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Those sketchy sidewalk donation bins are made of wood now

wooden clothes donation bin
When metal is too expensive for your scam, go with cheap, dependable plywood! Photo via James White

Evidently, it’s become too much trouble constructing those sketchy fake clothes collection boxes out of metal. We spotted this rustic plywood bin (secured by two high school locker combo locks) on the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and Kent Avenue in Williamsburg on Wednesday. Clearly not built to last, the craftsmanship and materials selected are several notches below a typical subdivision in the McKibbin lofts.

We called up the number listed on the box, and a woman named Raina told us that the company who put the box there is named Viltex, a for-profit company that has had their (metal) boxes removed from public streets before. She said she’s just there to answer the phone and doesn’t know why this particular box is made of plywood, which leaves open the possibility that this is some new collaboration with Etsy that we’re all not aware of yet.

As we’ve gone over before, there are legit, non-plywood based charities to donate unused clothing or furniture to. And if you do come across another one of these handmade horrors, you can always contact the Sanitation Department.

wooden clothes donation bin
Yep, that is definitely wood. Photo by James White

Follow James for more revelations on scamming trends at @jamesfacts

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