Goodwill Auctions?

[Grizabella]

I may have misunderstood. Are we talking about the Goodwill listings on Amazon used sellers or the shopgoodwill auction site? I was basing my answer on the auction site. I've ordered books from the Goodwill used sellers on Amazon and been very pleased with the books I've gotten.

 

[AJ]

shop good will site Griz.
we just got sidetracked
Waves her mole flippers at the crowd.

 

[Zephyros]

I would stay away from Goodwill because it is kind of a scam. It is a private business that gets most (or all) of its inventory for free and then makes money off it while paying their employees minimum wage. Their public face is mostly marketing and it is just as much of a faceless entity as any corporation.

ETA: I stand corrected, Goodwill pays less than minimum wage, because it exploits people with disabilities!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-hrabe/the-worst-corporation-in-_b_1876905.html

 

[G6]

I would stay away from Goodwill because it is kind of a scam. It is a private business that gets most (or all) of its inventory for free and then makes money off it while paying their employees minimum wage. Their public face is mostly marketing and it is just as much of a faceless entity as any corporation.

ETA: I stand corrected, Goodwill pays less than minimum wage, because it exploits people with disabilities!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-hrabe/the-worst-corporation-in-_b_1876905.html

Jeez, so much for goodwill, right? It's the same with buying decks from Walmart. The richest family in American can't pay a livable wage to their employees. Shame on careless capitalism.

 

[Zephyros]

Jeez, so much for goodwill, right? It's the same with buying decks from Walmart. The richest family in American can't pay a livable wage to their employees. Shame on careless capitalism.

It goes even further than that. Stuff like decks may be cheap in Walmart of Goodwill, but they are actually hundreds of per cent more expensive than what it says on the pricetag.

Taxpayers pay for billions of dollars of tax subsidies and other grants aptly named "corporate welfare," they obviously pay little to no tax (not even the absurd amounts they're supposed to) and to top it all their workers must receive welfare benefits to supplement their meagre salaries. These, too, are funded by taxpayers.

So that's how they get away with selling such cheap stuff, because the real cost is hidden in your taxes. Of course it doesn't end there, because the stuff is cheap because it is made in sweatshops or because proper environmental laws are not in place so workers in China work in poisonous conditions.

Sigh

Sorry, I can get carried away. But seriously, decks are luxuries, and as such can be bought as treats, full price, from small, local metaphysical shops. Not only do you know then that the money actually goes to make someone's living (which is good karma!), but your money goes even further by being injected back directly into the economy rather than stagnating in some Cayman island tax shelter.

While I understand the draw of cheap things, decks especially, the overall social and economic price of shopping at these places is just... too expensive.

 

[G6]

We digress, BUT what they're trying to do now is get rid of employees altogether. Everyone is an "independent contractor" or simply a contract employee hired short term. For example, the happy face they put on the "sharing economy" companies like: Uber, Instacart, etc., all that is simply robbing folks of benefits and making them use their own resources (cars/cell phones) to financially benefit the "smart" folks that came up with the app to take 30% while the employee oops, excuse me, "independent contractors" have no benefits and pay the cost of doing business out of pocket. Sad, sad, sad.

 

[Zephyros]

Anyway, I do prefer to get my decks through local shops or independent artists. In fact, things like Kickstarter make it that much easier to deal with hard working artists directly, rather than through intermediaries.

So, sorry if you asked a specific question and then I started with all this. But I usually do recommend that people give up these big chains and try to shop wisely and humanely.

Of course I recognize that some things can't be obtained in any other way, there's money involved and all that, and I'm not judging because these places really are cheap. And people need them. So there's a double edged sword there.

 

[G6]

But I usually do recommend that people give up these big chains and try to shop wisely and humanely.

Of course I recognize that some things can't be obtained in any other way, there's money involved and all that, and I'm not judging because these places really are cheap. And people need them. So there's a double edged sword there.

Exactly, I do find however that the people that are able to shop that way are more economically advantaged. People here in the U.S. that don't shop at Walmart have the means to shop elsewhere. It's a matter of privilege. Just like someone may need to lot buy 6 decks from Goodwill for $6.00 vs. paying $60.00 for 1 self-published deck on Etsy.

 

[Zephyros]

Exactly, I do find however that the people that are able to shop that way are more economically advantaged. People here in the U.S. that don't shop at Walmart have the means to shop elsewhere. It's a matter of privilege. Just like someone may need to lot buy 6 decks from Goodwill for $6.00 vs. paying $60.00 for 1 self-published deck on Etsy.

Except you don't need to buy decks, you want to. Food is something you need, and in that case it makes sense to look for the cheapest price, social responsibility be damned. But I can't think of a situation where someone might actually, really need a deck the way they need food. Decks are luxuries and should be treated as such.

And believe me when I say I am not privileged, I'm a graveyard shift, minimum wage security guard. True, I'm not responsible for feeding a family, but still I have never needed a deck, and there have been decks I have saved up for.

Again, nothing is black and white, I myself go buy luxuries in cheap places, too, because it means I can then afford more of other stuff, so I'm not labeling anyone who shops at Walmart or Goodwill selfish. I simply think awareness of these things is important.

 

[G6]

Except you don't need to buy decks, you want to. Food is something you need, and in that case it makes sense to look for the cheapest price, social responsibility be damned. But I can't think of a situation where someone might actually, really need a deck the way they need food. Decks are luxuries and should be treated as such.

And believe me when I say I am not privileged, I'm a graveyard shift, minimum wage security guard. True, I'm not responsible for feeding a family, but still I have never needed a deck, and there have been decks I have saved up for.

Again, nothing is black and white, I myself go buy luxuries in cheap places, too, because it means I can then afford more of other stuff, so I'm not labeling anyone who shops at Walmart or Goodwill selfish. I simply think awareness of these things is important.

This is an absolute home truth nobody NEEDS a tarot deck, however if someone of little means wanted to purchase a tarot deck it's unlikely they would spend a weeks worth of groceries on a socially responsible self-published deck vs. something for $5-8 at Goodwill/Walmart. Perhaps the solution is for an artist to make a socially responsible deck at a super low price point like the Dollar Tree Tarot.

Jedi Knight, lol. Did you just become a moderator or were you always one?