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

[Sheldon Simms <sheldonsimms@yahoo.com>]

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 04:59:42 +0000, Michael Black wrote:

> Sheldon Simms (sheldonsimms@yahoo.com) writes:
>> 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.
>> 
>> 
> But if you can sell the items for more on Ebay, then obviously the
> price can be higher.  But if they raise their prices, it cuts
> into your profit, so you'd rather they junk the equipment than
> pay what you perceive as higher prices.  

The fair market value of an item on Ebay can be higher than the fair
market value of an item in a thrift store, simply due to the fact that
the market itself is much, much larger on Ebay.

In that case, if the thrift store attempts to charge the Ebay price,
they probably won't have any buyers. Apparently some thrift stores
cannot stand to accept market economics, and would rather destroy
perfectly good items rather than sell at a price that will attract
customers. By doing so they prove their own ignorance and jealousy.

I should note that not all thrift store managers are so mean-hearted.
One thrift store I frequent has ripoff prices, but they don't throw
stuff away. It just piles up, apparently for years on end. Maybe they
do call for a dumpster once in a long while, I don't know.

This discussion has brought up one interesting idea, though. If thrift
stores undercut Ebay by more than the cost of shipping, 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?