Across from the Goodwill in Arlington,TX there is a new DD’s Discount Store which has signs all over it that say 100% of the money goes to Red Cross. I have mixed feelings about this store. First off, there were not enough cashiers for the people that were stacking the carts full. The man that greeted us at the front door was a security guard, nothing says welcome like a big man with SECURITY written on his back. They also went out of their way to put large poles on each shopping cart so that it could not be taken out of the store. Convenient for most of the shoppers that were loading up carts full of stuff. Not. But I have seen worse, there is a place in Houston that charges you a quarter to use the damned cart. I kid you not.
Now, I think it likely some of these good folks are heading off to a flea market or the inetrnet with re-selling in mind. I have similar thoughts myself when I shop Goodwills and Salvation Armys. I have no qualms at all about re-selling goods I buy at Thrift Stores, or Dollar Stores, or Garage Sales. The big difference is that Goodwill and Salvation Army are mostly used goods donated by individuals. DD’s is all brand name, brand new, donations.
Ok, it mainly seems to be factory seconds and discontinued items, but it still seems odd that the Red Cross is running a chain of Discount Stores to get rid of it. If I were Nike and I gave the Red Cross a thousand pairs of shoes, I would expect those shoes to find their way to the feet of needy individuals, not the shelf of a DDs Discount Store somewhere.
I remember right after 9/11 when the whole country was poised on the break and ready to do something, anything to help. A lot of people gave to the Red Cross, and were later shocked to hear that the Red Cross put the money into a general fund that they would use for-whatever the hell they wanted to use it for. Not for victims of 9/11 specifically, but anything in general that needed money. Some dimwit at the Red Cross even had the balls to say Wow, we’ve never had this much money before!
So I am going to guess that Nike, Fubu, Reebok, and all the other brand names that I didn’t recognize thought they were giving goods to victims of Hurricane Katrina or maybe some other crisis I don’t recall right off hand. And maybe they gave so many pairs of sneakers that there was no one in New Orleans or The Gulf Coast that needed another pair of shoes. Maybe.
So now my question would be, ok, your selling off stuff that no one needs-what are you going to do with the money? Buy shoes and underwear? Bedclothes and toys? DD’s Discount Store was full of stuff that any needy family would eagerly take. So why the hell is it being sold to the public at deep discount? Which, since it is donated, is 100% pure profit.
My sister was a Social Worker for many years in Southern California, and my mother did a ride along with her one day. Being a fairly self-sufficient person, having grown up during the Depression, my Mom had a particular hatred for any form of Government Assistance. Seeing these able bodied, but dead lazy people with their hands out all day drove my Mom crazy. Her Solution to the Welfare State would include the word Finial in front of it. My sister didn’t take my Mom on any more ride alongs.
So maybe the Red Cross is doing good works with money that they can’t do with a warehouse full of shoes,clothing, toys, bedclothes, and other assorted odds and ends. Maybe Nike, et el, don’t care what happens to their donations after they give them away. And maybe I will be going back from time to time to buy a designer dress shirt with the original price tag of 56 dollars still attached-for twelve dollars.
Hey, maybe I’ll even find something to put on eBay. Ten bucks is ten bucks.
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