Thrift store rant
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2024
- You're not going to believe this; but, someone actually requested that I do a rant video about how most current thrift stores operate today. So, here we go.
Back in the '80's and '90's, I could walk into just about any thrift store and buy vintage electronics for very reasonable prices. I also got a lot of good records for reasonable prices. And, the people running these stores were usually easy to deal with and they acted like they appreciated your business.
Unfortunately, it's not often that way in 2012. Most thrift stores today, especially the "non profit charity" stores, are very proud of their junk.
Now, keep in mind that most of their items are donated; so, they SHOULD be happy to get whatever they can for them. However, that's usually not the case. In some cases, I've seen garbage at the thrift store that was priced higher than a new item from wal-mart. The Starvation Army here thinks nothing of pricing VCR's and DVD player's in the $20-$40 range and most of them can't be easily tested and there is almost never a remote to be found. Excuse me; but, I can buy a new DVD player that works and has a warranty for what they want for some used junk that may not even work.
And, they consider anything over 10 years old as vintage, antique, or collectible and they ask some insane price for it. Of course, that only applies to the thrift stores that actually put old stuff out for sale. Many of them will put the new silver plastic crap out for sale; but, will toss the vintage stuff in the dumpster because they consider it obsolete and figure no one would want it.
I tried to get the manager of the local SA, and other thrift stores, to save any older non-working electronics that they'd otherwise throw away. I made it clear that I'd BUY such electronics; but, I was always told that they couldn't be bothered and any non-working equipment would automatically go in the dumpster. If they had a grain of sense, they'd realize that the $5 or $10 that I'd pay for something would be more than the dumpster would pay; but, I guess they can't be bothered with such small amounts of money. You can bet that when Christmas time approaches, they'll all be on TV, begging for donations!
It also irritates me that many stores will destroy something and put it in the dumpster before they'll take less than what they think it's worth. IMHO, that is just plain stupidity! The item was given to you. If it doesn't sell, lower the price until it moves. If an interested party makes a counter offer on something, deal with him. Don't give him some smart answer like, "the price is marked, take it or leave it".
Once, the manager of the local SA acted like such a witch and treated me like I was an idiot over a stereo that I was interested in that I wrote a letter of complaint to the local SA home office; but, I got no reply and nothing was done to correct the problem.
At one time, I could deal with the SA and the manager would usually let me name my own price on items of interest. He looked at it like whatever money they were making on an item was more than they had to start with. At that time, I was also donating many working TV's for them to sell and he acted like he was happy to get them. Of course, they didn't keep him long and after the current witch manager talked down to me about that console stereo, the donations from me stopped and have not picked up since.
I've also found that the quality of records has gone down and many stores ask "price guide" prices for records that are total garbage. And, most of the record selection is nothing I'd want if they were giving them away. If you want vintage rock, soul, country, etc; then, stay away from the thrift stores here. If you want the "Firestone Christmas Album" or everything that was ever put out by 101 strings; then, you've come to the right place.
I also get irritated when they use ebay as a price guide. Guess what, thrift store manager? You're not selling on ebay, you're selling in small town MS and people here are looking for a deal. If you expect to get ebay prices; then, close your store and sell on ebay.
OK, rant over. My normal style of videos will resume shortly.
Big thumbs up on this video. Those five thumbs down must be "thrift" store workers.
Don't patronize Goodwill. My experience is: they cherry-pick the good stuff the COMMUNITY donates, and the profit goes out of the area and to the CEOs and managers. Patrons are left with the dregs. Shop your local community-owned thrift stores, not the corporate rip-off ones. My $0.02.
pignanelli After the experience I just had at Goodwill last month, I'll never go back. I don't know what happened, but all of the sudden their prices have gone sky high. $12.99 for a used pair of used blue jeans. $230 for an 8 year old computer tower. The one that really got me was $699 for an 11 year old 50" flat screen TV. I bought a 50" flat screen brand new in 2005 and paid $800 for it.
Absolutely true !
Goodwill will have you arrested for shoplifting if you go into their dumpsters Take it from me!!! It happened to me in Baytown Texas. !!!!! The police had there guns drawn at me while I was in the dumpster
They also treat disabled people like they are “light” slaves and pay them cents an hour!
@@banjoplayingbison2275
I used to be one of the disabled people who used to work at goodwill but I quit because it sucked working there I have autism and ashma and I worked from 12 am in the afternoon till 9 pm
God, I love this guy.
Starvation Army-
lol
What's fun is seeing how many versions of the "Firestone Christmas Album" you can find.
Goodwill is the worst for this crap! I think the privately owned thrift shops are alot better about these things
They are not perfect, but they are more respectable than stores like Goodwill and All Things Right and Relevant.
Thankfully the goodwill i go to has one of those privately owned thrift stores right next to the building next to it.
I agree that they're taking advantage of people. I thought their whole purpose was to sell donated items for a reasonable price to people who could not afford new items. As far as selling vintage items, I think part of the problem is with the dolts who work there thinking that anything old is worth a fortune. Once, I saw an early '70's Japanese-built table radio at the SA for something like $25. It shouldn't have been priced over $5.
I agree with you
It's really a shame that those stores are doing that- they should remember they're a thrift store, not (I'm coining a new phrase) FRO - For Rich Only, and they should be happy to sell anything they get worth selling if it's for charity. Good rant!
and thrift stores don't realize that these old electronics require restoration...and restorations cost money...but they simply slap really big prices on vintage stuff simply because they know it's old. And so true about the people who run these "thrift" stores....Smart assess with attitudes! And sorry, but most are women.
I agree 100% totally!
+Sony Trinitron of you do
agree 100%. a good case in point is the rca victor 45 rpm record players made from 1949 to 1957. needed parts to restore these and a modern stylus cartridge( oem cartridge and stylus's are toast now( the oem cartridges used a roachell salt crystal in them to turn the stylus vibration from the record into electrical impulses) plus incidentals like lubriplate grease, electronic and grease cleaners not counting parts tubes,etc for the amp models can run at least $100.00. i buy these attachment units from e bay sellers and give no more than $20.00 not incl. shipping and this has been my experience. i am restoring these for my own use. ebay prices on many of the nonworking rca 45 are ridiculous, even wanting up to $200.00 for these non-working units. they are not rare and were common back then like everyday ford and chevrolet cars and trucks.i believe radiophonotvnut would agree with my comment here on the restoration cost as he has done many no doubt.to ask a unreal price knowing the restoration cost is not right.
Damn hen partys is what the are.. Just like the local Ac_ hardware. I can't even stand to go in there anymore !
The only thing I find in Goodwill anymore is CDs and Jeans. I would like to go on a rant myself about these stretch mom Jeans for men that don't stay on your waist. Starvation Army prices single 45s at $2 just like a full album. The only electronics now are remote less DVD players and crappy clock radios.
Bahaaaa he said he don't care if they're buying crack cocaine with the $!! This guy is a trip!
Sometimes you might believe that’s what they are doing with the money. Some of the ppl that work at these places smh!
That had me laughing.
Great video and great rant! We have a newer thrift store in our area (San Francisco Bay Area) called Saver's. They seem to be all about volume. They price things reasonable to move it fast. The store is massive and well organized with a lot of employees. They put one thrift store out of business and the Goodwill across the street has even lowered their prices a bit. My best score was a beautiful working Denon DP-47F turntable with a rosewood plinth for $9.99!
I love your rants ,I consider them a teaching tool .please always do your rants .thank you for be a great teacher
One thing I've noticed at the bigger chains over here is when it says "Untested" it means "Broken", If they test something and it doesn't work they just put it out as "Untested"
Completely agreed with you! I once was at the dump near a Goodwill donation center, they were getting rid of a nice old TV. I said I wanted it, they said I cannot give it to you they went and threw it in the dumpster. I nearly cried! I recently went into a belliville, PA, Goodwill and ask how much a PIONEER clock and auto time switch was, they took it back and came back and said $35!! I said with a chuckle, NO THANKS! You know, now you got me thinking. Instead of going into the thrift shops, we should all look in the dumpsters behind the thrift shops, I bet the best stuff is in there!!
One more thing to add. I found a nice Sony stereo that was marked $4.99 (the tag was ripped). I asked how much it cost, the guy went back to price it. He wanted $75 for it, I almost laughed out loud, I could buy one on eBay with the original box and remote for less. Shipped to my door. Funny, real funny!
Joshua's Recordings I live in California, if they get caught throwing electronic waste in a trash bin there's a fine. So I'm not finding any throw aways, besides there are companies that pick up for free. I'm seeing a lot of stuff put on the shelf that dosen't work, I offered to buy it as is if they would give me a discount but the store manager said no.
I was told by a manager of Goodwill and S.A. the reason they started marking up old vintage electronics was because people were restoring them and selling them on ebay. Like a tube type table top radio would go for $10 aas-is now they will try to sell it for $150!
In most cases a vintage TV set will cost more than a newer set in the store.. 1960's tube set = $250 vs. 1990's set = $25
I blame places like You-Tube and E-Bay for this crap mostly because once a few people started posting vids on restoration and attaching ebay links to their listings, that is when thrift stores and swap meets started jacking up the prices.
Personally I DO NOT trust buying electronics from these places after a friend of mine bought a TV set and got more that he bargained for in the area of roaches...
The stores here toss things in the dumpster they cannot sell but before they do they destroy it completely with sledge hammers and the chain the bin up in a locked fenced in area to keep people out.
-Update-
The Salvation Army here has a recycling dumpster they put old and non working electronics in and they get paid the scrap price for it. So yes now they do make cash from the dumpster.
When I donate stuff I always make sure that it'll actually be sold and not thrown out. I'll NEVER donate anything to Goodwill after hearing how much stuff they throw out without even trying to sell it.
Goodwill has a "surplus store" in a large warehouse near me where they sell the store rejects for $.50 a pound. They get big crowds, but you have to be physically careful and as lot of the stuff had sharp edges and is dirty in large bins.
I agree with you Brayn. The thrift stores here in the Jackson area are pretty bad these days for the most part. There's a few that are okay, but I don't go to a majority of them because of the reasons you stated. A lot of stores try to command the highest dollar for something that's not even worth a fraction of their asking price.
Hoarding old electronics is a real problem, I have a friend that has an incredible amount, some that work and some that doesn't and it really takes up a lot of space, he has receivers, speakers, reel to reel decks,10 or more of those, turntables hundreds if not thousands of reel to reel tapes, prerecorded and home made, recorded from records, radio, and records, about a million of those, no exaggeration, every room has boxes of records, the garage, the basement has the most, its overwhelming, he is totally obsessed with finding bargains.
Peter his house sounds like a treasure trove.
lizichell2 Yes and no, although he has amassed a large collection some of it is not in optimum condition and unfortunately some of it is deteriorating because it's stored in the garage and basement that is not climate controlled so mold is growing on the components, his OCD is out of hand, he wants to sell things but lacks the motivation to do so, I keep telling him to let some other people enjoy what he obviously isn't but with a hoarder it gives them comfort just knowing they have these things even if they will never use them, it's a very sad situation.
he can make alot of money on that buy low sell higher . if they work.
Sounds like my house
Very true, but who are these idiots buying up all the stuff at these prices they're asking? Went to a local thrift store a couple months ago and saw 20-30+ pieces of stereo equipment( receivers, cd players, tape decks). Nothing had remotes and all of it was $20-$40 each piece so the matching receiver and cd player would run you $40-$80. Left without buying but decided one receiver may be worth the $20 they were asking because I wanted it. Went back 5 hours later and every piece was sold! That's right, every last piece had sold.
sixtyfiveford They sold it to some illegal immigrants that didn't know what the heck they were buying. They get it home, and then complain in Spanish why it won't work. Also, everything over the past 20-25 years (maybe more) is made in China. The Chinese Laborer works for low wages, the Corporations make and use cheap parts. That is why nothing last.
Here in America, when it breaks, no repairs! Go to WalMart or Electronic Express and buy another piece of crap that will end up in a Thrift Store in this country by 2-4 years! I don't buy nothing in a Thrift Store, and clothes bought in a Thrift Store may have germs that you can't wash out, call the Health Department and get these Thrift Stores shut down! Consumer Electronics has gone way down hill!
It's been shown by the TV News Media when the Thrift Stores get a good donation, the employees steal the good stuff and put out the junk on the shelves!
+sixtyfiveford In north east Illinois the resale shops(savers,goodwill, Salvation) usually don't- always don't - have any vintage stereo equip thats any good just junk brands,the good stuff never makes it to floor,the gouging is here to,started noticeably about 7-8 years ago.EX:Speakers- rotted,ripped, warped,musty,un tested,full mint price ? same with anything stereo,un tested,low end missing parts- junk,full price.I don't ever talk to them sorry for generalizing but most are just jerks thinking their sitting on a pile of gold..I don't do em any more…I don't like the feel of those stores at all.I feel bad for those who really need the $$ break on goods from what is supposed to be a place helping people who are hurting & the Goodwills are frikkin poppin up like Walgreens..must be makin bread.
Value lies in the eyes of the beholder
@@tjfreak That's because the shop owners take and sell all the good stuff on Ebay
I agree! it is a total shame nowdays! I saw a packet of floppy disks unused for for $10 but i managed to get it down to $5 that was a good store then another store is selling PlayStation 1 games from the 90's that no kids play anymore not in a million years for $10/$15 and no name records i wouldn't want for free for $2 which many were unplayable scratched a whole bunch of foreign UK plugs which also nobody would want anymore either i miss the old days.
The floppies I would have dropped into the free or penny bin. the play station games I might have put on eBay as there are some old 40 something man with little to no life who might pay a buck for, Vinals are making a slight comeback and do go for a buck or two to the right buyer. But if they are scratched I drop them to a water or dime and sell them to the artists and repurposer type people for making picture frames or place mats.
Donald Jefcoat Just because someone plays video games, that doesn't mean that they're some "40 year old man with little to no life." Way to sound arrogant. As for the previous poster, there are plenty of people that still play original PlayStation games.
1980sGamer I'm 15 yet I play my playstation 1 and use a walkman and a 1970's tv and listen to vinyl
Sony Trinitron Bit of a late reply, but wow that's awesome! What model Walkman? Just curious.
1980sGamer Its a Aiwa HS-T23
You're 100% right. Goodwill has become the biggest rip-off artists in town.
I agree with your rant for the most part. There was a for profit thrift store in my area that had great stuff and mostly great prices, but they could only do that according to the owner because the rent was really cheap in the run down 60 year old building they were in. The city stopped in, inspected the place, declared it didn't meet code, and demanded a bunch of repairs. The owners of the building panicked and made existing tenants pay double or triple rent if their lease was up for renewal. That thrift store had to close. The local Harbor Freight is in the same building, peeling paint, broken asbestos floor tiles and all, and the store manager thinks he will have to close as well. The space is really too small anyway. A discount foods store moved into the same strip mall and was held up for months with inspections and approvals on their section of the building. They persevered, however and several years later are still in business.
I know this is made years ago, but I strongly can relate with what you’re saying man… I’m a ‘01 gen z and I go to flea markets 5-10 times a year and people want a lot for this stuff now and it’s not even restored and/or has water damage to the cabinet. They think it’s worth gold because it’s “vintage!”… people are just money hungry these days man.
I went to a flea market a few weeks ago and saw a mid 60s Panasonic Deluxe console that one of the latches to the right side of the lid was falling apart, the legs are cocked sideways and the bottom is falling out….. the seller said he wanted $400 for that crap….
Hippies and wokies are to blame. The Comic Book Store
guy that runs my local electronics recycling store is a prime
example. Recently he lectured me about how tubes were
made in garages by women during "the war". Furthermore
he stated that it confounded him why I didn't just repair
the tubes I wanted as it was easy to do. I see lots of prime
stuff unloaded there that never makes it to the shelf. They
say they don't sell on ebay. So where does it go? The front
is a school for kids they run to teach STEM. "I teach stuff
to kids." His proud statement of moral authority. I wonder
what the stuff is. I wonder if any background checks are
made on the teachers. The donations are heaped in piles
on shelves and on the floors. I cringe at seeing precision
meters dumped into boxes with heavy transformers. They
sell tubes but wont test them. I got revenge by buying a
small tube tester and bringing it in to at least tell the duds
from the rest. It pisses him off I know because every time
I bring it in he tries to sell it to me as one of theirs.
Salvation Army had a top load RCA VCR for sale, roughly 1983. I tested it, didn't work because of a missing idler tire. Pretty easy fix. I mentioned this to a staff member and they told me I could not purchase it! They took it away for the trash. What a shame, they should have tested it before putting out for sale. For shame.
On the positive side, the Savers stores in my area are clean and organized and the staff are nice. appropriately priced items usually. Got my Pioneer LD player for $20 fully working. Great place to find VHS.
Klaus-Laserdisc My Goodwill store dosen't care if it works or not, they will sell it to you. they have a 2 day return policy. however they are just as stupid because if it dosen't work the customer comes back to exchange it and then that item is thrown away. I've offered to buy stuff as is if they would give me a discount but they won't.However they will give a 5 per cent discount if I show my VA card, why can't they offer say 20 per cent onsomething that's broken?
LOL! I call it "The STARVation Army", too! What a coincidence! I'm WITH you all the way!
I call it the "Salivation army" because they aren't worth "spit".
I agree completely. It's like boutique shopping anymore. And the same merchandise is still on the shelves two weeks later because it's too expensive. I miss finding that rare item for a good deal. P.s. starvation army is just too funny!
I agree with you and glad that you are not sucked into this scam because a lot of older people will buy anything just for the hell of it rather or not they have purpose or reason.
And, don't forget about those Readers Digest boxed sets that contain instrumental music of pop hits of the day. Also, I seem to find a lot of Zenith, RCA, and Magnavox labeled records that were issued as promo recordings to be handed out when someone bought one of their stereo's. I think people are keeping the "good" records and any such records that are donated never make it to the sales floor. Instead, they go home with the manager or store workers.
I love this rant. I have ran a few thrift stores, worked in them, and shopped at lots. I have even consulted with people who were wanting to start their own stores. All the stores I have had my hand in have been successful except one but the economic crisis in that community along with the over high rents made it that I could not operate. I totally agree with this rant. I dont care if a store buys their product, has it donated, or salvages it. Prices have to be reasonable, negotiating the price is a must, and getting the customer in the store and putting their bucks into the till is success. I have this rule that every foot sales floor has to make money daily. The rent, hydro, phone, paycheck, charity money, even the coffee all is added up and divided over the square footage of the sales floor. The dumpster dont make me money very often. So lets say that I need to make $3 a day per foot to break even I'm going to do my best to move stuff out the front door. So if I have a $90 price tag and you offer $50 It is my best interest to move that item out. It allows me then to re-occupy that floor space with something else. I never allowed clutter on the floor so moving stuff out the door allowed me to put fresh product out. I had people that spent hours shopping and buying cause they knew when space opened up on the shelves something fresh was coming out. If it worked I put it out, if it didnt then the item got broke down and I put out the parts. I kept a running list of what people wanted. I even had a lady that wanted all the old Tupperware I couldnt/wouldnt sell. My thought was even though it was free to her she was coming into the store and may spend money. So I got rid of junk, reduced my dump fees, and had a potential customer. I will admit I used selling ebay prices for some items but only if people were actually bidding. Sometimes I used that for my advantage. Hey look that teacup is going on EBay right now for $50 bucks and the bids are getting righter you want it for $10 no how bout 5, Heck I will even get you some pics so you can post your new cup on EBay. After all $5 now was better then it being in the penny bin down the road. I still to this day remember giving a $3,000 beany dog thing away in a bag sale. I know the person who bought it made a mint but I was in the thrift store business not a collector emporium. I also had this theory that if dealers came to my store and bought stuff that was a double whammy. I made money and so did they. The reason many stores go high and firm on their price was to stop dealers. Well its on the rack and everyone has equal chance at the item so if a dealer gets to it first I don't care all I care about is getting as much from the back door going thru the till and out the front. Sorry for my rant but the Thrift Store Industry is messed up and really does need a returning to its roots. Am giving it much thought of returning to the wonderful world of Thrift Shop again.
Go to local non chain thrift stores. I go to one near me and put together a stereo system using stuff I bought from there for next to nothing.
You're quite right. Greed (the acquisitive form of stupidity) ruins everything. The Starvation Army seems to have management that flunked out of basic economics. I've found that the St. Vincent de Paul stores have better prices and are more flexible about the disposal of their goods. I have a great relationship with the one nearest me, and they WILL hold stuff for me that they otherwise couldn't sell.
Luckily my local thrift store saves tvs for me but the “antique” store are just scams, they wanted me to pay 20 for a cfl bulb which is absolutely crazy when I can get a pack of 10 of 12 dollars. Most of the independent thrift store are my preferred option because they actually will take offers instead of being firm on a price like commercial stores. It’s just ridiculous the prices of stuff these days.
"I saw it selling for that price on Ebay so its worth that much" "sorry we cant let you have it for a better price. We know it's broken that's why we are asking the price we are asking" "Its rare. I have never seen this item for sale so go buy it somewhere else if you think you can get a better deal" Yeah I've heard it all too.
Most thrifts around where I live don't even take TVs anymore. I find it depends on where you go. The SA's either have very little electronics, or the prices are crazy. There is a local charity that runs a couple thrifts in my area where I have gotten some tremendous deals, and the staff is always nice and helpful.
I'm in Chicago and it's really not any better here. Salvation army (I'm sorry, starvation army) wants premium prices for things. I once saw a run-of-the-mill paper shredder for sale for like $80. It probably cost less than that brand new. I find that Goodwills in the suburbs are usually the best bet for any deals, though their prices are sometimes outrageous (I once saw a solid state console stereo that they were asking $100 for. I doubt it worked). Keep in mind I mostly go for computer stuff, not vintage electronics. I rarely see any electronics that are older than the 70s (I did once see a very beat up radio from the '30s or '40s, the case was all chipped and the power transformer was hanging by a wire out of the back of the chassis).
GOODWILL CEO and owner Mark Curran profits $2.3 million a year.
Goodwill is a very catchy name for his business.
You donate to his business and then he sells the items for PROFIT.
He pays nothing for his products and pays his workers minimum wage! Nice Guy.
$0.00 goes to help anyone! Stop giving to this man.
I once bought a set of early 1970s Utah 3 Way Speakers from the Salvation Army for $3, and when I used to work at Goodwill I got 4 1950s and 1960s vintage box fans for $5 because they were throwing them out because they had metal blades, I also got a 1960s Schwinn Suburban 5 speed bicycle for $20 that they were going to throw out because it had dry-rotted tires. I also got a 1952 vintage Zenith Bug-Eye AM/FM clock Radio Model J733 for $5 that no one wanted because it had a loud buzz on the radio from the fluorescent lights in the store and they thought it was failed filter caps.
I also found for a friend of mine at the local Salvation Army an early 1970s Technics Stereo Receiver that was a 80 watts/channel unit for $20 (but the tuning mechanism was broken because it was dropped in the store, which is why I got it for $20 because it was originally marked $75).
I love your good rants. They're full of common sense!
same here in the UK we have charity shops however their like retail outlets anything that they have with wood-grain is well over priced they also refuse to sell electrical goods at some used shops I asked them to save bits for me they refused even with my offer of payment so I go dumpster diving and come back with some bits that don't make it to the tip you will be surprised what stuff is just thrown away ,you have the same beliefs as me radiotvphononut I love your channel and honestly i think it was you that got me back into my old HI-FI bits so many thanks their! the other day the charity shop had a old garrard deck from the 80s they wanted a £100 for it roughly $80 I guess ! seriously it was just a lump of plastic !!! its such a throw away world now they won't give anything away just throw it in the bin and pay the refuse guys to put it in their truck! however their is one really nice place that saves things for me at really good prices too! just hope they don't change hands
Keep up the good work and keep sane in this strange world run by millennials with no common sense
Love the videos !
Today I went into St Vinnies to look at records (Adelaide city Australia), they want $8 for 78 records. I tried to buy them minus price stickers, The manager didn't appreciate the stickers being pulled off, I tried to tell him other Vinnie stores price them at $1, He said we're different here. The Red Cross in Rundle st put prices from $1 - $10, the dumb blonde manager is always looking at me every time I'm looking at records to make sure I'm not up to no good, When she's not around I fudged the price sticker from $10 to $2 for a Carole King Thoroughbred album that has owner name in biro on the front and ring wear
I work part-time at a thrift store, and brother I hear ya. We test and inspect all the donations we get in Some customers just want parts. If something is a total dud or could create a saftey hazard then we have to throw it out. If we can salvage it and sell it for parts we'll put it on the floor and sell as is. Unfortunately we get a lot of stuff that people should have taken to dump. The reality is, most of these places have limited shelf space or volunteers who have no expertise in what they're selling. Yesterday, a volunteer threw out an RCA Victor suitcase phonograph. I saw this little gem and nabbed it. I tested it in the back and it just needed a needle. Go figure. But you are right about finding that one woman in the back who uses E-bay as their bible rather than meeting you half way on an item that could be marked down. It's very frustrating working with people like that. They'd rather throw out anything that doesn't sell within a month. Makes no sense.
Once Upon A Time, a long, long time ago, I was in college. I remember the thrift stores then. SA in particular was the place to go to furnish your rented apartment or house. For cheap. Use the stuff for nine months and donate it back. They understood their mission was to serve the community, those people of limited means who could not afford much. Since then greed and corporate profit-maximizing mentality has set it. Especially Goodwill where the CEO makes $730,000 a year. What I have found over the last few years is radically inconsistent pricing. Both SA and GW. Depends on the store and who is doing the pricing. Some stuff priced crazy. Other times I do find some bargains. Last week a working 19" Toshiba flat screen for $4.99. A couple weeks earlier, a 4" Sony color TV for $1.99. Working with strong, bright CRT. So for me, a few bargains are out there, but it is the challenge of the hunt - our primordial hunter-gatherer instinct - that is priceless.
I totally agree with what your saying.ebay has killed it.they all check it up before selling to find out what it's worth.its an absolute joke.believe me I know,I have to work in one.like you say,it comes in for free it doesnt need to be full price.we try and keep our prices reasonable.but here in the uk we have different laws about e waste anyway.everyhing has to be pat tested which is another joke that really pisses me off.i hear your words my friend and I fully sympathise.charity shops in the UK generally are a joke.
The year before this video was published I took a part time retirement job driving 4 yr olds "Who did not pass the test" to a quasi school/daycare. Other past drivers had put toys in the bus which could amuse the kids en route. I decided to visit a local thrift shop to see what I could add to the bus "Toy box." Bought a battery operated US map game (Made in China) which did not work, but was in like new condition. Opened it up and found a broken wire. The game was immensely popular in the bus...and there it stayed when I took another position.
Love your comment on thrift stores ! I don't drive
anymore because of my illness . Thanks !
Wowzers. Over here (New York State), *all* the thrift stores and donation places have stopped accepting all CRT-type TVs and computer monitors. Now they will only take flat screens. So to dispose of one you have to take it to an authorized e-waste drop site, which will charge you at least $5 and at one place $15 (!) per item. Here in NY it is now illegal to put any kind of electronics out at the curb. And apparently the thrift stores can't even give them away with everyone hung up on those flat screens. It's unreal how a piece of equipment that was top end and in fine working order is now considered junk.
You know I have this same problem with GoodWill stores here in Las Vegas!!! Premium prices for stuff that doesn't work!
jeez even the new china shit craps out in a month or two!
Good Day,
I have found quite close to the same thing here.
The Salv Army does tend to price console Stereos high, & toss them instead of lowering the price.
The odd Time, they put them out cheap. I think it depends WHO is on duty when it's "evaluated".
I, through *many* donations of *known good items* which they all had sold, earned a little respect from them, & now they will sometimes give Me a break, even w/o asking!
Salv Army here sells modern Electronics at "reasonable price". Nobody complains. Just antique Floor model Stereos they want Arm/Leg.
The MCC has good deals on old Electronics. Most Thrift Stores *won't* even bother trying to sell "old" TV's, they end up in the recycle bin, & no once it's marked "recycle" You can fake a Heart attack, no way will they sell it.
The City MCC Store *does* offer old TV's, cause there is a # of Ppl who keep asking for them.
Both MCC & Salv Army have Sale Days & put the Records etc "buy 1, get one half price" kind of thing.
What really "irritates ^Me^;
Value Village, so I was told, holds back "Antiques" for dealers, instead of on the Floor. You or I never see them.
V.V *used* to have real amazing deals before 2004.
The MCC & Salv Army, put "Antiques" (Tube Radios included) go in the giant Glass Case, & are sold by "Silent Auction".
I have scored a couple neat things that way.
I have heard the bad attitude thing too! Just pretend You don't know any better.
South Central Pennsylvania seems to have a mercy for old radio and tv. Thrift stores usually sell vintage electronics for good prices and the radio has tons of good music on FM and there is still a music station on AM (Oldies country).
The EBAY printouts really ENRAGE ME!!! GOOD POINT!
"Starvation Army," that's cool. Greedy CEOs of big charities take the biggest share. The best stuff likely ends up on Egay.
I try haggling.
I noticed the first time the GW raised prices, I asked about it, the manager said 'eBay'. How the **** would this clerk know this? And often the reverse happens-they don't know anything most of the time.
I found out that one such thrift store is going out of business; but, this one is owned by a preacher and it's gone in and out of business several times over the past 20 years. I think he reopens it when his cash supply gets on the thin side.
It's that bad here in Canada too. I just saw an Addison tabletop AM radio that runs on batteries for sale. It probably doesn't work as all the cloth wiring has fallen apart, its a small bookshelf type radio. The finish has worn out and looks like its been in a barn for the last 75 years and they want 80 bucks for it. Remember, its old and because everyone on Antiques roadshow seems to hit the jackpot with their old stuff, that means everything that's old is worth a lot of money. I hardly see bargains on any vintage electronics. Its always overpriced by hundreds of dollars and usually has major problems or doesn't work at all. And its not like there are repair shops left that fix this stuff anymore if you can get something for a good price.
Most thrift store electronics sections these days are all chock full of printers, computer monitors, keyboards, tv remotes, and I-crap BS that no o e would have any desire to purchase. I miss seeing things like 8 track players, flip clocks, top load VCR’s, record players, etc.
One thrift store here has fair priced quality items, but they don't keep anything very long, they have a big turnover. They price it, mark it down the 2nd week, then the 3rd week, & depending on what it is after the 3rd mark down if it doesn't sell it is thrown out to make room for new items. I found a 2500.00 moving coil transformer there for 1.98, a 300.00 German chime clock last week for my neighbor at 50.00. Most items are reasonably priced all LPs are 45 cents each 45s are 5 for 1.00.
and plus a lot of times I've seen the electronics shelves in those stores and they don't even organize them right. I've seen stuff in there that's just not displayed properly. And they have things in there that don't belong with stereos and speakers and things. I think they should do a better job of even organizing that stuff. Put the printers and the keyboards in one section and then next to that have your stereo equipment with your speakers and things like that. And if they have any TV put that together also. Don't put the junkie microwave and the toaster oven next to a computer printer.
Garage sales are best, they are usually happy to get rid of it.
Our thrift store has a trash compactor. Good luck.
You mentioned E-bay prices. I work with vintage computer equipment. The most aggravating thing is when they look at E-bay and state that a generic 286 is $128 because of one guy whose been on there since 2004 with an entire store and a half of vintage PC's with such highly jacked prices that his inventory has stayed the same since he started.
OTOH, I did go to Goodwill 2 weeks ago and was tempted to spend $45 on an as/is Zentih console TV from the mid 70's, I was shocked to see they even had something like that now. Normally all old PC's go to Dell for scrap, TV's go to the recycler to be destroyed, and whatnot. That really pisses me off. Maybe someday they'll get an RGB display for my Tandy 1000 in...one can only hope.Thankfully, the place across the street, I forget the name, carries old stuff from time to time from the 50's and the 60s even, and asks a fair enough price. I spent about 10 minutes in there the last time I was there looking at a 1960's Philco radio - even though not my bag, it was cool to see they had something like that there.
This is a topic I was just complaining about two weeks ago. My computer died on me back in February and I thought I could go to the Goodwill two blocks from me and pick up a used PC for a reasonable price. They have a large computer department and all of their computers come with a 30 day guarantee. I took $120 with me and when I got there I was shocked at what they were asking for for these 6 and 7 year old computers. For a 2008 Dell desktop with Vista they wanted $229 plus tax! Holy cow I could get a better deal at a pawn shop. Five years ago you could buy a USB keyboard and mouse for two or three dollars and now they want $8.99 for a used keyboard. On my way out I went up to the counter and asked the guy working there "You people realize this stuff is used, right?" I remember back in 2005 they were selling G3 iMacs for $30.
I agree. It's going the same way in the UK. Big name ones are going away from being a charity. All 'retro' store and that sort of idea. I've seen electrcal items and sofas going for what you can get a brand new resonable budget item for new. The 'head office' bods come down in their company cars and set the prices at cosmopolitan prices for stuff in a shop thats in a lower income sea side town! I give all my stuff to the small charity shops because they're still true to what they are & are for.
I agree. This has been making me so mad. I left a few stores recently very pissed off. they are starting to pull vintage items and put them in a special area with ridiculous prices attached. Gone are the days where you can find a treasure for a cheap and maybe even resell it for a profit. I understand inflation eventually effects thrift stores but I think they are still taking advantage of people.
Here here, are we just products of different times, in Australia the 'thrift' shops no longer take anything electrical for fear of law suits, no caveats, no negotiation, just illogical rationale from disinterested uninformed dolts who think they're antiques speculators, the Australian Salvos are now corporate overpriced junk purveyors .
Thanks for your posts, v.happy to see others who see clearly , i blame Murdoch, Best Wishes
I always used to at the goodwill my block 6 or 7 years ago and I would buy as many lps as they had for 1 dollar each. Sometimes 50 or 100 Records at a time once or twice a week. They raised the price of the Lps t o 2.50 because I was buying so many. I quit going and buying them because they were $2.50 and it took them 2 years to lower it down to $1 again
Oh, don't get me started on thrift stores. I had a rant about them over on Tapeheads forum a few times. The local "Unique Thrift" has a trash compactor in the back that they put just about everything that doesn't sell through. Over the years, I've seen them toss table lamps, dishes, toys, electronics, records, 8-tracks, you name it into that compactor...just so you can't go dig it out of the dumpster. I've been told that they just write everything off on their taxes as a loss instead of selling it for less. 10-15 years ago I could get 8-track tapes for 10¢ each from most thrift stores, today just about every thrift prices them at $1 minimum. All the stores are firm on pricing now. I've seen them in the back pricing stuff off eBay before. Yeah...times have changed.
the biggest problem with a lot of these storms is overhead. the cost of the store itself is just stupidly expensive,
I've Seen Thrift Stores Charge $50 And $100 When They Get A Scratch ed Up Beatles Record From 1980
Man I agree with everything you’ve said a hundred percent. It’s extremely frustrating.
I have one thrift near me is AWESOME, however there are 3 Goodwills near me who think every piece of equipment is extremely high on every electronic they have. And there is another one that is even worse. I saw a Memerex DVD player there for $40 which you can go to Walmart and buy a brand new one for less than $30
My best thrift store deal was german Telefunken M3000,hifi reel to reel from early 1970s.When i was at my local thrift store,that recorder just came in and didnt have price tag yet,I got it for 15 euro which is about 20 bucks in American money. .Internet sellers are the worst on this stupid trend.I am glad I have a thrift store in my town that has sellers with normal brains.Greetings from Slovakia.
Records at the two goodwills i go to are 62 cents last time i went. And there's never a short supply of modern cheap plastic crap radios and the last generation of small DVD players.
I went to a pawn shop years ago and they had a Dell Inspiron 5000 series for $600, which is bs though i'm not doubting it being a capable machine.
The fact is that thrift stores have got wise to what stuff is going for on e-bay (especially albums) so before pricing the goods i bet they have a quick scan on e-bay to see what the goods are going for ,the charity's have to make as much money as they can for their causes
I know a guy that volunteers at a thrift store, he keeps all the good stuff that comes thru the back door and sells it on e-bay or rummage sales, the junk goes out to the floor, I don't bother looking anymore for anything decent...
+bones007able it figures!
You are absolutely right and those stores should be told. The thing about charity organizations and others such as animal welefare organizations and such is that the administrators of those places start wanting to make so much money in salaries that very little profit is left for the original purpose of the store or charitable organization. Gary
The stores would rather not sell it. It is easier to destroy it and write the stuff off on their taxes. Without actually running the store the loopholes close. Just take stuff you got for free, price it high, and fill a dumpster with crushed remains that you "couldn". Wash, rinse, and repeat. It's a new low in greed.
There is a great Ma & Pa thrift store 5 minutes away from me. I just got a 1968(?) Zenith clock radio for $5 from there. I find that Goodwills around here has backwards pricing, I got both a 8-track radio deck for $4 from one and a 1984 Panasonic VCR for $6 but in that same Goodwill with the VCR had a original XBox with nothing for $99 goddamn dollars! It's weird where I live.
It's the same situation here in the UK. It's because Ebay has artificially raised the price of second hand stuff. The weirdest thing is the laptops. When they are a few years old they are much lower spec than the new budget stuff that is cheaper. Plus you get a free virus with each second hand PC. I just don't bother and end up buying new for most stuff. I sold a couple of guitar pedals that were about a year old for more than I paid for them new. I couldn't work out why they would pay that.
My SA has gotten rid of senior discount. I believe that resellers are the reason prices are higher now. I'm a collector and stuff I buy I use and enjoy. Everyone just wants to make a buck now and the thrift stores know this so prices go up. I collect green handle kitchen tool's and if you find one now it's out of my price range where I used to buy them for a quarter
Great vid sir. The truth to A t!!!
Amazon Return is all I see here now.
Travis
Shopping at Goodwill is like shopping at a discount store. I think some prices there are great like for clothes and DVDs and books and games . I notice newer stuff will sell a lot higher. Especially if they have never been opened. Our Goodwills here let us test electronics. They have these outlets on the shelf where people can just plug them in. There is another thrift store here and that is definitely the cheapest it's like the olden days. But lot of their stuff is just crap so I don't go there very often. I once bought a new DVD player at Goodwill for $7.99 and the original price is $50. I also once found a new set of Nintendo Joycons for $50. The original price is $80. And we have Goodwill outlet stores where they send everything there that didn't sell and it's just crap. Too many missing pieces because people open things and scatter it all over the bins, they do that with puzzles, games, VHS tapes, DVDs. Never worth my time going there just to save tons of money and they charge you by the weight.
Ebay... that's what happened to thrift stores. Especially up here in New England. Back in the late 1980's through the mid 2000, you could pick up a used cassette deck for about 20 bucks or less. I've even seen some vintage record players from the 70s for sale for around the same price. And in the early 2000s, I used to get old computers and computer parts really cheap.
What do you expect from organizations that hire people with less than a high school education and use inmates to work in their stores. Most don't know the first thing about electronics or vintage items. A lot of times people just use thrift stores to unload their trash. They don't want to pay the local dump site fees. And you're absolutely right, if these stores want E-Bay prices then they should close shop and sell on E-Bay. I think charity thrift stores are nothing more than a scam. I mean how much money is actually going back into their so called charity.
I can relate. I collect radios/phonos and also old desktop computers from around '98-'02...if they get any of that stuff and it doesn't work, they scrap it. Like you, I talked to the manager and explained that if they just set the non-working stuff aside when it comes in, I'd likely buy it; I was told they don't have room to keep stuff around.
around here the thrift stores sell mostly clothes. they dont have space for big consoles. the few electronics items they do have for sale are really poor quality stereos and tv's from the early 90's that you wouldn't want any way.
I don't mind the price being high. I mean c'mon if there's demand and limited supply the price better go up....we don't live in a communist non-capitalist economy. But the problem with thrift stores is that they don't test, or even know what kind of problems a piece might have. SO if you point out it's worthless they don't care or know...they still mark it at a high price like idiots. But also remember these are luxury items...no one needs them. we just "WANT" them :\
In our area Goodwill has orders to send anything "good" on up to St. Louis. Consequently, our local store just has junk. Starvation Army saves all their stuff up and has "auctions" that no one with any sense would want to participate in.
People seem to have a logical fallacy that just because something is old means it automatically increases in value. Retro video game collecting has been ruined by this trend too, because scalpers on eBay are poisoning the price pool for everyone.
All you can do is hope to find someone reasonable or wait for the scalpers to go out of business and liquidate their stock at cheaper prices.
You should also do a pawn shop rant about how everything they carry you can go to the store and buy brand new and you can't even find good vintage electronics in the pawn shop because they won't carry them.
Lee Mccoy Absolutely true. I worked in a pawn shop for 2 years back in the early 90s. As a general rule pawn shops don't carry TVs, DVD players or stereos that are more than two years old. Nobody ever came into our pawn shop looking for vintage electronics. These days most of them won't even take the DVD or Blu ray players because they're made so cheaply. You can get decent deals in a pawn if you dicker with them. Their prices aren't set in stone. The secret to getting a good deal in a pawn shop is go there 30 minutes before they close. The worst time is within the first 3 hours of them opening.
Radio, i agree with all you say on this... you have exactly pinpointed the problem..Used to find a lot of good bargains in old Pasadena, ca. but then some of the stores like Starvation Army or Goodwill started to take the better stuff away from all of their satellite stores, and centralize it in one specific location in Los Angeles and called it a botique...so in effect, all the other stores had nothing of real value..this really raised my blood pressure..for example if you were looking for computers..well all the computers that were worth a slip were sent to this one central store where they put a big price on it(their so called "antique botique......you get the picture...(its Bee Ess) Dont get me started...and putting 1.50 or 2.00 prices on most lps BUT if it were something they thought was special like a Beatle album or some such thing, they would crank the price up to perceived values(probably based on one of those record guide books....Grrr
The Only thing With That Old Stuff
You Never Know If It Works Or Not.
Yes - that one too! And don't forget the amount of time it takes for you to build complete Kenny Rogers and Engelbert Humperdinck vinyl collections!
I can feel all of your pain.Keep up the ranting and restorations.
We have a thrift store called Emmaus here. Some sort of religious thing. They always want a fortune for older electronic gear. They recently had a console record player there for months wanting a ridiculous amount for it. I eventually picked it out of their dumpster. So they made nothing. Greedy bastards like so many "charity shops"
There is one thrift store here that may have the potential to be decent. I bought a mid '80's Sony Beta VCR from them for $4. Don't know if it works; but, for $4, I'm not going to complain if it winds up being a dud. That same VCR would have been at least $25 at the SA. And, this new store said they'd call me if they got any broken TV's in. I may never hear a word out of them; but, at least they weren't jerks about it.
At my local Goodwill they don't test anything before putting it out. I found a nice Denon reciever but it wasn't working. I showed the manager that it wasn't working and offered $25 for it, the price tag was $45. She said I can't reduce the price. I explained that it was going to end up in the recycle bin.
It sat on the shelf for some time, probably someone bought it and returned it and exchanged it for something else. Then it went to the recycle bin.
I agree! The reason I'm at a thrift store or flea market is to find a good deal. If I had unlimited amounts of cash to spend, I could stay at home and buy everything I ever wanted off ebay from the comfort of my chair. These thrift stores want the best of both worlds. They want to get ebay prices and still run a traditional style store. Of course, we all know that it usually doesn't work that way.
Excellent commentary! I'm with you. From the mid 1980's through 2000 or so like you said I could go to any thrift store and pick up some really great stuff for great prices.
Case in point: Back in 1990 I bought an excellent Motorola console stereo for $20 and it was in perfect working order complete with an external 8-track player thrown in for free.
Now the few that we have left around here have very little to offer and what they have is way over priced.
Starvation army lol I will have to remember that, just as good as my Sally Anne's :)