O/T About donating stuff

[Joe50]

Is it all just a leap of faith??????????????? I don't want to be disappointed and see it all end up on ebay making some pocket cash for a scumbag.

Basically, I am at a point in my life where I no-longer need that many material goods. By saying material goods I mean, Bicycles, three Vintage motorcycles, guns, two vintage cars, old books, a thousand vinyl records, eight-tracks, and cassettes. LOTS OF STUFF!

Any thoughts on this, I just want to make a big run to the dump and lose it but my wife says we should do something with the STUFF. I refuse to give it to our one grandchild because she is a spoiled DICK.

I am thinking about selling it at an auction and then donating the money but I don't trust auctions or charities..

Thoughts??

[DocWeezy]

Either give it to good friends who you KNOW will treasure and appreciate the item, or sell it for market price on Ebay or elsewhere (location auction company?) and then donate the proceedings to your favorite charity. You're right that if you just give it away (for example, on Craigslist), it will end up in the hands of professional pickers who will then sell it for market price.

Weezy

[bdp522]

I found that donating money to AmVets or VFW works well. They will allow you to earmark the money for certain events, like the annual x-mas party for the local Vets Home! Most adult homes will also let you choose how the money is spent, like on gifts for the residents.

Brenda

[LSAT]

Is it all just a leap of faith??????????????? I don't want to be disappointed and see it all end up on ebay making some pocket cash for a scumbag.

Basically, I am at a point in my life where I no-longer need that many material goods. By saying material goods I mean, Bicycles, three Vintage motorcycles, guns, two vintage cars, old books, a thousand vinyl records, eight-tracks, and cassettes. LOTS OF STUFF!

Any thoughts on this, I just want to make a big run to the dump and lose it but my wife says we should do something with the STUFF. I refuse to give it to our one grandchild because she is a spoiled DICK.

I am thinking about selling it at an auction and then donating the money but I don't trust auctions or charities..

Thoughts??

Joe ....Your profile says that you are 39 years old......You say that you no longer need your material goods...are you giving up on life???

[Joe50]

Is it all just a leap of faith??????????????? I don't want to be disappointed and see it all end up on ebay making some pocket cash for a scumbag.

Basically, I am at a point in my life where I no-longer need that many material goods. By saying material goods I mean, Bicycles, three Vintage motorcycles, guns, two vintage cars, old books, a thousand vinyl records, eight-tracks, and cassettes. LOTS OF STUFF!

Any thoughts on this, I just want to make a big run to the dump and lose it but my wife says we should do something with the STUFF. I refuse to give it to our one grandchild because she is a spoiled DICK.

I am thinking about selling it at an auction and then donating the money but I don't trust auctions or charities..

Thoughts??

Joe ....Your profile says that you are 39 years old......You say that you no longer need your material goods...are you giving up on life???

I am actually 56, I just don't care about that sort of thing. Numbers pop up and so I push them...Profiles bore me..sorry...I'll fix it tommorrow or I might not.. I don't care...as an old professor used to say...Small point.

Good catch on your part, can you fix it.?

[Joe50]

Nevermind, I already have PM's asking about the vintage cars....You missed the point. Forget it.

[snuginarug]

Is it all just a leap of faith???????????????

but I don't trust auctions or charities.

Yes, I believe it IS a leap of faith to trust different businesses, institutions and organizations. There is the Better Business Bureau, which helps prevent dishonest or negligent practices. Choose an auction place and consult the BBB. Maybe the BBB is crooked too. But this is where the leap of faith comes in. The whole world might be a miserable, crooked place full of greedy thieves. It MIGHT be. But it might not. Places like the BBB may actually protect and serve the community. Auction places might actually sell goods in an honest manner. There might actually be charities that get help to those who need help. Do some research. Any charity worth its salt has a yearly financial report available to the public. Peruse these documents.

So I have two concrete, rational suggestions:

1) Consult the BBB about different auction places
2) Look at yearly financial reports available for those charities that spark your interest.

My third suggestion is to make that leap of faith to TRUST. Trust that the BBB is not crooked, trust that reputable auction places might be found, trust that charities are not fudging their annual reports.

I would like to share a nonrational completely subjective thought of my own... Most people are good people, but that is obscured by the fact that the assholes in life take up so much space. I've been around this world, seen many places others will never see, and that is my conclusion. The FEW assholes in the world make so much noise they drown out the MAJORITY of nice, decent people. And if you go looking for proof that everyone is crooked and greedy and dishonest, yes you will find a lot of examples of that. But the reverse is true too... look for honest decency and you will find that too.

[cflame1]

as for the charity... spend some time getting to know the people there... volunteer there... do some research.

[GumbyCT]

Is it all just a leap of faith??????????????? I don't want to be disappointed and see it all end up on ebay making some pocket cash for a scumbag.

Basically, I am at a point in my life where I no-longer need that many material goods. By saying material goods I mean, Bicycles, three Vintage motorcycles, guns, two vintage cars, old books, a thousand vinyl records, eight-tracks, and cassettes. LOTS OF STUFF!

Any thoughts on this, I just want to make a big run to the dump and lose it but my wife says we should do something with the STUFF. I refuse to give it to our one grandchild because she is a spoiled DICK.

I am thinking about selling it at an auction and then donating the money but I don't trust auctions or charities..

Thoughts??

Joe ....Your profile says that you are 39 years old......You say that you no longer need your material goods...are you giving up on life???

I am actually 56, I just don't care about that sort of thing. Numbers pop up and so I push them...Profiles bore me..sorry...I'll fix it tommorrow or I might not.. I don't care...as an old professor used to say...Small point.

Good catch on your part, can you fix it.?

Joe, I say the only way to make sure things go where or the way you want is to handle it while you are still topside. After seeing the lies and deceit by my dads executor and my ex - nothing surprises me.

As for professionals on Craigslist (CL) - while I am sure they are there you can make sure those who need it get it too. Last year, I bought a new TV on Wed. before Black Fri. and no longer needed my old outdated tube TV. I put an ad in CL Free section and found a young couple who was more than pleased with what otherwise would have ended up in a landfill. Plus it saved me from paying for the removal/disposal.

The couple put a very nice Thank You on CL.

So yea, do what you want before its too late

You have to be careful both buying and selling on CL, esp. when it comes to cpaps.

[Muse-Inc]

I've donated to a local shelter/charity, a domestic abuse shelter, a food bank, Salvation Army, a family the neighborhood kids told me of who had fallen on hard times when I was not financially challenged myself . I know that PBS stations take a lot of stuff they refurbise and sell. How about hobbists who can't afford their hobby?