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

[Sheldon Simms <sheldonsimms@yahoo.com>]

On Thu, 05 Feb 2004 18:48:41 -0800, david parsons wrote:

> In article <bvur95$vivkj$1@ID-198131.news.uni-berlin.de>,
> Terry Olsen <tolsen64@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Thrift stores charge more than the few dollars that you are willing to pay
>>> for an item, and that is 'ripping' you off.  You sell an $5 item on ebay
>>> for $160!
>>
>>The main reason I go to thrift stores is to find something to sell on EBay.
>>When thrift stores jack up their prices to prevent that from happening,
> 
> [...]
> 
>>Thrift stores are supposed to be in the business of selling low-cost used
>>items to families in need,
> 
>   Perhaps they feel that your type of scavenging is contrary to their
>   stated mission, and they'd rather scrap their hardware than be a
>   warehouse for the ebayers?   You might be able to get them to lower
>   their prices if you offerent them a cut of your proceeds from ebay,
>   then you'd be able to make a profit and they'd be able to provide
>   more services to the poor.
> 
>                 ____
>   david parsons \bi/ I can see that they'd not want to be an ebayer's
>                  \/                                       stockroom.

I see, so you are of the opinion that it is better for the thrift
store to collect $0 and fill the landfill with intentionally
destroyed stuff instead of the thrift store collecting $10 and someone
else collecting $10 by reselling the item on Ebay.

Just how is that supposed to help the poor? (or the environment?)

This is not to argue against thrift stores selling items for their
actual market price, if the thrift store can get their price, great.
But if they can't, then everyone is better served by them cutting
their price to fit their market, and letting someone else resell the
item on Ebay if they so choose. I don't see how destroying otherwise
useful products helps anybody. It sounds like pure spite to me.