Originally Posted by
blakcloud
I have donated to a bike co-op and some were rare parts and unique. I was a little dismayed when I found them for sale on Craigslist for sale within a couple of days. This hasn't stopped me from donating because it could have been a one of but still bugged me. I am hoping that the parts I donate go to someone in need and not to line someone's pocket book.
...I can't speak to your situation, but for a couple of years running, I listed the top of the line bikes we got as donations on the local Craigslist here. People generally don't shop at the co-op looking for a bike that costs more than a couple hunnert bucks, so there's a limit on what price you can ask in that environment. And on occasion someone does donate a very nice road or mountain bike, because they don't want to deal with selling it, and don't need the money.
It was something that was debated, but in the end, the idea that we had a fiduciary responsibility to the non profit and the members, to get a realistic value for the stuff that gets donated, won out.
Again, I have no idea whether this is what you are seeing. The resale shop in San Rafael routinely sells stuff (components) on ebay, and there is at least one guy who does only that. They are the non profit that ended up with a lot of Robin Williams' bicycles. So you can see that selling them in your grubby non profit shop environment would have limited the returns.