How charities with thrift shops can get better stuff from their donors instead of junk

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Chao Wu, Wayne State University

(THE CONVERSATION) Telling donors that their neighbors have provided high-quality furniture, clothing and other goods can cut the number of worthless items charities receive in half.

That’s what my colleagues Sindy De La Torre Pacheco, Mahyar Eftekhar and I found when we partnered with the Phoenix chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a charity that helps low-income people, for an experiment.

Over 12 days in the fall of 2020, we followed 763 people who registered to give the charity their used couches and other stuff. These donors were randomly assigned to receive one of two emails tied to our study or no email at all before the charity picked up the stuff being given away.

One email stated, “The majority of donors give us items that are in very good condition, and have a high likelihood of being sold at our thrift stores around the Valley.” The other asserted, “Please know that we only accept items that are gently used. Items that we would have high difficulty selling at our stores end up costing us tens of thousands of dollars every month to dispose of them, which diverts money away from our mission.”

According to drivers picking up the donated goods, the items’ average quality was 15% higher when donors received the...