Just curious what other merchandisers think of my idea

Even as I work towards my next career an idea hit me.

As merchandisers we work with a load of demo stock and are told to dispose of it, giving us control of it. Something recently hit me, I am going to start giving this stuff, along with extra tools and such to good will, when I am giving command of disposing of it.

Naturally friends and family get first dibs on this stuff, but do I (or they) really need say 10 Allen keys, 10 screw drivers, and 10 thingamagigs?

I am just curious what other merchandisers think of my idea of giving surplus we don't need away to the needy/poor.

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That's actually one of the worst ideas I've heard all week.

Looking at the statistics between people in poverty and the level of crime, there is a strong correlation between the two.

"Persons in poor households at or below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) (39.8 per 1,000) had more than double the rate of violent victimization as persons in high-income households (16.9 per 1,000)" - Bureau of Justice Statistics

By giving these poor people screw drivers, you are effectively giving them a weapon that will be later used to stab someone. I know you want to do good in the world, but reality can sometimes be f&$$ up. Rather than donate weapons to the poor, donate books/textbooks. Education is the best way for the poor to escape poverty.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2017 04:56PM by DavePi.
@DavePi wrote:


By giving these poor people screw drivers, you are effectively giving them a weapon that will be later used to stab someone. I know you want to do good in the world, but reality can sometimes be f&$$ up. Rather than donate weapons to the poor, donate books/textbooks. Education is the best way for the poor to escape poverty.

What? That might be the most ignorant thing I've heard all week. Please tell me you were trying to make a joke.

"Never believe anything you read on the internet"- Abraham Lincoln
I'm sure it would never cross a poor person's mind to use that screwdriver for something as uninteresting as say installing a screw. We should make sure the donated books are paperbacks only. I've heard those hardcovers can be used as a weapon.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
@DavePi will say anything to get a rise out of people. this post is particularly egregious.
How about donating those screwdrivers or discarded tools to a local high school since many public schools don't have the budget for such things. Maybe they can use them for shop classes.
You cannot give away stuff that does not belong to you. It is up to the store and NO ONE will do this. Believe me>>>> I have tried.
@lucky7s wrote:

You cannot give away stuff that does not belong to you. It is up to the store and NO ONE will do this. Believe me>>>> I have tried.

It is a great question, and many people wonder why we can't just re-purpose such items. You can ask yout scheduler or someone in a store to clarify whether dispose of means to throw it away or give it away at your discretion. As far as I know, you do not have discretion over the further use of the items and you are never allowed to sell those things.

The store's decision and your assignment instructions may consider safety concerns, legal factors, or client specifications.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu


Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2017 06:51PM by Shop-et-al.
Wow, horrible thing to say- OP should think of donating to schools than where kids learn how to build things under supervision. On CNN one of the commentators said last night all Trump fans are deplorable's and racists. I was shocked, and he said it more than once, then tried to back out of it. I won't discuss my politics here, but the OP had the same concept.
You do realize "OP" means the original poster, the one who created the thread. The OP was OldDog. Nothing he said could be construed as horrible.

We do not discuss politics here. Feel free to edit your post of both the accusation against OldDog and the political comments.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Apologize I meant the person who posted that comment @DavePi

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2017 01:56AM by jennifer2016.
Jennifer, under you post (several posts up from this one), there is an "edit" button. You can use that to change the actual post and remove your political comments. Politics are unwelcome in the forum, even a slight mention of them.
@lucky7s wrote:

You cannot give away stuff that does not belong to you. It is up to the store and NO ONE will do this. Believe me>>>> I have tried.

I have been instructed to destroy or dispose of anything extra that I have. I cannot even keep it for personal use. Perhaps you should ask someone before making plans to distribute anything you deem as extra. To avoid getting fired or sued.
@jennifer2016 wrote:

On CNN one of the commentators said last night all [so-and-so] fans are deplorables and racists.

While I agree with the above sentiment, jennifer, you still haven't edited your post (five posts above this one). I removed the name of the horribly offensive person you were referring to in your post.
@lucky7s wrote:

You cannot give away stuff that does not belong to you. It is up to the store and NO ONE will do this. Believe me>>>> I have tried.

Did you bother to read where I put it clearly, when I have permission to dispose of it as I deem fit.

Please don't comment on stuff if you can't be bothered to read what is posted.
If you do, give it to habitat for humanity. They are always needing tools and some have a restore.
It is ridiculous to throw away useful items. I would personally give away extras rather than putting them in the garbage no matter what the instructions say. Feel free to lecture me. I will continue doing what I think is the right thing.
@TeriW wrote:

It is ridiculous to throw away useful items. I would personally give away extras rather than putting them in the garbage no matter what the instructions say. Feel free to lecture me. I will continue doing what I think is the right thing.

No lecture. Just one question. Before deciding what the right thing was, did you consult a representative for the client and/or MSC that issued the instructions?

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
What they don't know won't hurt them....

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl -- year after year..."
I hope they send a rep to read this thread. smiling smiley

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
@OldDog wrote:

Did you bother to read where I put it clearly, when I have permission to dispose of it as I deem fit.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
In the opening post, "dispose of" was not defined. In order to remain in our integrity, we need to have a clear definition for each item and each circumstance. Some people in this job have interpreted this phrase as we must throw something away or put it in the trash, while others have interpreted "dispose of" as keep, use, distribute, or whatever the @#^$# you wanna do about it.

I have not been given permission to do whatever the @#^$# about anything. I have been given specific instructions for different types of goods. No one ever gave me permission to keep things or give them away. It would not occur to me to sell the items, so I never asked about selling any of these types of things.

Has anyone ever tried to sell any of these items?

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
I've done those funny, old-fashioned greeting card resets at Cracker Barrel. The instructions say DO NOT leave them at the store, send them back to the company. However, there is never any postage or package to send the not-in-set cards back. I always call and ask and they tell me to dispose of them however I want but just do not leave them in the store. I give them to my neighboring teenagers. Same with the specialty cosmetic resets I do in whole foods, nature's outlet and now in krogers. Crossmark's t-shirt resets in Walmarts, Coffee, tea and nut resets for hhn......the list goes on. I give it all away to the critters that lived in my complex. I'm too lazy or I would sell it. Most scan-to-pay products are this way, you can end up with a lot of junk.
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