Buy clothing at my E-Bay store - 25% of profits to go to Katrina relief

[samplebytes]

Let's see Wal-Mart or other large retailers make a pledge like that!

First off, I'd like to thank the admins for allowing me to advertise here.

Like most everyone else out there, I was shocked and appalled by the destruction and devastation that Katrina has wrought. I've tried to stay out of arguments and political posturing, but one thing does bug me about the coverage. These aren't *refugees*. These are DISPLACED AMERICAN CITIZENS, and they need our help. I'm barely keeping up with my bills, but at least I have a roof over my head and clothes on my back. I realized that there is something I can do though. I can donate clothes that I'm not wearing or selling.

Then it hit me.. I can donate a percentage of my profits to the relief fund. I'm planning on giving 25% of my profits from my E-Bay store for the next 30 days to the Salvation Army to help with Katrina. The Salvation Army, because they're getting very little press as opposed to the Red Cross. The Salvation Army also has a lot less overhead, the Red Cross had some issues after 9/11, and the Salvation Army helped my family out years ago and I've always helped them out whenever I could. This space will be updated as time goes on. I will keep a running tally of profits, donations, as well as picture documentation of the checks I am writing to the Salvation Army as well as screenshots of my bank statements as the checks are posted. (There are too many scammers out there, and I know that many people may be skeptical, I know that I would be. )

For those wondering who I am:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/527/search.aspx?act=com&orgid=702

My name is Steve, and I was one of the founders of that 527 group last year.

Here's my store:

http://stores.ebay.com/The-Clearance-Mall_W0QQsspagenameZL2QQtZkm

And a quick page where I will be keeping a running tally:

http://theclearancemall.com/katrina/

I know that a lot of people already made their donations, and some people may not be able to afford to, but in this case, they can get a good deal on clothes and still help out with the relief effort. Thanks in advance for your support!


"Required disclaimer: The administrators of Democratic Underground have given permission for one discussion thread on this topic. The administrators of Democratic Underground make no claims regarding the legitimacy or illegitimacy of this fundraising effort."

[SmokingJacket]

1. Great! I think there are probably a number of us running charity

auctions over there. The way it works is, eBay will take money from the seller's credit card and give it directly to the charity -- that way there can be no scamming.

You can search charity auctions by hitting the button with a ribbon on it on the ebay home page. (Don't buy from the people only giving 10% though -- they're just trying to draw attention to their auctions.)

I think it's a great idea.

[samplebytes]

2. E-Bay "charity"

From:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/selling-nonprofit.html

Is there a minimum donation amount?
If your item sells, a $10 minimum donation is required for each eBay Giving Works item in order to ensure a substantial gift will reach the nonprofit organization.

Note: This $10 donation minimum does not apply to nonprofit organizations selling items on their own behalf ("Direct Selling").

Example
Seller A decides to list a painting and donate 20% of the final sale price to support Nonprofit B. The painting sells for $30.00.


Seller's share: Nonprofit's share:

Gross payment from the buyer: $30.00
Donation amount: ($6.00)
Balance of $10 donation minimum: ($4.00)
eBay.com fees (may vary): ($2.65)
Net proceeds for the seller: $17.35

Gross donation amount: $10.00
MissionFish deduction: ($3.00)
Credit card processing charge (2.9%): ($0.29)
Net proceeds received by the nonprofit: $6.71


It looks like MissionFish charges $3 per transaction.

It'd be fine if I was selling $100 items, but just about everything I sell is $10 or less. :)

[SmokingJacket]

3. I didn't notice MissionFish takes $3 each transaction.

Or is it each $10??

That seems a bit steep, since all they're providing is a framework.

x(

Hopefully people will be willing to pay more to make up the difference...

[Glimmer of Hope]

4. I sold a few things last week and had great success..

Some of my things sold for more than the face value or purchase price and all the proceeds went to Mercy Corps. I think it is a great way to raise money - I need to find some more stuff in my closet!

[samplebytes]

5. Selling stuff...

I sold off a lot of my excess stuff after I moved a few years ago. I've probably got a couple of things left, but most of my E-Bay sales are my business sales now.

[crispini]

6. Great idea!

:kick:

[samplebytes]

7. BTW..

Be sure to email me and let me know that you saw the "ad" here, I want to know who's helping out! :)

Thanks!!

[samplebytes]

8. BTW.. part 2

Oh, and let me know your login name as well, I can post in here who helped out if you want.

[samplebytes]

9. first update

Yeah, the check ended up being for a little more than 25% of my profit, but I felt the need to pad it out a little bit. I'd like to thank everyone for their support, hopefully it will be twice as big next time!

[samplebytes]

10. $100 donation from this item:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41786&item=7351831330

Not sure how many Mac musicians there are on here, and if there are any, they may already have Logic Pro already, but if not, you can save over $300 buying it from me.

[samplebytes]

11. SOLD

That item sold, so there's $100 to the SA for Katrina right there.

[samplebytes]

12. Check cleared:

[jim3775]

13. This bothers me. I have a few questions

How do we know you are actually going to send 25% to charity?

A couple of your feedback describe you as a "bootlegger" how do we know you are not selling counterfeit brand name clothing?

Im sorry if this sounds rude but when someone with 25 posts spams a message board saying "buy from me, proceeds to charity" some red flags go up.

[samplebytes]

14. Q&A time

1. I just posted a cleared check, figured that might be proof enough. I can take pics of me at the SA next time writing the check and handing it to the manager if you want. I'm probably going there early next week (as the person that bought the software package from me doesn't have the capability to pay for it through PayPal til he upgrades his account, so it will be a few days before that clears.)

2. I believe the "bootlegger" comment was from someone *I* sold sound CDs to, then he turned around and was copying them and selling them to people. He was returning negative feedback. Believe me, the clothing is 100% authentic. I probably should charge more so people will realize that it's real. :) If you go to stores frequently enough, you will find decent deals on clearance items (things marked down 70-80%), and that's one of the things I do, along with striking agreements with the managers to let me know when they're clearancing things out, and I get over there and try to clean them out. I'm going to be releasing sound DVDs soon (hopefully in the next two weeks), and I will be using a form of copy protection on them that will allow me to trace people that trade/sell them. I couldn't bootleg clothing to save my life, I can barely put a button back on a shirt, and running a sewing machine is way beyond me. I can fix computers and dabble in music, but that's about it. My wife can't sew either. (But she does provide the health insurance through her work, and that's a little more important.)

3. I've been posting this around to a few forums (Fark, KVRAudio, and a few others) that I frequent, sorry that I've not been more vocal, but I've read the forums here for quite a long time, but never really felt like interjecting. (I also read Free Republic to get my blood boiling.) If you read my first post, there's a link to a 527 PAC (Political Action Committee) that I founded last year. I shot one commercial, but didn't get enough funding to get it aired. (After posting to forums and people wondering if I was a scammer, I decided that I didn't get an early enough start.)

4. This has nothing to do with your questions but about my business itself: If I make enough money in the next two years (I will continue supporting the SA though, not just around hurricanes, but probably on a monthly basis and definitely around Christmas), I want to run for Congress in 2008. There's a Republican Representative in the next district over that could prove to be weak. :)

5. That response was way too long, but hopefully I've alleviated some people's reservations about me.

[samplebytes]

15. more updates

Added a bunch of new stuff last night, will add more throughout the day.

Also, my domain now forwards automatically to my E-Bay store:

http://www.theclearancemall.com

I'm also considering changing from a 25% of profits to a flat donation per item (with a minimum donation per week, which I will make up the difference myself if I don't sell enough), which will make it easier for me to add up. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks!