Having had the rewarding experience of working as a warehouse coordinator at the Goodwill Industries of North Florida. I had the oppertunity to handle tons of donations...all manner of goods, ranging from living room furniture, to clothing, to books, to toys... you name it, in most cases, it gets donated to Goodwill.

However, it may become apparent to many Goodwill, Salvation Army, or other thrift store shoppers, that many goods donated, don't make it to the thrift store shelves. Much of what I will write in this blog will tell you what happens to the item(s) Goodwill accepts from you, what is accepted for sale in thier stores, what is trashed, why donated goods can't be repaired, if broken, what is sold "As Is" and how auctions are held.

This information can be especially valuable to peolple just starting up an ebay business, or flea market store, where they will need a constant source of materials to stock thier shelves. Many entrepeneurs visit the auctions we held daily at the Goodwill plant, to make thier primary income. And at the last days I was employed there, the rate of incoming donations was growing faster than the rate of dealers coming in to bid on the materials availiable. I'm targeting those dealers looking for a reliable source. This information will lead you to a very good source. The plant I worked at is located in Jacksonville, FL. But all thrift donation centers operate on a simular premise, and these plants are located across most of the U.S. Usually in territorial hub cities such as Jacksonville, FL, Atlanta, GA, Chicago, Ill., etc.

Pick-up of Donated Goods

Donors of items dedicated to Goodwill, are in many cases picked-up from the home. Donors must set up a time and date for pick-up to enable the transpotation coordinator to plan an inteniary of scheduled pick-ups for each driver, for a maximum of pick-ups, in a minumum amount of time. As the truck reaches it's capcity of donations. It's contents are delivered to the nearest store on that route. The store manager then evaluates the trucks contents, picking and choosing items best suited to be sold at that location. Drivers usually do spot evaluations of items at the donor's address of pick-up, and in many cases, will not pick-up items in need of repair, or items not listed on the intineary (in many more affluent subdivisions in Jacksonville, residents would attempt to flag our truck down, and plead with us to take thier stuff right now. We'd give our card, and ask them to call for a scheduled pick-up, and they would be furious we didn't just take thier stuff away!).

"As Is" Items

Items that are not accepted to be sold in the retail thrift stores, are then brought to "The Plant" to be sorted and separted into like groups such as :

Salvage clothing: (substandard, not for for retail sale, but sold to other charities, to be further sorted and distibuted to the poor and needy. Unusable clothing is packaged for use in some prodution facilities for rags, etc. or is shredded for stuffing and packing) Clothing of any kind is not availiable at auctions, However salvage linens are.

Shoes: are distributed to the needy, much like the clothing. Shoes are also not availiable to the auction.

Holiday Items: (these items are sorted, pertaining to each particular holiday, re-packed, and stored for later distribution to each retail store shortly before that particular holiday.

Linens: (Comforters, Curtains, rugs, cloth placemats and napkins, all bedding items, furniture covers (no bed pillows accepted) and related items, are all made availiable to the "As Is" auction.

Furniture, Office furnishings, and appliances: Whatever furnishings not accepted by the retail stores, will be made availiable to the "As Is" auctions

Electronics, antique and modern, TV's, radios, computers and periphrals: In almost every case, electronic items are only availiable at the "As Is" auction, due to the very low rate of reliability of electronic items.

Books and records: Books and records (including manufactured VHS/DVD movies that are not home made, as well as software, games, and operating systems) that are not accepted for sale at the individual retail stores, are made availiable at the auctions, however, they are separated from the general "As Is" merchandise, placed in boxes, which are placed on wooden pallets, for ease of inspection by specialized book dealers. Book/ records usually average being auctioned off @ $100 per pallet.

Toys, wares, small appliances, board games and other small miscellaneous items: Are in many cases accepted by the stores, however items missing pieces. over-used or worn