We've always taken in bikes in any condition, as part of our mandate is to keep bikes out of landfill. We have found that we can get enough parts off the ones being scrapped to balance things out.
The only recent change in our policy has been to folks to take kids bikes to a similar suburban-based org., as we have little demand for these bikes downtown.
While Brian writes:
how much storage space we have vs the demand for low-grade bikes.
we have found that we can sell every bike we get ready, incl. the dept. store bikes. Students love them for campus lock-up (no big tears if the $40 bike gets stolen), and since even these bikes now come with aluminum wheels they can at least stop in wet weather. (We do endeavour to advise folks that while an old bike may be cool the chrome steel rims are best for non-rainy days.)
That said, I do sometimes hang my head when working on such bikes, and do remain amazed at how bad dept. store V-brakes can be in terms of set-up and adjustment.
Mark Rehder - Coordinator re-Cycles Community Bike Shop http://re-cycles.ca
On Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 11:42 AM, BK Info info@bikekitchen.org wrote: We don't charge people to donate to us. We do look over each bike before accepting it and have a policy where we don't take department store bikes. We explain that our mission is to teach people how to work on/build bikes and they department store bikes are not a good base to work off of. Everyone seems to be cool with that.
-jimmy
On Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 10:04 AM, Wanda Pelegrina Caldas wanda@communitycycles.org wrote: Ok, read the thread backwards. What Leslie describes below is is pretty much our thinking too except for we do ask for a donation processing fee. However, if we don't get one, we too grin and bear it.
We have scrappers come and take what they can use from our "junk pile". Artists and people looking for parts for art, school (and other) projects. Getting too many crappy bikes is still an issue, but in a sense, we can still see it as putting parts of those bikes back into the community...call it re-purposing if you like.
Wanda Pelegrina Caldas Community Cycles, Boulder's only non-profit bike shop, serves all your bike commuting needs.
Use our secure online donation form to become a member, today. Thanks!!Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:04:44 -0400 From: lesliepeteya@gmail.com
To: thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bicycle Donation Fee?
We just grin and bear all the crappy donations, in order to get those precious few decent bicycles. We have a good rapport with our cycling community and don't want to cause any ire concerning donations; cash bikes and memberships are our lifeblood.
One thing we've incorporated into our model is to have unskilled volunteers break down bicycles for scrap metal into aluminum and steel. We then have someone take it to the recycling place.
We don't really make any money from it for all that effort, but it's better than drowning in a sea of Huffys and Roadmasters. Also, our unskilled volunteers get wrenching experience without the pressure of screwing up working bikes.
Best, Leslie Durham Bike Co-op
On Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 11:56 AM, Andrew Burnell aburnell@gwi.net wrote: Hi All,
We have been inundated with bicycle donations lately and looking for some guidance: Does your shop require/ask that a cash donation be made with each bicycle donation? We have never asked for cash donations on top of bike donations, but we’ve noticed that often times people are using us as a city dump instead of a shop.
On another note, here are links to our volunteer blog and SlideShare account. I hope they are of assistance to your respected programs. Feel free to comment or make recommendations…
http://communitybicyclecenter.blogspot.com/
http://www.slideshare.net/cbcad2010/documents
Andrew