Re: Ripoff Thrift Stores, Was: New Apple II BBS

[warnken@mother.com (Sandra Warnken)]

Byron Desnoyers Winmill <wbdesnoy@ucalgary.ca> wrote in message news:<Pine.A41.4.44.0402062020120.67930-100000@acs2.acs.ucalgary.ca>...
> On Fri, 6 Feb 2004, Sheldon Simms wrote:
> > someone will purchase their merchandise and resell it on Ebay,
> > collecting the difference. I don't see why this is a problem, but
> > apparently thrift stores think it is, so they raise their prices to
> > match Ebay's. So can we conclude that the presence of Ebay harms poor
> > people by increasing their cost of living?
> 
> I very much doubt that thrift stores price things according to ePay.
> More often than not, they don't know what the value of something is so
> they will over value certain items and under value others.  It was this
> way long before ePay.  Actually, I had a clerk scream at me up and down
> when I offered five bucks for an Apple IIgs game.  Something about them
> raising money for charitable causes.  If you sense some bitterness from
> them over reselling stuff, that may be why.  ;-)  Then there is the
> problem of dealers snatching up all of the good stuff to fatten their
> pockets, leaving crap for thrift store customers (this is pretty bad
> for business).

Value is in the eye of the wanter.  On eBay the basic IIGS costs much
more to ship than it's worth.  It doesn't pay to sell a basic system
on eBay unless it's got something some really needs.

I think there were a couple of problems for thrift stores.  

One is that the stores can't afford to store slow moving items on
their selves.  The other problem is that people steal things from the
item or the doner is dumping a system that malfunctions or is missing
parts to begin with.  If it doesn't have all the parts some folks
don't want it.  If the store has a return policy for defective
computers they probably discover they are trying to sell something
that should be trashed.

A lot of people have no idea what the thing is they have for sale.  I
don't know about everything ever made for the Apple II,  even though
I've had exposure to a lot of third party stuff.

Some stores have dates on the tags.  If the item doesn't sell in that
time, the price comes down.  I've also bought things by walking up the
the cashier with the item and cash in hand.  I might say that the item
is for an obsolete computer and the price is too high.  Some are quite
willing to dicker.  If you don't try you wont know.

Sandy