Man buys out entire Kmart and donates it all to charity

[bjl584]

Rankin Paynter, Kentucky Man, Buys Out Entire Kmart Store, Donates It All To Charity

When Rankin Paynter learned that the Kmart in his Kentucky town was closing, he decided to buy everything that remained on the store's shelves -- and give it all away.

Four cash registers and six-and-a-half hours after his shopping spree began, the benevolent businessman walked away with $200,000 worth of inventory and gave it all over to Clark County Community Services, a nonprofit that helps families in Winchester, Ky., facing crisis situations

[disneysteve]

Nice story, but why didn't he just give them $200,000? Would have been a lot easier - but wouldn't have made the news most likely. I can't help but wonder how much of the donated stuff won't get used due to size or whatever.

[kork13]

More likely, alot of it (besides the clothes, bedding, etc.) will be sold in thrift stores and the like. Which means it'll be sold for far under retail, and less that Paynter paid for it... So in the end, cash would have been "better" for the charity.

That said, however, if there is a specific need of certain things (like the winter clothes mentioned in the video), giving physical items like that often is actually more helpful for charities, because they don't have to go out and purchase it themselves. It's simply on-hand as required.