Rare Apples, eBay, Goodwill

[Scott Stevens]

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 10:30:35 -0600
"David H. Barr" <dhbarr at gmail.com> wrote:

 
> As part of that process, it is their duty to try and eliminate all
> risks inherent in the resale of donated goods (in this case, classic
> or neo-classic computers).  In that, it is becoming increasingly
> difficult to reliably destroy all possibly sensitive data and to
> eliminate all potentially hazardous parts; therefore many Goodwills
> are simply refusing computer donations at this point.
> 
> It should also be noted that many individuals regard Goodwill as a
> dumping ground for broken trash.  While it is true that one man's
> trash can sometimes be another man's treasure, for the most part every
> man's trash is just that.  For all these reasons and more, Goodwills
> across the world are having an increasingly hard time dealing with
> outmoded technology, and some must needs simply wash their hands of
> the whole mess.
> 
> David H. Barr
> Sys / Net Admin.
> Oklahoma Goodwill Industries, Inc.
> 
> PS: Not offended or preaching; just advocating an alternate viewpoint.

I've known Goodwill managers to have a simple answer 'Eight Dollars a
Ton' as to why they refuse donations of certain items.  The Eight
Dollars is the disposal cost for having things they deem unsalable (or
things they assume will be unsalable) hauled away.

The $8/ton comes from the mid '80's though.  It's probably significantly
higher now.

-Scott