I have a niece that works at goodwill or salvation army, can't remember which.
Fire retardant fabrics seem to rule the upholstered furniture accepted, and they don't want used mattresses there anymore. There are mattress stores that take and reclaim those for donation now.
Items aren't held in stores until sold, they are rotated out to 1/2 price after a week or so, then out the door.
You see a lot of dumpsters because people bring stuff they couldn't sell at their garage sales.
Dump fees are their biggest expenditure. Please be kind and honest with your donations.
Goodwill rotates all the items, hence the colored tags. After half pricing, From the stores they go to the outlet stores where items are sold by the pound, and from there cloth is sorted to rag sellers and the rest goes to the dump.
What they turn away often depends on the size of the store and the traffic algorithms and whether the staff taking things in are instructed in their task, and brave enough to turn someone down. People get really belligerent about how important and valuable their junk is.
re: not paying full wage, any store can hire handicapped people and pay part wages, the government makes up the rest. Safeway here is really good about it.
And many many places to donate. Don't like one, use a different one.
This is what goodwill accepts and doesn't
https://www.amazinggoodwill.com/dona...nor-guidelines
the salvation army
https://salvationarmynorth.org/2017/...n-army-stores/
reasons they cannot accept some things
https://salvationarmynorth.org/2017/...all-donations/