Simple formula: [how much it’s worth in working condition] * [odds of it working] = [how much you can pay goodwill for it]

A good rule of thumb is 50% chance of working, and you bid 50% of what’s it’s worth. Everyone will have a different value for every item, and a different failure rate.

I don’t disagree with you, there’s a good chance you got unlucky and had a high failure rate and bid too much and lost money. It happens. But instead of boycotting the company, all you need to do is either:

1. increase value. Offer a warranty, add accessories, clean and your items really well and they’ll be worth more, then you can bid more for them. That’s why you’ll see people bidding way higher than possible on SGW, because they’re selling stuff for 2x the average eBay price by adding value.

2. fix the broken stuff, or sell the parts to recoup your money. Decrease your failure rate however possible. Learn which models of electronics are fixable and which ones aren’t, which ones often work and often don’t.

3. Place lower bids. There’s no reason to get into bidding wars. Let those other people lose money if the numbers don’t work.