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

[Byron Desnoyers Winmill <wbdesnoy@ucalgary.ca>]

On Sat, 7 Feb 2004, Sheldon Simms wrote:
> If I buy an item at the thrift store at the same price you do, then
> the exact same amount of money goes back into the community either
> way. If I happen to resell it, that doesn't hurt "the community" at
> all. In fact, since my profit will be spent in "the community" as
> well, me buying and reselling puts more money into "the community"
> than your buying and stuffing in a closet or basement.


Sheldon,

I don't think we are going to agree on this.  I have had a very low
opinion of eBay since the early days, mostly because it encroaches on
my turf.  If somebody wants to fetch eBay prices, they should sell it
on eBay instead of using hyperinflated bids as a negotiating point.

As per your "stuffing it in a closet" argument, I've tried to avoid
adopting a particular economic ideology.  The problem is that they are
imperfect models, and the deeper the relationships are the more likely
they are to break.  Many thrift stores have direct links to community
programmes and they tend to employ people who have fallen on hard
times.  This is what I meant by serving the community, not some
abstracted notion where you hope that the n-th link in the chain
doesn't hoard money -- as you suggested that I was hoarding Apple II's.

And, FWIW, I hoard my computers in a barn.  :-)

Byron.