decent organization and true to themselves....all the crap I see on their auction sites to allow them to basically take your money, offer junk and keep your money regardless ...selling counterfeits, selling stuff that does not work, they simply would NOT be covering their rear end so heavily with all their terms of service statements and policies all in their favor, and to make sure they keep your dollar, even when they are WRONG....they would not do all that if they were decent
Ebay has come a long way in keeping buyers safe and making sure the buyer has a good experience and not get ripped off....I was told point blank...it is over 7 days since I received my FAKE $200 Louboutins which were supposed to be authentic from the Nevada Store, so it seems I am stuck with them, they will not refund or honor they sent me Fakes...another store asked me to take a measuring tape alongside the wrong sized earrings they advertised to PROVE they were indeed the wrong size....I lose my money, on both and stuck with Fakes and earrings I do not want.....hey I am poor and unfortunate, and they are stealing from ME.
these shisters on shopgoodwill are just that....shisters!
#24 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: GodsDaughter - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Friday, December 02, 2011
POSTED: Friday, December 02, 2011
I'm old as dirt but you wondered what "good" GoodWill does and I do have personal knowlege... I grew up in the mid-west and one of my best friends was considered "slow"... unfortunately the high school we attended was all about academics and so Judy spent two hours in each of three subjects per day... English, math and history. What she really needed was time in home ec etch.
The day after graduation her parents kicked her out and said since she had graduated high school she was on her own. I remembered as a young child in BlueBirds we took a tour of GoodWill and they showed us the training offered to those less fortunate. So I called them and told them about Judy. She was immediately given a place to live at our local YMCA and given training in the food service business. How proud she was when I came in for lunch one day and she was able to serve me! And I was thrilled for her.
Fast forward from the '60s to the '80s and from the midwest to the west coast. I owned a craft business and was instumental in starting a crafters mall in my town thru the downtown association. Eventually they asked me to keep the books for them... as I'd had experience in this field. After a year GoodWill asked if they could take it over at no cost to the mall so they could use us to train people... so I lost my paying job... williningly... for training for those who would fall thru the cracks without free training.
I've only heard of the GoodWill autions today... so have nothing to compare... but unless GoodWill has changed drastically... they do GOOD works! Thank you for your time
#25 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Pepper98 - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, December 06, 2011
POSTED: Tuesday, December 06, 2011
The bid went over your high bid by one dollar because that's how it works. It wouldn't go to that person's highest bid, but to the next increment (in this case a dollar). If someone bid against them, then their bid would go up until it passed their high bid. Nothing fishy about that.
I am a long-time buyer at Shopgoodwill and you do have to research the item you are interested in buy and be sure you're not overpaying. I think people do get into bidding wars sometimes and just can't let the item go.
In regards to EBay, I think they have gotten a untrustworthy reputation and that may be why people are willing to spend more on Shopgoodwill. Also - Ebay is glutted with items and sellers. No wonder their stuff doesn't go for as much.
As far as the shilling goes - I don't have a strong opinion. I figure some things are re-listed because the buyer reneged on their high bid. It could be a shill - all auction houses have them. In the auction house case they have an employee that bids the price up to their reserve. You don't know it's an employee, but when you see the same item for sale next time you know.
They sell a lot of nice things on Shopgoodwill and people shouldn't expect them to sell them for less than they are worth just because they are a charity. Their handling charges are a bit excessive sometimes and you have to watch out for that. But other than that I haven't had any problems. They have taken back a few things that weren't as described with no problems.
#26 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Michigander - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, January 03, 2012
POSTED: Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Since The Goodwill discovered how much $$$ they can make off online auction and all the Ebay Stores they have the quality and quantity of items at the local stores have diminished!!
If you go to their online auction you can see how much MONEY they are raking in !!!
If you go to their EBAY stores just wow.
NOW I am VERY Interested in EXACTLY where all this MONEY goes!!
If they were actually using all of this money to help the would be building quite a few mansions.
There is NO WAY Job readiness programs cost this much
WAKE UP EVERYONE !!! SOMEONE IS LINING THEIR POCKETS IN PURE GOLD !!!!!!!
#27 Update By Author
AUTHOR: Heystacey - Eatonville (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, January 10, 2012
POSTED: Tuesday, January 10, 2012
EBay offers buyer protection. Goodwill does not accept returns regardless of how badly they misdescribe the items. Goodwill only looks out for number one!!! As I suspected when I first wrote this complaint, consumer confidence is at an all time low and consumers are looking elsewhere to buy used goods. Even worse??? The absolutely astronomical shipping/handling fees. $18 to ship a single barbie... $50 to ship a necklace??? Why rip ppl off if you actually want repeat customers???
Don't question my motives, just read the many reviews from dissatisfied customers. I stumbled on an online review site and of the 55+ reviews Goodwill only had maybe two that were above one star out of 5. Nearly ALL customers say they do not recommend GW to other shoppers. If GW used the same shipping, descriptions and return policies on EBay they would be kicked off in a week.
Signed off...
An EBay power seller w/thousands of sales and excellent fb.
#28 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Preston - Phoenix (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, January 11, 2012
POSTED: Wednesday, January 11, 2012
I was bidding on items on the Goodwill.com website, and spent over 3,000 in one month on such site. As a consumer I filed a report on rippoff report.com over a year and a half ago hoping that I would save another person from going through the hell this company put me through. And not for one second do I, nor should you believe the absolute garbage that comes out of goodwills dishonest mouth! This is a company that should be shut down, especially on line! And it's up to us to make sure it happens.
This company has figured out how to practice deceptive business and get away with it! First of all one person said file a complaint with Orange County! I did that, and out of the kindness of one man's help! Because he informed me that he wasn't obligated to help me! I was able to return some items back to the stores. However I still have shit in boxes that I will never get my money out of from the stores that refused to take the items back. So you can complain all you want to Orange County, but it's not going to get you very far! Forget about the BBB because they don't get involved when it concerns a non-profit or so called charity, which in this case is just a front for laundering money. So you can complain... but to who? Good luck on that option.
This company does exactly what is reported of them, which is: They knowingly advertise merchandise as antique, old or vintage when in fact they know it's not! Try to resale that item that you paid vintage price for and got a re-production! OUCH! that cost ya! They do bid on their own items even if they claim they don't! Hell they claim they didn't know it wasn't vintage to! Anyone else listing an item on ebay like that would be barred from listing on such sites. Then this is what really got me, and don't doubt for a second that it's not true, because if you do it's going to bite you in the ass! What they do is: they will list an item, and once they find out that item is worth anything I guarantee you will receive either a reproduction of such item or you won't receive it at all, and they will claim it was damaged somehow. Either way you will not ever make any money buying and re-selling on Goodwills merchandise. Trust me I lost a lot of money trusting that what I was bidding on was accurately described. But we all know that's not how Goodwill does business!
Furthermore, another person from goodwill stated their employees were underpaid! Why do you think they hire the dis-advantaged? It's so they can pay them a shit wage, while their managers are driving around in the BMW's and Mercedes, This company is full of Liars, and creeps which claim to be helping others and the only people they are helping are the one's at the top of their food chain. Shame on you if you do business with them. And please find somewhere else to donate your goods! Somewhere where it goes to help someone, Not victimize someone.
#29 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Moon - Central Falls (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, January 26, 2012
POSTED: Thursday, January 26, 2012
Although I have only purchased one thing on the site. I did notice unusual activity. One of the items on which I took note, is a style of an item that hardly, if ever... sells on ebay. Anyone could go to ebay and purchase 5 of them for $2.00 each. On Goodwill it is now up to $50.00+ with exorbitant shipping fees attached and it seemed so odd. Another item, by the same maker that is a "hot seller" on ebay is now shooting up much higher than I have ever seen any of them get on ebay... so it seems weird, I dont know.
I did just purchase a neat piece for $5 to other day... but I think it may be specific Goodwills that have what appears to be shill bidding. What I find oddest about all of this is Goodwill not taking a stand and having an official rep make a statement about this situation, being that so many have posted complaints.
#30 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: erica - windham (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, February 01, 2012
POSTED: Wednesday, February 01, 2012
good will does indeed shill bid this is a known fact with proof enyways why does the goodwill auction off their stuff when they have a store front for selling they auction it off so all the wrong people get the profits why do you think they shill bid because the money is going in someones elses pocket i think they should all be investigated and have to show financial records as to where the money is going if it is going to the people in need why are their still so many people in shelters and hungry good will is listing something every 12 min that meas the profits are huge wheres the money going someone is getting rich off the free donations why not sell it in your store the reason is your picking out the good things auction it off leaving the junk in the store so people can waste their time looking in the store to find nothing this is all around the mighty all dollar auctioning off donations is wrong no matter which way you look at it this is free stuff sell it to someone who shops in your store not on an auction website where only people with paypal a bank account and internet can buy let the poor buy who dont have bank accounts paypal or internet goodwill is only out to cover their own not out to help the poor dont donate to goodwill they are auctioning off your donations have an estate sale make the money yourself and donate it to the childrens hospital or another organization.
#31 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: gydooya - frisco (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Friday, February 03, 2012
POSTED: Friday, February 03, 2012
Shipping is posted on the same page as the item. All you have to do is click on "shipping". Pretty simple.
#32 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: anneblinking - shelbyville (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Friday, February 03, 2012
POSTED: Friday, February 03, 2012
The people defending Goodwill or either working for them, or completely clueless. Someone needs to investigate them fully. They get their inventory for free, and most people who donate to them think that their items are going to the needy. Goodwill needs to be forced to put a big sign on their donation collection places that "we do not give your items to the needy".
They claim to "help" people by giving them jobs. They think it is charity to give a poor person with no education a job working in their stores. How and why is that helpful? Poor uneducated people can get a job at walmart, mcdonads, or just about any place that pays minimum wage. How does that make it okay to get donations? They also claim to hire the handicap, but then again, so do other places. No one is allowed to discriminate because of that. Besides that, I have been in many Goodwill stores over the years, and have never seen a physically or mentally handicap person working in any of them.
Giving people a job should not be considered a reason to be considered a charity.
I would be willing to bet that almost everyone who donates to Goodwill think that their items will go to needy people. Goodwill is making millions of dollars. Sure they have costs, but so does every other store out there. But every other store is not getting their inventory for free.
I think there needs to be a full fledge investigation done on Goodwill, they should have to prove they have done something else rather than give someone a job in their store!
#33 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: kirbybirby - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, February 28, 2012
POSTED: Tuesday, February 28, 2012
the psychical items ARE free. Yes, there are costs that need to be covered but the actual items are in fact free. Goodwill does not pay for those items.
If Goodwill is doing so much good and helping people then why are their prices OUTRAGEOUS? I thought part of Goodwills motto was to help everyone. Including the poor. Well, at those prices the poor can't afford to buy anything from the stores. And if their employees are SO overworked and underpaid or whatever it is, then what good is Goodwill doing?? I mean seriously.
As for the online auctions. I do also believe they're being purposely bid up by staff members. I've seen auctions go for way over retail value (or what they're selling for on eBay). It's not just one or two auctions I've seen, it's majority of the auctions now. I thought it was just a few people bidding some things up to help Goodwill or whatever but the prices I've been seeing are just absolutely nuts. And this has been going on for months.
When I first joined the site I did get some really nice things at decent prices (even with the over priced shipping included). But after about a month being there the prices have just sky rocketed and I haven't bought a thing in about 5 months because of that.
#34 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: heynowplayniceeveryone - Natural Bridge (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Friday, March 02, 2012
POSTED: Friday, March 02, 2012
Ok, so I am more of the semi-neutral person here. First of all the Goodwill, regargless of how much money the employees get paid, it still provides jobs and gives people a sense of self worth and personal value. They at times offer great items at prices you won't see elsewhere and give you more time than any other auction sites to pay for your stuff. They communicate well with bids, winning and they even send out reminders and also if there are any issues with the item you have bid on and won. They refund your money without question as long as your honest and provide adequate proof to them. There is a lot more I could add, but I think you get the gist of it.
The Badwill is when you do bid on and win an item that you would expected to hang on your wall, or to give to your children to use and it is damaged before it leaves the warehouse or is poorly packed and smashed while in transit or is missing items that were there when you won the bid. I understand that accidents happen, but there has to be a certain level of quality control at the store or warehouse to see that it doesn't happen as much as it does, however, as I said, they refund your money without question as long as your honest and provide adequate proof to them so at least there is some measure of resolve for it.
The Unsupervised Mistakes is the hardest for me. perhaps because I have been a supervisor for over 30 years and although this is not even close to a perfect world, there are things that can be avoided. Example: My wife and I are making some changes to our house now that the children have gone and one change is going to be turning our family room into a den. I purchased what I think is a beautiful painting of a waterwheel operating a grain mill and had chosen a space on the wall to hang it. It was worth no more or no less than what I paid, but to me was the ideal piece of art. It arrived and rather than open the parcel I decided to put my faith in the packer and store it away until we had completely finished our changes so it wouldn't collect any dust or dirt. The time came to open it and hang it on the wall and as I opened it I was completely sickened as I stared at a slice into the artwork that is an inch or more in length and definately came from a box cutter type tool used to cut tape after wrapping. I know this because the tape was also cut through exactly above the slash in the artwork. Enough said, I probably should have contacted the goodwill I bought it from, but it was wrapped for a period that I am sure extended beyond the return/refund date. The kicker is that I have spread my good will to this organization for more than I care to say, but it is well into the thousands of dollars. I just want want them to pay more attention to those that they hire on the labor side of the orginization and ensure they are doing things right. I have had quite a few items delivered that were smashed, missing items or just no good anymore. I think this is probably a norm for all auction sites, but is just more visible at the goodwill sites.
I read alot of the complaints and didn't read of any attempts to communicate to resolve issues that are probably an easy fix. As far as prices and bids go, are the employees allowed to bid on items? Do your homework, if you think an item is to over priced or to costly check other sites before you bid. If you want to help out, find out why the shipping is so high and why they charge a handling fee of $4.00 or $5.00 on top of the shipping cost to place something as simple as a book into an envelope or anything for that matter. I understand if your lugging a reel to reel somewhere, but if it is a necklace or watch or something like that I mean c'mon... really? I know, you have to pay the employees right?
#35 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: gydooya - frisco (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Friday, March 02, 2012
POSTED: Friday, March 02, 2012
Below is a request and no response. It's missing where I responded that unless you ship with signature or insurance, they don't care what you did. No response. But, please read below!!!
Re: Question about item # 9265707 Nbrd Print Elephants Black & White w/ColorFrom:meTo:Judie Polete <judie_polete@yahoo.com>
Ok,
since there is no response, I am asking for my FULL REFUND today. If I
don't hear from you and see a refund on my card by Monday, I will take
this to upper management and I will take this to Facebook!!!!!!!!!!!
This is not a game. Do your job.......
To: Judie Polete <judie_polete@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tue, February 21, 2012 12:46:06 PM
Subject: Re: Question about item # 9265707 Nbrd Print Elephants Black & White w/Color
Please give me an update on my refund? It has been 15 days since I first wrote to you. Thanks.
From: Judie Polete <judie_polete@yahoo.com>
To: me
Sent: Thu, February
9, 2012 9:28:21 AM
Subject: Re: Question about item # 9265707 Nbrd Print Elephants Black & White w/Color
David:
To start with when the picture left our premisis the glass was not broken or holes punched in the carton. This is a UPS claim because it was their vault. I will file a claim today with UPS. They ask that you keep the packing materials for inspection for five business days. By the way it is UPS rates not ours on the shipping cost. Please be patient and I will get all of your money refunded. I loved the rainbow and the little elephant in the print.Again, sorry about the
picture being ruined. Judie PoleteChattanooga shopgoodwill
From: me
To: judie.polete@goodwillchatt.org; chattanooga@shopgoodwill.com
Sent: Thursday, February 9, 2012 10:02 AM
Subject: Fw: Question about item # 9265707 Nbrd Print Elephants Black & White w/Color
Please respond to this email.
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: me
To: judie.polete@goodwillchatt.org
Cc:
chattanooga@shopgoodwill.com
Sent: Mon, February 6, 2012 2:32:26 PM
Subject: Question about item # 9265707 Nbrd Print Elephants Black & White w/Color
Note: Message forwarded to judie.polete@goodwillchatt.org and cc'd to chattanooga@shopgoodwill.com
Got a problem with the painting. It was not packaged correctly. Actually, I am disappointed with it. The glass is broken and punctured the print. I will send pics if you respond to this email. I would like my money back and for the price you guys charge for shipping and the way it was shipped, I feel that I was being taken advantage of.
Buyerid of logged in buyer: me
shopgoodwill.com Time: 2/6/2012 12:32:26 PM PT
#36 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: dave - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, April 08, 2012
POSTED: Sunday, April 08, 2012
And if you feel like your being put into a blanket category.....you shouldn't take it personally, you're part of a company currently under the gun. That is unfortunately going to put you in the category as well.
I am a single father and am what you would call working poor. meaning I have a job working full time and after my bills, I am poor! I have always utilized the goodwill as a way for me to be able to clothe my child and myself as well as find household furnishings and fun toys for my child that I couldn't otherwise afford.
However I have watched how over the years the prices of items have went up and up and up. To the point that I cant afford to go there and get my child nice clothes without breaking the bank. I absolutely wont even shop there for clothes anymore, or anything else for that matter.
I would go everyday and look through their bins trying to find transformers for my son. One day I ran across the goodwill auction site by accident. They had 6 items listed in the local area in seperate listings all transformers. The prices went through the roof!!! At first I thought maybe it was just people "ggod will" but when I looked them up on other sites and seen that they ended for $300.00 over the highest sold prices for exact items on eBay. Really? And im to believe they are not shill bidding?
Bottom line....shopping at the goodwill used to be worth the high prices I would sometimes pay because of the sale deals and occasional hidden treasure. But not anymore, since the treasures that made it worth it arent there anymore and the idea that they are ripping people off so much. I will buddy back up with CL, local thrift stores and local small business. they will no longer have my business.
and for the record, the reaction from employees of goodwill on here....WOW, really? I guess you dont have to have a professional attitude when you can hide behind a user name.
#37 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: gdm40 - Omaha (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, April 08, 2012
POSTED: Sunday, April 08, 2012
I have to say the following in no way would I defend Goodwill's lack of their name sake.
I believe the Company is so far off base from it original mission statement it's not even funny. I heard the argument that they have to pay their employees right? Wrong not all of their employees get paid at all under the guise of work training a good percentage I don't know the exact number but a fair amount of their employees get paid less than minimum wage if at all under their work volunteer program. People who have been out of work due to the economic upheaval can sign up for their work program the waiting list currently is over a year. But it basically gives them the ability to pay people next to nothing "if anything at all" in exchange for a current work history.
This is just the icing on the cake for their already sketchy reputation regarding their auction site I.M.O.
I was floored when I was informed of this program which is nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to take advantage of people both coming and going, and to take advantage of people who are already decimated by the current economic state of affairs.
It's no surprise when viewed in that light that there is no care taken when items are packaged. If I were doing this in the hopes of gaining meaningful employment only to end up feeling like I was having a carrot dangled in front of my face. My personal attitude and pride in my performance would rapidly diminish also.
I cannot condone personal choice or the actions of the employees. But I firmly believe the old adage that crap rolls downhill is the issue with this organization. And that any organization gets what they pay for in the human resources aspect. When you have a percentage of your human resource pool making nothing or next to nothing it's of no surprise what so ever that the actions listed here have taken place. Regarding Shill bidding employee theft , lack of care taken when shipment etc..
Goodwill get your act together before it's too late. I understand entirely that you are a business but when you leave both consumers and employees disenfranchised you are literally burning the bridge at both ends and will definitely fail. It's not even a matter of if at that point, but when.
I've abandoned Goodwill in favor of organizations that actually provide tangible assistance The Salvation Army is a good example. Yes the prices have risen there also, but I can witness the tangible effects of the price raises in the form of disaster relief, Hot fluid patrols in the winter, passing out coats etc.. What do you have other than this so called back to work program?
I have of yet to see a single effort community wise from Goodwill in this region. While every other non-profit organization is breaking the bank exhausting every effort available to help those in need on a local and national level.
Shame on you Goodwill.
#38 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: consumeless - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, April 19, 2012
POSTED: Thursday, April 19, 2012
If someone posts a negative comment about a business, the general consensus appears to be to jump on the bandwagon and have lots of other negative comments. Hence why people are commenting on a website called "ripoffreport"
I choose to think logically and realize that just because someone gets mad and decides to post something on the internet does not make it fact--
I've checked out comments through investigating Goodwill's financial reports, which are public record, and by being a consumer who reads all the fine print of anything that involves my spending money online.
Here are some key details that other people should take the time to find out:
1) Goodwill doesn't just provide jobs working for them-- Their missions vary from region to region, but most are geared to job training, college assistance and job placement. The area Goodwill for this region uses the funding from their sales to assist people from all walks of life, not just handicapped. They have programs that pay for high school classes for students that never finished school, or alternately provide a connection for GED completion. They provide computer training, culinary chef training, warehouse and janitorial services training, real estate management training, and many more. They don't have Goodwill employees providing the training, they pay local colleges and schools to supply teachers for this purpose. This training is not provided free to Goodwill-- it costs just as much when they are paying for it as it does if you are registering for school on your own, except YOU are not paying anything if you are a program participant with Goodwill.
2) Donate an item, you get a tax statement to use on your taxes-- you are permitted to claim the reasonable value of the item, Goodwill does not set the amount, the government does. Because the IRS is involved in the tax exemption, Goodwill is obligated to record this information as well.
ALL Non-Profit charities are required to make financial reports in the same way consumers file taxes, only theirs is public record and can be read by anyone that chooses to check it out. 84% of every dollar made by Goodwill is marked for charity, meaning it doesn't line any CEO's pocket, but goes for programs to support needy. The other 16% covers the general overhead to run a business including the employees, facilities, loss and necessary costs to keep the business running. Trucks and fuel to carry the donations, Buildings that house the stores and warehouses, utilities, all the way down to the costs of paying the scammers who will inevitably attempt to take money from any business, regardless if its a charity.
3) Ebay has had closed bidding records for some time now, and Goodwill is no different-- With Ebay, the policy changed because individuals would contact other bidders and attempt to sway their opinion about the seller so they could get the item for a lesser bid, and many times other sellers would contact buyers of items and say they were posting an item up for less money if they wanted to watch their auction instead-- It became a manner of privacy and Shopgoodwill is no different. Do I want every other user to know my buying history, NO! Why should it be public what I buy, or what any buyer buys? You can't see the bidder's names simply because it leaves open opportunities for more than just good deeds-- Just because you can't see the names, doesn't automatically mean its shady-- if you have ever been scammed on Ebay, you will understand this logic.
To end all of these comments, here are some links to other websites that can give you info not just from a mad consumer point of view and not from a Goodwill employee point of view-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Industries
http://www.goodwill.org/get-involved/donate/
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?keyword_list=Goodwill&Submit2=GObay=search.results http://www.guidestar.org/
http://greatnonprofits.org/
http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/search?q=goodwill
#39 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: luvberryshortcake - Gresham (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Friday, April 20, 2012
POSTED: Friday, April 20, 2012
Wow thanks for useless information we are all aware of that. More fees are added after the bidding is over that are not always stated, also we are not just discussing shipping fees. You must be a goodwill employee. Who ever you are thank you Mr.Master of the obvious. (or Mrs whatever) There is fraud going on at this site and many would agree.
#40 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: auctioncutioner - myrtle beach (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Saturday, April 21, 2012
POSTED: Saturday, April 21, 2012
First off, I would like to start with my opinion of Shopgoodwill as a unit, despite some region store representitives that wish to claim seperatism of a corporate venture.
Indeed Shopgoodwill started out as a public good, and no one would ever argue that employees should not be paid for their works, despite whether they are doing so under pure profits or for charity.
However the majority of responder's are correct in the pricing scheme.
Currently the perception to most people visiting their local Shopgoodwill stores will agree, that the items brought out onto the local store shelves are low end quality, and highly inflated in prices.
Most of these items are dirty, filthy at times, and could be considered as utter garbage for the most part, and should NOT be allowed to be sold, for the lack of sanitary purposes.
There are no sanitation done for most cooking items to warrant the attempted sale price of those items.
An example is a T-fal frying pan, that has no teflon and corroded in rust is put out on the floor for nearly $5.00.
Other products such as the vast amounts of furnitures while are expected to be dirty, are often broken, scratched to the point whereas wooden furnitures would require stripping down to the wood and be restained and varnished, in order to reclaim them of any real worth.
A small dresser 4 feet long by 2 feet wide has a selling price of $125.00 with a broken and missing leg.
That is crazy.
Whereas the manufacture label states merely made in China.
I'm what you call a searcher, I look thru everything, I don't care what it is, I like to learn things, about how stuff is made, why it's made like it is, and for the most part for the specific purpose to discover the best way of doing something right.
So I spend alot of time looking at almost every item in my local Shopgoodwill stores, we went from having none, to having three within a 10 mile area in the last 5 years.
All of which built brand new buildings.
Prior to the first opening of the local Shopgoodwill store, I did some shopping on the Shopgoodwill auction site.
I had won a considerable amount of those auctions, probably along the lines of around 60-70% win success.
I cannot complain about having to pay shipping or other fees included in the sale price, as I was always aware, (although I think shipping should be auto generated on the auction site specific to the user, so one doesn't have to click the link to find out what the shipping will be.
However I will say that I agree with many responders here, that it appear's that shill bidding does indeed take place.
I read whereas a Shopgoodwill employee from Tacoma, stated they do not shill bid, however I had noticed that items being sold from Tacoma has absorbent shipping/handling charges.
Which resulted in my choice NOT to bid on any of their items.
For example Tacoma currently has an auction running for a lot of NES games.
Auction # 9794378 the shipping to my address is charged for $12.54 +$2.00 handling, total $14.54.
They are using UPS, however the Fedex quote (for non member account is) $11.66 +$2.00 = $13.66 which would be a savings of 0.88 might not sound like much, but individuals should act as if their finances are just like any other business.
Now I know from experience of working for a major delivery carrier, that significant discounts are given to individuals and businesses that pretty much guarantee a specific amount of shipments each business day, so I'd be guessing that the UPS, is heavily discounting their shipping thus Shopgoodwill (Tacoma) is making huge profits from those savings.
Another note, I have made a number of donations to shopgoodwill, most of which were/are higher valued items, made to my local shopgoodwill stores.
However most of my items donated have failed to appear within any of the local stores.
As other people have commented, Shopgoodwill takes those higher valued items, and instead of making them available to the local region, supporters, supposedly for the purposes of the benefits of the local community, they are sending and shipping those items to other means of disposal.
And from further investigation, I discovered that many of the higher valued clothing pieces are actually sold to other clearinghouses in some areas.
Redistributing products from one area of the country to another, isn't much different than redistributing wealth in our country by other means.
Now for the most part I have been satisfied with the products I have purchased from the shopgoodwill site, however I do feel charging someone more than $1.00 handling fee, with an already bloated shipping cost, and higher than market value sale price is extravagent.
Some areas charge as much as $4.00 handling fees, of course if someone isn't too far away it's acceptable since the shipping would be decreased somewhat.
I think where the problem lies regarding auction pricing, and shipping costs aka handling fees, it needs to be set standard.
One shopgoodwill facility should not have a $1.00 handling fee, while another has $4.00.
One should not be allowed to use UPS, and another Fedex.
It should boil down to the best VALUE for the end consumer.
As other's have mentioned, these items are being given as free, but the costs incurred at the current setup is plain wrong.
And thus the reason as to why their store shelves are loaded with clothing items at this time, since the selling price is nowhere near what one would expect from a used store, it's not like these items are consignment, they are debt free.
And btw some inquired about wages being paid to higher ups, vrs. lowly paid trainees, they are correct, the shopgoodwill ceo make a little over $100k a year, for what?
What benefit that is?
Now for most people that donate, and support shopgoodwill Industries, they are never told, that many organizations can be a part of the shopgoodwill industry structure.
In other words shopgoodwill is more of a trademark and marketing ideal, and it's up to the individual charities to set their rules and policies regarding returns, guarantees, pricing, etc.
So those individual charities capitalise off of the shopGoodwill Industry trademark, whilst Shopgoodwill is removed from liability of the local branch.
It's definantly a setup as far as the scheme of it all goes, since shopgoodwill refuses to accept responsibility for each charity using it's name, while receiving the rewards of contributions of the collective whole, at least the positive charities contributions.
Shopgoodwill needs to set major uniform policies regarding pricing, handling fees, shipping, throughout the country, those costs and pricing should be based upon country specific standards.
Now I have had one bad experience with the Shopgoodwill site, a few years ago I bought a NES game system and a lot of 16 games that were included, I won the auction for $65.00 + shipping of $$16.00
I made payment etc.
Three weeks later I had not received any of the items, and contacted the shopgoodwill vendor.
They replied with the following. "It appears your item has been lost, we are refunding your payment made".
Indeed they refunded the entire payment amount, but then two weeks later, I saw the items up for auction from the same Shopgoodwill vendor yet again.
After viewing the items, I noticed that there were 7 of the 16 games were considered as quite valuable (although I had not noticed at the time I originally won, and purchased those items), and here they were up for sale again, and this time it was up to well over $200.00.
So YES, despite what some might think, or beleive, there is impropriety going on, depending upon the Charity operating that particular shopgoodwill auction/store.
#41 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: consumeless - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Saturday, April 21, 2012
POSTED: Saturday, April 21, 2012
Shopgoodwill is the online business solely-- Goodwill stores locally are not all involved with Shopgoodwill. If you do a search on their website, you can see there are many regions that do not sell online yet.
Goodwill stores and Shopgoodwill ARE separate in the fact that Shopgoodwill is simply a online auction venue in the manner that Ebay is. While Shopgoodwill has policies in place for using the website, they don't act as management for the individual regions that use the website.
Have you ever heard of the term Franchise? There are many businesses across the country that run on similar business platforms. Do you visit your local McDonald's, Subway, 7-11 or Pizza Hut? When you have a problem with any of their locations, who do you suppose takes responsibility for correcting the problem? The owner of the specific Franchise location is responsible for correcting the issue--
This is why when you mention contacting the Shopgoodwill you don't see any assistance for problems of your local Goodwill or the Goodwill using Shopgoodwill. If you have a problem with your individual location, you need to seek out the CEOs or upper management for that area-- that is what their salaries are responsible for. If it pertains to your Shopgoodwill experience, read the bottom of any auction page and you will find a link to the specific Goodwill that seller is affiliated
with. Most locations place links to their regional website, where you can find the names and phone numbers for all of their senior executives and management.
Myrtle Beach poster (basic zip 29587) mentioned an auction #9794378, the seller in Tacoma (zip provided on website 98409). You provided a shipping estimate given from the Shopgoodwill website as $12.54 and felt the store would be
overcharging you or that they are making huge profits from the exorbitant pricing-- Interesting because the UPS website provides a slightly different quote for the same weight and destination-- $14.28, meaning UPS which is the same provider the store is using would be charging you MORE if you shipped the same item yourself from them.
The business sense behind why each of the Shopgoodwill stores using various different shippers at each of the locations, goes back to the fact they are in different regions of the country and ran independently of each other. They choose the shipping provider based on the rates and resources in their area and any feedback from their customers. The fact
that most of them do not run their operations with hundreds of employees but rather a handful of employees also accounts for why they would not use multiple different shipping options. If you have ever been a seller on Ebay in any volume, you are aware that buyers all have different opinions-- some prefer USPS, some FedEx and yes there are some that will
swear by UPS. My personal taste is USPS, simply because they offer free boxes to send items at flat rates, there is tracking and confirmation available if I pay for it, they ship to a PO Box when needed, etc. However there is a portion of consumers who claim they have had poor mail carrier experience or felt the rate for larger heavier items is too expensive.
When a seller chooses shipping provider options they have to take into account many things:
Am I taking the items to the shipping provider myself or are they picking it up? If the shipping party is picking it up are they able to pickup at a time my business is operational? How frequent are they able to pickup my shipments? Are they charging me for the pickup service? The Myrtle Beach poster mentioned they felt the locations are doing a volume business and would be receiving volume discounts-- (Hmm-- perhaps that's the reason the quote above differs to LESS than UPS would be charging you directly to ship the same item?) However because they are doing a volume business does it not stand to reason there are costs involved with either A.delivering the large number of packages to the UPS facility or B. having UPS pickup the items from the Goodwill location (?)
"Shortcake" you were not "obvious" with any record of additional fees you were elaborating to, and because the handling fees are something that is disclosed on EVERY Shopgoodwill auction page as part of their form, I would be interested in knowing what fees those might be? Btw since you showed interest, I'm a Business Financial Analyst-- but that is probably obvious to most.
#42 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: luvberryshortcake - Gresham (USA)
SUBMITTED: Saturday, April 21, 2012
POSTED: Sunday, April 22, 2012
I found your response so long and boring I almost fell asleep. Yes I'm aware of what a franchise is, are you aware? I know that when you have a franchise that you are held to a code of conduct because you as a owner are still representing a company and a name, thus upholding their practices and ethics. I don't know if you follow Mr. Business Financial Analyst but to make it easier for you we are complaining because if you make claims and state things as fact you need to uphold it. For example....As a seller I have to give accurate details of what I'm selling and if I make claims such as 14k gold...it has to be in fact 14k gold or I would be considered liable if it in fact was gold toned etc or something like that. As a seller I'm always careful to represent a item accurately because I was raised with morals. If by human error OR blatant lies everyone selling online is liable and responsible for misrepresenting a product. I'm out over 3k because of inaccurate listings by goodwill.com. I find added on expenses such as unstated insurance fees, handling fees etc unreasonable on top of the fact I'm buying a misrepresented item by error or fraud. Error or fraud in the court of law it doesn't matter because they are still LIABLE. Ever heard of false advertising Mr. Financial Analyst? I ship items everyday and I know what the REAL costs are. Consumers are being over charged in shipping and buying misrepresented products by goodwill.com. If we gave them all the benefit of the doubt we are still out money that we as families, and individuals worked hard to earn. I make my money through an honest living and I don't appreciate losing money to a charity or company that I trusted to do the same. I surely smell a rat with you and I would put money on it that you are affiliated with Goodwill in some shape or form. Save your long winded and very boring opinions for someone who actually cares what you have to say. I could easily take a vote and you would surely lose. If you want to respond could you at least do us all a favor and make it at least a little interesting? Mr.Financial Analyst I wouldn't trust you with even monopoly money.
#43 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: consumeless - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, April 22, 2012
POSTED: Monday, April 23, 2012
It seems my comments have struck a nerve with you shortcake, however not sure why you chose to take personal offense or direct your problems specifically toward my comments--
If I were to point a finger at you and say you seemed like an ex-employee who had issue with the company, or that you were a person who felt cheated because you weren't able to substantiate your claims in a court of law, would that cast any credible information towards my comments? No-- and neither does your personal attack on me for my comments--
There is a reason Ripoff report includes a box for consumer comment not related to being an employee or person ripped off-- Because this is a forum meant to exchange ideas from both sides of the arena-- Sorry if you feel my opinion isn't warranted in your point of view but unless you have any ability to erase it, you are pretty much out of luck--
Instead of attacking people for their personal point of view why don't you seek resolution for the $3000 you claim to be out by prosecuting the party involved-- Mail fraud is serviceable for your claim if it bares even a remote ounce of truth--
#44 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Preston - Phoenix (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Monday, April 23, 2012
POSTED: Monday, April 23, 2012
Being one of the first few people that filed a complaint on Ripoff.com: My only regret, is that I didn't know or hear about this site prior to bidding on and purchasing items on shopgoodwill.com. Had I have read the first two complaints on ripoff.com, I in no way would have ever made any purchases or, went back to goodwill's online site. There's an old saying that states; "a tiger never changes it's stripes;" which is oh so true when it comes to shopgoodwill.
Now concerning this persons comment about mail fraud, What the hell does buying something off of ShopGoodwill's site have to do with mail fraud? Mail fraud has to do with sending information through the US Mail that turns out to be a scam which must be over a 500.00 amount, (usually); so buying something from Goodwill's online site has absolutely nothing to do with mail fraud. If that were the case then I would be able to pursue charges totalling more that 1500 dollars for the absolute garbage I was informed was something other than what I received! And, to comment on an earlier statement made by someone who states that "ShopGoodwill will refund such items," is total nonsense, and a big fat lie!! I still have the bogus items sitting in my closet that the PA store, Santa Clara store and several other stores that refused to take items back; and, why would they? They sold them to me as vintage and got a premium dollar amount for them. So, not only am I out the money because I'm not going to advertise something as vintage when I know damn well it's not to the public.
The problem here is; that ShopGoodwill doesn't give a damn about your time, and set plenty of it aside should you make a purchase on their site, because your going to need it! And, I don't know about you? But, I don't have a lot of free time; and, when I do; I sure as hell don't want to spend it in such a negative way! All because one retailer doesn't give a damn how they list items, blame it on whoever you want to; but bottom line is that Goodwill is the person responsible for such actions. And I've read other people comparing ShopGoodwill to Ebay: Please don't compare the two because there is no comparison. If someone was to commit the fraud that Goodwill is doing with the intent to de-fraud the public; they would be barred from ever selling on ebay again. Not only that but EBAY has several things in place to make sure that what you buy is exactly what you get! I know I have been buying on EBAY for over 6 years now and have only had one issue which was immediately resolved to my satisfaction.
Bottom line here people is that if you know about and have read any of the comments on here, and you still choose to purchase on ShopGoodwill.com? Then personally I would have to say that your a fool. And if you don't know about this site and you purchase from ShopGoodwill.com; well, let me welcome you to Ripoff.com, because you'll be here soon after such purchase. That's calling a Spade a Spade!
