Warren Oates hath wroth:
Yep. I know how it works. The problem is that the average thrift shop cannot afford to test and identify all the electronics that gets donated, especially at the prices people are willing to pay for them. There are also a limited number of people still doing repairs or are interested in buying devices that have a high potential for being fried. My guess is about half the electronics I buy at various thrift shops is dead. Since these are charities (Mtn Thrift benfits the local High Skool) I don't return anything for credit that was blown. Most people don't do that and regularly return things.
What makes this place unique is that there are about 5 locals that actually do purchase electronics, do repairs, and do not become a drag on the business by returning things. They also have employees that have finally discovered that if you price things low enough, people will take a chance and buy them even if they might be DOA.
If you want your local thrift shops to take in electronics, you'll need to convince them that there's a market. You'll also need to convince the local dump or recyling center to deal with the overflow and to allow limited scavenging:
It can be done, but it wasn't easy as there are liability issues if anyone gets hurt dragging off something big or dangerous. The biggest help at the thrift shop was to get donors to identify in writing what was being donated, how much it was worth, and what was wrong with it. Also, some basic cleaning.
Some local charities have turned eWaste into a business:
The way the money moves is rather complex, but basically the local waste management organizations are tryin to keep re-usable items out of the garbage dumps. I've purchased a wide array of obsolete but useful computers and parts from their computer store. However, what they mostly do is tear apart the computers, cell phones, and electronics, and send the guts off to the metal recyclers. There's gold in eWaste, literally.
I can go on and on on recycling electronics, but not here and now.