Monday, November 03, 2008

Making donations easy

If you periodically drop your discards off at the Sal, you're certainly familiar with this sign at the Montezuma Street entrance. I suspect it's there because a lot of folk stop by after hours, when nobody's present to take charge of new goodies. Further: many, many people are not aware that there is a big intake set-up at the rear of the store along the alley.

However, our drop-off arrangements are small potatoes compared to this Goodwill center I came across in Memphis last summer. Obviously, the store was using a facility which had a previous history of some sort.

And, speaking of the Goodwill people -- were you aware that we now have a new Goodwill thrift over on Iron Springs in the spot which was a Longs' drug store when my LH and I first moved to Prescott. I read that the resale shops are thriving in the current economic climate. No surprise!

13 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:36 AM

    We have a small container near our recycle center for clothes. It's operated by the Red Cross.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your "re-sale shops" we call "charity shops" here. Wife and I now call them "Op shops" (opportunity) since visits to our daughter in Oz where they are so described. I think the Aussies have the best term, since it is surprising the opportunies that can be found.
    We regularly wander around a few in the High Street of a local, genteel town, where a lot of high class stuff can be found.
    My favourite, classy, grey leather jacket came to me that way and I exult that it only cost me £10!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous7:15 AM

    Love the Goodwill Memphis photo. Great "reuse" of the building!

    My favorite second-hand opportunity is the Nordstrom's 100% cashmere sweater I got for $35!

    Yes, that certainly was an "opportunity".

    The new GW store on Iron Springs Road I will visit in a few weeks! I wonder if my sister knows about it? Will tell her today.

    ~Anon in AV.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your comment regarding the uptick in use of "resale" stores reminds me of an article I read about an increase in the use and business of pawn shops.

    An aside...In a recent visit to a Goodwill store in search of yet another Hawaiian shirt, I noted that the number of new items (Chinese manufacture) on the shelves is increasing making the store resemble "dollar" stores.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I almost took a shot of the rear sign at the salvation army (do not leave donations in alley) this very morning.

    You and me are on the same page GrannyJ!

    ReplyDelete
  6. steve -- but are there thrift -- 2nd hand -- resale shops in Germany?

    avus -- op shop certainly swings, but I could have sworn that my bro had yet another term. But whatever you call it, your leather jacket sounds like a real buy!

    anon av -- I wouldn't mind a cashmere find like yours. Still think my orca sweat for $1 was a wonderful deal.

    wandrin -- were those new new or discarded new? I'm always fascinated at the gizmo corner of our local Sal (Salvo in OZ) where all those as-seen-on-TV thingies wind up in a year.

    tombo -- we sometimes think enough alike that it's scary. But just remember -- I'm not agile enough to do all those culverts.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous10:16 AM

    When I was in high school the Prescott "Sal's" was the preferred shopping venue for me and my friends. Seems the donors at the time were rather cosmopolitan sophisticates who donated wonderful vintage clothes. I still have a 1960's sheath dress with a Bergdorf Goodman label-- $1.50 at Sal's.

    Regrettably, the higher-priced antique stores seem to have taken over this market. The recent stuff at Sal's hasn't impressed me as much.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Actually, I've found better stuff at NOAH; however, for this walker, the Sal is downhill and NOAH is largely uphill!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Granny J,

    Those were new products such as the socks in the plastic wrap in several sizes. And jeans at $9.99. There were also knick knacks to decorate your home.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ugh! Resembles how the little independent 99 cent stores got coopted into chains selling the same old same old repackaged in smaller sizes.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous12:52 AM

    GJ, I would guess that there are some, but not in this area.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous6:29 AM

    Aunt J-

    The Memphis Goodwill was formerly a hardware/lumber store, so folks took things OUT of those lanes. Now they take things IN through them. As my boys seemed to be a larger size every few months, I frequently got their clothes at "The Sally". My niece C has gotten classic formal dresses there for dances recently. 12-13 years ago her mother got not so classic gowns there for daily wear by Niece C. From afge 3-5 they were her daily choice.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi, other niece -- thanks for the info. I certainly recall niece C & her Beautiful Dresses that she favored as a little girl. Her great grandmother simply couldn't understand this; I thought it was rather grand (and that peer pressure would cure her of her preferences as soon as she hit school.)

    ReplyDelete